NetApplications' hitslink.com just released their april market share stats and linux passed one per cent for the first time ever.

The figures show that Linux use is growing dramatically every year. It appears that Linux use has grown by over 300 per cent over the last few years, however before fans open the champers it is still a tiny amount. 

Linux fans might point out that the one in 100 desktops or laptops now using Linux figure is based on slightly faulty data. For example it is based on the number of web hits an operating system makes. Some Linux users are hidden when they log into the web and may not visit the sites listed by Net Applications. Then there are also Linux machines around which may not call up the web.

However given that this is supposed to be the "year of Linux", after Microsoft has been shipping a largely discredited operating system, during a period when the economics suggest that people should want to cut costs by not having to pay for their operating system, one would expect better than one percent.