Hewlett-Packard is extending its support and endorsement of Linux by selecting it as one of its three primary operating systems.

The company says its decision was spurred by consumers requesting Linux as an option to HP's Unix operating system and Microsoft Windows 2000, the other two operating systems HP offers.

HP's support for Linux, which follows IBM's endorsement of the platform, will give Linux a boost with infrastructure companies, says AMR Research analyst Dennis Gaughan. But Linux won't really take off until application vendors begin to adopt it, he adds.

Although Linux has proved to be a scalable architecture, application vendors are not embracing the platform because there hasn't been significant customer demand for it, Gaughan says. "Customers are happy to stick with some other flavors of Unix."