There’s no question that Microsoft is afraid of Sony and Nintendo. Just as they’re both afraid of MS. It’s called competition. The fact that it supports Linux is, in my best guess, NOT the reason they are afraid though. The fact that there is such a PlayStation following (especially in the Asian countries) is what hurts them the most. PS3 will definitely be a good machine. That’s a given on any next-gen console and there has been that competition between console makers since Sega/Nintendo days. They all have their pros and cons and its up to the consumer to decide which one they want. But to a lot of people ‘better’ is which one gives more bang for the buck. To me, $600 for, in essence a video game console, is outrageous. Even if it does play BluRay discs. It’s just not cost effective for me in any light. But if it was $400 or less, I’d really be interested.