Have you ever wondered what operating system Santa would use in the North Pole? ZDNet asked Sun, Microsoft, Lindows, Red Hat and Apple to pitch to Santa for a new operating system that would make his operations more efficient

This Christmas Santa is looking for a new operating system. ZDNet asked five OS companies why Santa should use their product.

Each company received the same pitch in mid-November with the following scenario:

"Faced with 160 million wish lists from kids in 45 countries using 18 different languages, Santa has decided to join the technological revolution and invest in a system of 1600-odd computers, in an attempt to make his operations more efficient. While his decision is bound to cause waves amongst unionised elves, he would like your company to pitch an operating system from its computational arsenal, and explain why such a system would be best suited to his needs."

And this is what we got back:

Red Hat Linux: Santa's own Red Hat
Offering a slightly emotive pitch, Red Hat makes the case for reliability and technical confluence.

Lindows' Top Ten
True technologists, the Lindows crowd answered Santa's call with a bullet point list explaining what they have to offer.

Sun and the North Pole Net
Making a solid case for technological superiority, Sun addresses Santa's scenario specifically and precisely.

Microsoft and Apple: the Christmas Grinches
While Microsoft is sitting on profits well in excess of US$2bn, and Apple is looking at profits comfortably in excess of US$1bn, neither company could find the time or the staff to answer the Christmas call.

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