In an already tough IT environment, and with Windows 7 garnering buzz, Microsoft(MSFT Quote) may have to sleep with one eye open.One bright spot in an otherwise dampened earnings report showed that Novell's(NOVL Quote) revenue related to its Linux open-source platform -- a chief rival to Windows -- was up 25.5% to $36.6 million from the same quarter a year ago. With Microsoft and Novell currently locked in a deathmatch over the future of netbook software, this news will probably make IT watchers perk up.