Red Hat has postponed the introduction of a new Linux software product for PCs until January of 2008. This product will directly compete with Microsoft’s Windows operating system as well as Novell’s SuSE Linux software.

According to ZDNet:

Red Hat spokeswoman Leigh Day said the company planned to release the software in January, five months after the original target date of August that it had promised customers. She said Red Hat was postponing the product’s release again because it has yet to resolve problems getting the right to distribute software for playing music and viewing videos with the Linux software.

The software will initially be sold in developing countries, although it can be freely copied and used anywhere at no charge, according to Matthew Szulik, Red Hat’s Chief Executive.

As to exactly what this “new Linux software product is,” I can only guess that it’s a new Linux distribution. MSNBC has more information here, but details of the product is maddeningly absent. Do leave a comment if you know.