True, RedHat had a massive IPO if I recall. Yeah VA linux IPO ouch - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LNUX.png

Red Hat went public on August 11, 1999, achieving the eighth-biggest first-day gain in the history of Wall Street.[0]

So maybe in a business sense Linux had a better standing versus windows back then compared to current day.

[0] - http://www.redhat.com/about/corporate/timeline.html