Penguinisto: the reason Maya's available for Linux is solely because a big-name movie studio pressured Alias to port it. Dreamworks recognized that Linux has a lower CPU overhead than Windows (and probably OS X) and wanted the fastest, cheapest possible render farm they could get for "Shrek." Alias made a decision based on how close they wanted to be affiliated with a major studio and well-known film, not the kind of business decision companies like Alias generally make. Porting to Linux is still believed a heftier task than porting to OS X (note I did not say MacOS or OS 9), and the rewards to be reaped haven't convinced enough bean counters, especially the ones at Windows-only application companies.