There is a difference between 'desktop Linux is not viable' and 'we cannot find a way to make
money out of selling Linux on the desktop'. I think Red Hat's position is the latter. Having
grown out of a business which made and sold a Linux distribution for desktop users, they have
some experience here.
Fedora is a good desktop distribution and Red Hat puts a lot of work into it. They just
haven't turned it into a business unit or tried to sell it directly.