Remember Acer’s claim in December that Windows sales were crushing Linux sales by more than 9 to 1 with its machines? And then more recently, HP announced that it was dropping Linux for the new Mini 1000 range in the UK.

These were ominous signs for Linux — once the dominant OS on netbooks — and a new report by analyst firm NPD Group has more grim news for Linux on netbooks.

NPD analyzed netbook sales over three months — November, December, and January — and found that 90% of mini-laptops sold in the United States are now running Microsoft Windows. These are US numbers only and while the story could be different elsewhere it can’t be denied that these are bad signs for the future of Linux on new netbooks