MOBLIN AND MONO are both projects which show signs of helping Microsoft in a way. Moblin -- like Mono and Moonlight -- promotes Silverlight [1, 2] and there are likely to be patent 'tax' issues [1, 2]. But on the other hand, there is also evidence suggesting a departure from SUSE at Intel, which would be important if Moblin ever comes to desktops and thus truly expands.
Also at the forum in September, Intel and Microsoft unveiled plans to team up on Silverlight technology for Moblin, opening up the door to new sorts of cross-platform applications which might--or might not--include office suites.
Moblin is an early stage OS, though, focused more on targeted mobile tasks than running a full spate of powerful applications, as Windows 7 can. This post argues that Microsoft may be all for an Intel-backed, Linux-based OS that is in fact stripped down and less functional than Windows 7:"Microsoft can continue to sell more expensive versions of Windows on more expensive computers with a traditional desktop interface without fearing too much the competition from the cheap Moblin powered netbooks: These don't look like Windows computers and are clearly for a different purpose."
--James Plamondon, Microsoft Technical Evangelist. From Exhibit 3096; Comes v. Microsoft litigation [PDF]