If it wasn't for Microsoft, Linux on Nokia phones would have succeeded.
That seems wildly optimistic.
I owned an N900 and used an N9 for a while, and while I loved them for all their nerdy glory, they where not ready for prime time. Why do you think Nokia would have done better with Meego than they did with WP?
I can't be 100% sure, of course, however both Purism and Pine64 phones are slowly but steadily getting better every month. I can only imagine that Nokia could have allocated a lot more resources on making their Linux phone.
Nokia + Microsoft poured more resources into Windows Phone than Nokia would ever have poured into Meego. And they failed, despite both WP 8 and 10 both offering a really great mobile OS experience.
I had a Nokia Windows Phone. The core user experience of WP10 is the best I've ever experienced on any phone. What mainly let it down was first and foremost the lack of quality third party apps (and as time went on lack of support of the first party apps).
That seems wildly optimistic.
I owned an N900 and used an N9 for a while, and while I loved them for all their nerdy glory, they where not ready for prime time. Why do you think Nokia would have done better with Meego than they did with WP?