Comments on: Dell May Have Boosted Linux’s Share of OS Usage http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/ Keeping you in the loop with up-to-date Linux news. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:33:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Market Share of GNU/Linux on the Desktop at Robert Pogson http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/comment-page-1/#comment-79 Market Share of GNU/Linux on the Desktop at Robert Pogson Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:43:19 +0000 http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/#comment-79 [...] made this comment in reply to an article on LinuxLoop and thought it good enough to post here. It is along the same line as a previous article [...] [...] made this comment in reply to an article on LinuxLoop and thought it good enough to post here. It is along the same line as a previous article [...]

]]> By: Robert Pogson http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/comment-page-1/#comment-78 Robert Pogson Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:25:17 +0000 http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/#comment-78 The market share of GNU/Linux on the desktop is closer to 6% than 1%. The NetApps data is biased towards that other OS. If you look at http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp which is biassed towards that other OS because it does have some windows-only server scripting parts, the numbers are like 3.4%. These numbers are both based on User-agent strings which can be faked, too. I used to run Opera on GNU/Linux as IE on that other OS so some sites would let me in . There are many sites that punish non-IE visitors. Further, one needs to look at global distributions. GNU/Linux is really hot in Asia. How is that area represented in the quoted data? We do not know. I base my number on survey data from IDC and the like and growth figures. GNU/Linux was quoted as being as prevalent as MacOS a few years ago and growing very rapidly. In places like China, growth in numbers of GNU/Linux desktops is reportedly growing 60% per annum thanks to government policy to ban sales of naked PCs, and a crackdown on illegal copies of that other OS. see http://www.itfacts.biz/index.php?id=P2229 see http://www.itfacts.biz/index.php?id=P2438 While surveys and predictions are not very satisfying, I certainly have not seen any slowdown in adoption of GNU/Linux. XP has converted many to GNU/Linux just to escape forced upgrades and malware. Recently people have been brining Vista machines to me because they phone home and cut off service if they cannot. M$ has recently decided Vista SP1 will nag instead of cut off service, but it is too late for many. In my community the number of GNU/Linux desktops has gone from about 1% to about 50% in one year because the school went with GNU/Linux in the lab and students began using it at home. Next year this community will be about 90% GNU/Linux because the school is going to put 4 GNU/Linux PCs in every classroom and common area. Even the die-hards in offices are accepting GNU/Linux here because it works. Do not rely on web stats. Take your own survey and make it unbiased. My town is small enough, I can ask for a show of hands in the gym to do my survey. Three years ago I started to meet people who used GNU/Linux on the desktop in person. Last year, my wife's pastor accepted GNU/Linux into his heart. Last year I set up a whole K-12 school using GNU/Linux. This year a whole town will move in that direction. There is no stopping the march of the penguin. The market share of GNU/Linux on the desktop is closer to 6% than 1%. The NetApps data is biased towards that other OS. If you look at http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp which is biassed towards that other OS because it does have some windows-only server scripting parts, the numbers are like 3.4%. These numbers are both based on User-agent strings which can be faked, too. I used to run Opera on GNU/Linux as IE on that other OS so some sites would let me in . There are many sites that punish non-IE visitors.

Further, one needs to look at global distributions. GNU/Linux is really hot in Asia. How is that area represented in the quoted data? We do not know.

I base my number on survey data from IDC and the like and growth figures. GNU/Linux was quoted as being as prevalent as MacOS a few years ago and growing very rapidly. In places like China, growth in numbers of GNU/Linux desktops is reportedly growing 60% per annum thanks to government policy to ban sales of naked PCs, and a crackdown on illegal copies of that other OS.

see http://www.itfacts.biz/index.php?id=P2229
see http://www.itfacts.biz/index.php?id=P2438

While surveys and predictions are not very satisfying, I certainly have not seen any slowdown in adoption of GNU/Linux. XP has converted many to GNU/Linux just to escape forced upgrades and malware. Recently people have been brining Vista machines to me because they phone home and cut off service if they cannot. M$ has recently decided Vista SP1 will nag instead of cut off service, but it is too late for many. In my community the number of GNU/Linux desktops has gone from about 1% to about 50% in one year because the school went with GNU/Linux in the lab and students began using it at home. Next year this community will be about 90% GNU/Linux because the school is going to put 4 GNU/Linux PCs in every classroom and common area. Even the die-hards in offices are accepting GNU/Linux here because it works.

Do not rely on web stats. Take your own survey and make it unbiased. My town is small enough, I can ask for a show of hands in the gym to do my survey.

Three years ago I started to meet people who used GNU/Linux on the desktop in person. Last year, my wife’s pastor accepted GNU/Linux into his heart. Last year I set up a whole K-12 school using GNU/Linux. This year a whole town will move in that direction. There is no stopping the march of the penguin.

]]> By: InTheLoop http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/comment-page-1/#comment-38 InTheLoop Tue, 04 Dec 2007 22:02:44 +0000 http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/#comment-38 Bob H. - I agree. I was a little surprised when I realized that Linux still had less than 1% of the market. Still, those numbers are only desktop Linux numbers. When you factor in servers, the numbers get much better. amd-linux and Len Cain - Very true. I think you are right that the Eee and gPC also help those numbers, but they were both released quite recently, so I don't really know if they are having a big effect yet or not. I have written about the success of the Eee and the gPC a few times before. Bob H. - I agree. I was a little surprised when I realized that Linux still had less than 1% of the market. Still, those numbers are only desktop Linux numbers. When you factor in servers, the numbers get much better.

amd-linux and Len Cain - Very true. I think you are right that the Eee and gPC also help those numbers, but they were both released quite recently, so I don’t really know if they are having a big effect yet or not. I have written about the success of the Eee and the gPC a few times before.

]]> By: Bob H. http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/comment-page-1/#comment-37 Bob H. Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:16:04 +0000 http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/#comment-37 It's amazing that Windows still has over 90% of the market, and Linux has less than one percent. With all the people posting in all the forums for all the distributions of Linux, you would think they had a bigger share of the market. But then again, 0.5% of the world is equal to millions of people... It’s amazing that Windows still has over 90% of the market, and Linux has less than one percent. With all the people posting in all the forums for all the distributions of Linux, you would think they had a bigger share of the market. But then again, 0.5% of the world is equal to millions of people…

]]> By: amd-linux http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/comment-page-1/#comment-36 amd-linux Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:56:55 +0000 http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/#comment-36 13 years? Linus predicted Linux world domination for 2010.... :-) Seriously: In addition to your story, don't forget devices such as the EEE from Asus. This little machine is selling like hot cakes, at least in Germany. (bestselling notebook at Amazon.de, first shipment sold out, see here http://vale.homelinux.net/wordpress/?p=211 ) To me, this machine much more seems to point to a breakthrough as a Windows license in this price regions really hurts the manufacturers and the buyers. If the EEE continues to sell so well, other devices will follow and people will become familiar with Linux which is not the command line beast that some people have in their memories. 13 years?

Linus predicted Linux world domination for 2010…. :-)

Seriously:

In addition to your story, don’t forget devices such as the EEE from Asus.

This little machine is selling like hot cakes, at least in Germany.

(bestselling notebook at Amazon.de, first shipment sold out, see here http://vale.homelinux.net/wordpress/?p=211 )

To me, this machine much more seems to point to a breakthrough as a Windows license in this price regions really hurts the manufacturers and the buyers. If the EEE continues to sell so well, other devices will follow and people will become familiar with Linux which is not the command line beast that some people have in their memories.

]]> By: Len Cain http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/comment-page-1/#comment-35 Len Cain Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:15:05 +0000 http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2007/12/03/dell-may-have-boosted-linuxs-share-of-os-usage/#comment-35 I think that in addition to Dell's effort to blaze a trail, the fact that Walmart offers (or offered until sold out) Linux units has some effect on the increased attention to the alternative operating system. These two giants not only offer legitimacy, but offer it to the 'average' consumer instead of just the geek crowd. I think that in addition to Dell’s effort to blaze a trail, the fact that Walmart offers (or offered until sold out) Linux units has some effect on the increased attention to the alternative operating system. These two giants not only offer legitimacy, but offer it to the ‘average’ consumer instead of just the geek crowd.

]]>