Re: Linux Users
On Thu, 2003-05-01 at 11:42, Kevin McKinley wrote:
> On Thu, 01 May 2003 12:32:15 +0100
> "John Bright" <jbrightest@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I am doing an article for my college newsletter where I have to write
> > something about "The Evolution of Linux". I need to support my paper with
> > numbers in favor of Linux as compared to solaris or other flavors of unix.
>
> Others will suggest places to get numbers (I hope).
>
> If there's room in your article you might make the point that numbers aren't
> very reliable for showing the number of users for various operating systems.
>
> In the Windows world, numbers of licenses are used and since just about
> every computer is sold with a Windows license, everybody is a Windows user
> (according to Microsoft).
>
> OTOH in the Linux world sales figures are useless, since anyone can buy one
> boxed set and install any number of copies. In fact you can download most
> Linux distributions and install any number of copies.b
>
> I count as about five Windows users even though I don't have much use for
> Windows. I have Linux installed on several systems but they don't get
> counted.
>
> The people who use Linux the most are the ones least likely to buy it
> (they're technically proficient enough that they don't need the
> hand-holding); they are also the ones least likely to register each box with
> the Linux Counter.
To reinforce:
Any old PC that was used for years with Win98, but is woefully
inadequate for 2000 or XP, and is resurrected as a Linux-based
file and print server, firewall, web and mail server isn't counted
as Linux, but as Windows.
Note that these boxes may have been converted to Linux by lower-
level technicians unbeknown to upper management. Thus, surveys
sent out by research companies totally under-estimate Linux
penetration in the market.
--
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| Ron Johnson, Jr. Home: ron.l.johnson@cox.net |
| Jefferson, LA USA http://members.cox.net/ron.l.johnson |
| |
| An ad currently being run by the NEA (the US's biggest |
| public school TEACHERS UNION) asks a teenager if he can |
| find sodium and *chloride* in the periodic table of the |
| elements. |
| And they wonder why people think public schools suck... |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
Reply to: