Windows Up, Mac OS X Down, Linux Down

[cap10Ibraim]

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-Up-Mac-OS-X-Down-Linux-Down-136414.shtml


Windows 7 has managed to breathe new life into Microsoft’s share on the operating system market. For the first time in the last six months, Windows’ market share got a small bump, and an unusual break from an otherwise constant and downward trajectory. According to statistics made available by net Applications, the overall usage share of Windows jumped from 92.00% in January 2010 to 92.12% in February. Although the increase in market share is of just 0.12%, it does come as a natural consequence to Windows 7 having been deemed the fastest selling operating system in history.



Also between January and February 2010, Apple saw the usage share of Mac OS X trip, and go down from 5.16% to 5.02%. The Cupertino-based hardware company has seen a steady increase of Mac OS X’s market share over the past years, much to the detriment of Windows. Of course, there have been various exceptions to the rule, such as October 2009.

The month that brought with it the General Availability of Windows 7 was equivalent to an OS X drop from 5.27% to 5.12%. Since then, OS X never managed to get up to the 5.27% http://news.softpedia.com/images/newsrsz/Windows-Up-Mac-OS-X-Down-Linux-Down-3.jpg (http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Windows-Up-Mac-OS-X-Down-Linux-Down-3.jpg/)
http://www.softpedia.com//base_img/tb_zoom.gif (http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Windows-Up-Mac-OS-X-Down-Linux-Down-3.jpg/) high, while, much to the contrary, it is now on the verge of going back under the 5% mark.

Linux too lost a bit of usage share, from 1.02% to 0.98%. But, of course, Linux has been stagnating around the 1%-market-share milestone for years now, and it appears that the open source operating system has hit a dead end.

Meanwhile, Windows 7 is less than a month away from breaking the 10%-market-share mark. The OS climbed from 7.57% in January to 8.92% in the past month. But, of course, any growth for Windows 7 translates into lost share for Vista (down from 17.47% to 16.51% in the past two months) and for Windows XP, now at just 65.49% of the market.

[Swagman]

Statistics.. Gotta love em.

Can make em say whatever you want.

I'm buying a Samsung Laptop later this month that comes with Win 7 UberCrap version.

It wont be used. Ubuntu will be installed on it. So how do the figures prove what anyone elses computer will be running ?

[sydbat]

Statistics.. Gotta love em.

Can make em say whatever you want.

I'm buying a Samsung Laptop later this month that comes with Win 7 UberCrap version.

It wont be used. Ubuntu will be installed on it. So how do the figures prove what anyone elses computer will be running ?This.

[RabbitWho]

I don't Microsoft give a shite if we use the products once we pay for them.

[sydbat]

I don't Microsoft give a shite if we use the products once we pay for them.And this.

[KiwiNZ]

Widows 7 has already passed the 90million mark ( http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10462130-56.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0 )

Not bad considering it was only released October 22 ,2009.

[swoll1980]

Statistics.. Gotta love em.

Can make em say whatever you want.


You know that 94.35% of all statistics are made up on the spot?

[Nevon]

Huh? But looking at those stats, the windows marketshare would have dropped by 1.4%. Linux would have dropped by 7.5%, whereas Mac usage would have actually increased by roughly 8%.


>>> (93.45-92.12)/93.45
0.014232209737827697
>>> (1.06-0.98)/1.06
0.075471698113207614
>>> (4.64-5.02)/4.64
-0.081896551724137914

EDIT: Maybe I should clarify. Obviously Apple didn't take 8 additional percent of the overall marketshare. They just increased their own marketshare by 8%, going from 4.64% to 5.02% in that time period. The same thing goes for the other ones as well.

[phrostbyte]

Microsoft is on a roll. They even made $666 million dollars in profit last quarter, shocking investors. :D But seriously it was this best quarter ever.

Interestingly they announced additional layoffs. There goes the "trickle down" theory of economics. :lolflag:

[Giant Speck]

The world is coming to an end.

Also, in before "Microsoft is bribing the statistics companies."

[yester64]

You know, someone said once 'trust only statistic you faked yourself'.

That said, yes it is evident that Linux will always be around the 1% of overall usage.
I do not think that it will change in the future.
Windows rules and you can wine about it or not, but fact is fact.
Mac's are a competitor to Windows, but since it is tight to hardware it will not outcompete Windows. It's more a lifestyle.

The truth is, you can argue about statistics but in essence they are true and reflect the market. If it would be otherwise more companies would develop more apps for Linux.
Windows improves over time and if you followed Windows over the years, it speaks to it self.
There was a lot of talk before the release of 7 in the way MS changed developement. It has paid off so far i assume.

[swoll1980]

Mac should release a IBM compatible version of their OS.

[Alexandre Putt]

This is nonsense, because the magnitude of change is too small to be significant. A 0.12% difference is probably just measurement error. In fact, if you make a couple of assumptions, you can compute the standard deviation and compare it with this. (I am too lazy to do this myself)

[prodigy_]

Softpedia is a site that makes money advertising shareware for Windows. What kind of article did the OP expect, I wonder...

[ikt]

Softpedia is a site that makes money advertising shareware for Windows. What kind of article did the OP expect, I wonder...

They have a section for linux

http://linux.softpedia.com/

Regardless they're just reporting on the stats from Net Applications

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_Applications


Net Applications measures browser usage by tracking the machines that visit the 40,000 sites it monitors for clients, which results in a pool of about 160 million unique visitors per month.

[NightwishFan]

Statistics mean nothing. When Vista came out they counted Xp sales as Vista since they forced vendors to use the Windows Vista Business license when it was sold.

[prodigy_]

They have a section for linux
I know. They want as many hits as possible. Yet, the very idea of a free open-source OS (with an adequate set of free utilities available from software repositories) makes sites like Softpedia obsolete.

Worse yet, Linux isn't a perspective market for shareware crap, regardless of the usage share it has. Simply because Linux already has everything it needs for free. And GPL won't allow to close the sources in the future.


Regardless they're just reporting on the stats from Net Applications
Yeah, yeah. And of course they aren't gloating. Not at all.

[ikt]

Yeah, yeah. And of course they aren't gloating. Not at all.

Erm no?

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/03/firefox-may-never-hit-25-percent-market-share.ars


Data source: Net Applications

Net applications is pretty much the standard as far as usage statistics go.

[TheLions]

How about this statistics
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp ?

[mickie.kext]

Even Steve Balmer knows that Linux has 5% of desktop. He said that to M$'s shareholders.

[samh785]

Even Steve Balmer knows that Linux has 5% of desktop. He said that to M$'s shareholders.
Can I have a source so I can bookmark this? I'd really appreciate it :D

[Kai69]

Yep people are flocking to buy W7 because XP is dead in a few years and Vista virus users want to buy something that looks like Vista. Just wait until they realise its the same.
BTW thank you Microsoft for my free pirate copy of W7 Ultimate :tongue:

[Zoot7]

BFD.

There's less than a percentage of a difference between the values this month and last month for all for them, with what is more than likely a rather limited sample size considering all.
Anyway, Windows 7 is bound to grow at the expense of XP and Vista. And Mac and Linux have hovered where they are now for a very long time indeed.

Yawn....

EDIT:

Even Steve Balmer knows that Linux has 5% of desktop. He said that to M$'s shareholders.
1 in 20 desktops running Linux eh? Hardly a probable scenario by any measure.

[AlanR8]

Can't believe that between 90 and 95 percent of the market, depending on your stats guru, are prepared to accept a virus infected, or vulnerable environment, and PAY for the privilege!

The psychologists would have a field day with those stats when looking at real life choices!

[murderslastcrow]

There's no doubt Windows 7 will sell more than Vista, either because of Vista users who are sick of Vista but don't want to use something 9 years old, and won't use Linux for a plethora of reasons (what is it? Is it hard? Does it run my favorite program? Do I have to install it myself? etc.).

And the lowered memory usage and rebranding certainly won't hurt it, I gather. I know a lot of people who blush with embarrassment when they have to say, "yeah, I use Vista," so a lot of people are being coaxed into the marketing hype and actually feel bad that they "let themselves get suckered into using Vista," and it becomes a social deterrent.

Microsoft is in a good position to manipulate people, even if the public trusts them so little. They feel trapped, and this isn't a good thing, but it is good for their sales.

But don't expect users to be blown away by Windows 7, because they aren't for the most part. After the first few weeks, they realize it's just good ol' Windows and very little has changed. Some people are comfortable that way, like they're comfortable with Qwerty, comfortable with fossil fuels, comfortable with doc format from 2003, etc.

I think Vista was brilliant as a long-term strategy, since it makes people feel, today, that they must "move on," from Vista, and so obviously that would also mean XP. However, I think this strategy can work very well for us, and for Apple as well, since people might re-evaluate just what it is they want out of their computer.

[JDShu]

I also can't imagine there being 1 Linux computer out of every 20. I'm also quite trusting of these statistics, as I am under the assumption that the trackers are on a diverse range of websites. I also don't see much significant change in market share of Linux computers. I would be really happy if I was wrong about this.

That said, I see Linux adoption as a long term thing. With my tech savvy generation and younger, everybody has the ability to adapt to any computer so training is no longer an issue. Already, hardware companies are providing immense support for Linux compared to a couple years back. In addition, as certain key programs such as the GIMP and Open Office become more polished, the reasons to use Windows may vanish entirely.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to Linux adoption becoming mainstream is emerging economies like China and India. They represent a great opportunity, but at the same time their increasing clout will make it significant if they choose to use Windows. Piracy plays a part in this.

[jrothwell97]

Can't believe that between 90 and 95 percent of the market, depending on your stats guru, are prepared to accept a virus infected, or vulnerable environment, and PAY for the privilege!!
*sigh*
1. Windows is not, by definition, virus-infested any more than a slice of bacon has, by definition, gone mouldy.
2. It's only vulnerable if you're stupid, i.e. not allowing Windows Update to run, disabling UAC, installing software that logs your keystrokes in exchange for free smileys, etc. etc.
3. Usually it's preinstalled anyway, so if you do pay for the privilege you don't notice.


But don't expect users to be blown away by Windows 7, because they aren't for the most part. After the first few weeks, they realize it's just good ol' Windows and very little has changed. Some people are comfortable that way, like they're comfortable with Qwerty, comfortable with fossil fuels, comfortable with doc format from 2003, etc.

I think Vista was brilliant as a long-term strategy, since it makes people feel, today, that they must "move on," from Vista, and so obviously that would also mean XP. However, I think this strategy can work very well for us, and for Apple as well, since people might re-evaluate just what it is they want out of their computer.

Vista was an interesting OS, because it did have its heart in the right place - it saw the (partial) implementation of a proper permissions system, deprecation of outdated technology, a compositing window manager, etc. etc. The trouble was that it was rushed out of the door, having been delayed due to Microsoft's obsession with copying/going after Apple, Google, Sony etc. in practically every activity they did. (Hence, you have the Zune, Bing, Windows Live, and about a million different rehashes of the old Windows Mobile interface.)

In this way, Karmic sort of has echoes of it: it was one of the most major changes under the hood that Ubuntu has seen, but in the end it was also rather unstable and the new tech wasn't quite ready for everyone. 7 fixed most of this, and introduced additional improvements - and it seems Lucid will do the same.


I also can't imagine there being 1 Linux computer out of every 20. I'm also quite trusting of these statistics, as I am under the assumption that the trackers are on a diverse range of websites. I also don't see much significant change in market share of Linux computers. I would be really happy if I was wrong about this.
I think the 1-in-20 computers stat might be correct, but consider this: if you have Linux, you're more likely to own multiple computers, some of which may have Linux (or Windows, or Mac OS X, or any combination of the three) installed. So the figure may be right, but overall it may be a bit misleading if you want to estimate the total Linux user base.


That said, I see Linux adoption as a long term thing. With my tech savvy generation and younger, everybody has the ability to adapt to any computer so training is no longer an issue.
Not everyone. You'd be surprised how many people are clueless if they're shown anything out of the ordinary. That's not their fault, it's just they've only ever used a few computers and have been led to treat them as black boxes.

[matchett808]

1 in 20 computers running linux.......ok, i can easily see that.......but - before i started using linux exclusively, out of the people that I knew used a computer (and i knew thier os) I could imagine this.....now I have switched a fair few people so within my "personal radius" I would say that stat. is a bit higher....

i would definately trust w3's stats over the other place......I would also like to add that somewhere like google (and os independent service, and one that trust a heck of alot more than the op's source...) would be extremely important, I can bet that 90% of us don't even visit the "40,000 sites" of wich probably 35% are hosted by microsoft them selves and the other 65% are antivirus companies......just my two pennies....but I hate these stats (the ones that are only 1%) as they are so obviously wrong....

my personal 'guess' for something for google to report it:
windows: 70%
linux: 12.5%
mac 11%
android, symbian, and all the others: 6.5%

but hey....I'm only making those stats up....




EDIT: you know I sound like a troll but i'm not flamebaiting, I seriously think that those companies are in balmers pocket!

[mickie.kext]

Can I have a source so I can bookmark this? I'd really appreciate it :D
Ballmer showed this slide to investors:
http://www.osnews.com/img/21035/ballmermacs.png

Left cake, purple is Linux and blue is Apple. Notice that Linux has more than Apple.

http://www.osnews.com/story/21035/Ballmer_Linux_Bigger_Competitor_than_Apple

It could be possible that Ballmer over exaggerating Linux market share a little bit in purpose of making investors scared and willing to give more money for fighting against Linux.

But Linux still has at least 3%.

[hobo14]

Statistics.. Gotta love em.

Can make em say whatever you want.

I'm buying a Samsung Laptop later this month that comes with Win 7 UberCrap version.

It wont be used. Ubuntu will be installed on it. So how do the figures prove what anyone elses computer will be running ?

Make those statistics say something positive about Linux.

[PC_load_letter]

Statistics.. Gotta love em.

Can make em say whatever you want.

I'm buying a Samsung Laptop later this month that comes with Win 7 UberCrap version.

It wont be used. Ubuntu will be installed on it. So how do the figures prove what anyone elses computer will be running ?

Exactly! All my computers that I use now came with Windows preinstalled. The first thing I do when I buy a new computer is nuke the Windows partition and install Ubuntu. I own 4 computers right now, so you can count those off the Windows column.

Why do I buy them w/ Windows, you ask. Because they are cheaper, or I can get more flexibility configuring them with Windows than Linux.

I'm disgusted at the way PC makers bend over backwards for MS, but I don't think anything will change in a radical way anytime soon. Maybe Canonical can think about a way to count the number of users, say via the downloading of updates or something.

[juancarlospaco]

You dont understand...
is because a PC with Linux installed becomes a SuperComputer and stay out of the statistic.

Like others SuperComputers and the entire Internet Servers and MID devices and SmartPhones and the Bing Servers and ... and ... and ... and my toaster.

[Megrimn]

blah. All cheap trends come to an end. It's why most of us no longer wear mullets and beehive hair.

[edit] some people are still making the transition, though.

[handy]

You know that 94.35% of all statistics are made up on the spot?

How do you know? :lolflag:

[handy]

No way there is 5% Linux usage in my country town. There are approx' 5000 residents here in the wider area, & probably about 5 Linux users, 4 of which are keeping it a secret, which is pretty hard in a small country town.

[JDShu]

Not everyone. You'd be surprised how many people are clueless if they're shown anything out of the ordinary. That's not their fault, it's just they've only ever used a few computers and have been led to treat them as black boxes.

I'm sure they exist, but the younger generation in the developed world is becoming increasingly adept with technology, and this trend is accelerating.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Why is there so much emphasis on the number of desktop users in the Linux community?

When there is a problems, do companies like Red Hat or Canonical address the problems of individual or corporations first? I have a cluster at work with 75 quad core processors running Red Hat with a paid license for maintenance and support. Compare that to my home laptop. Who do you think will get their problem resolved? Me as a home computer user or me as a manager at a big corporation?

There are a lot more Linux systems running in corporations than the home desktop user figures by themselves would suggest.

Enjoy the fact that many corporations use Linux, and are facing the same problems we as desktop users face. Companies like Red Hat and Canonical are working to solve those problems. We all benefit from those fixes.

I personally think that focusing on the market share of home computers distorts the big picture.

[flyingsliverfin]

I'm sure they exist, but the younger generation in the developed world is becoming increasingly adept with technology, and this trend is accelerating.

im not sure... when u mean adept do u mean just using apps like oo and gimp and firefox or actual system stuff???

i know 1 other person that uses ubuntu, but no1 else in my school of 600 (cant pretend to know them all though) is extremely computer-literate.

i think its like the poor and rich gap growing in places:

a few of the people know what they're doing really well, half of the remaining know how to use internet and other apps, and the other half are completely in-adept..

the other day i had to explain how do use email-attatchments to about 10 people in a 2-hour period. :D

[sandyd]

you know, the funny thing is that where linux has 1% on the pc os market, palm/linux has 3% on mobile devices :P

[aklo]

I used linux for 3months now , although i'm on dual boot i boot into ubuntu 95% of the time.

I must say that windows is still the easiest and most userfriendly os. Not because that everybody uses window and they are not familiar with linux...linux has some problems with how things work. Although it doesn't affect me too much but i know to do some things on linux, it requires knowledge of the command line or sometimes even more.

Call those people lazy but not everybody is interested to learn more, they just want to use them, double click and install.

Example, getting the latest software from a website, if i'm on windows i just click and install. For linux, if it is not in the repositories you got to either compile it yourself or have to figure out where to place the folder of the software/ how to configure it to work for you.

As for games, i don't see diablo3/starcraft 2 coming to linux anytime and trust me when the games are out, i'm going back to windows (for games) till i get tired of it.

[handy]

I agree that windows is easier than Linux, though OS X, is much easier than windows.

[NightwishFan]

I agree. Lack of a widely used universal software install method is a big hurdle for common users. However in my opinion, repositories are WAY more user friendly, useful, flexible and secure than any .exe file.

[23dornot23d]

Only statistics ...... that need to keep changing in favour of Linux .....

How many Pc's supplied with Linux installed are changing to Windows
How many Pc's supplied with Windows Installed are changing to Linux

__________________________________________________ __________
Then compare the two percentages against each other and advertise it ....

Mac ... ? these are just right for the people that use them ....... so no problem
__________________________________________________ __________

So you know that 94.35% of all statistics are made up on the spot?

30 % of young people that use linux prefer linux .....
( Because its fast and graphically more interesting than Windows and has fewer games )

17 % of retired people prefer windows .......
( They spend a lot of their days looking out of them - waiting for their computers to get to a state where they can play scrabble on them without wanting to throw them out of the Windows ........ a lot now use firefox within windows for lots of things ..... how do you use that as a percentage ,,,, )

5 % of people with more money than sense prefer mac .........
( Because they do not need to be shown how to use them - they possibly already know everything there is to know about everything ........ )

48 % of all people have no need to use computers .... but they have them anyhow for playing games ...... when they are bored ?

Now why would Linux want to get into the Brain Dead Syndrome of wasting hours
of peoples time on pointless games ....... when Windows can do that job .......
(52% of them which appear to have no useful or moral values ....)
__________________________________________________ ___________

Linux creates the greatest increase in personal computer knowledge and intelligence while also using good moral values ......
........ Fact .......... why worry ....... ?

The competition has already been won .... Linux does not have to loose its principals .....
to get a bigger market share .......
My personal opinion why Windows wins ,,,,, GAMES ...... read the threads ....

some Windows users concerns ....... we can't play (so and so) ? ..... even older people I talk to ..... same reasons
plus there aMSN does not quite work the same in Linux ........ not as many fancy nudges etc ....

Not many games on Linux ... oh well ... we may have to start learning something useful now ..... :lolflag:

Of course not everybody uses Windows for games ....

[handy]

Mac ... ? these are just right for the people that use them ....... so no problem

Even if they primarily use Linux on them. :)



So you know that 94.35% of all statistics are made up on the spot?

Who do you think made up that statistic? ;)



30 % of young people that use linux prefer linux .....
( Because its fast and graphically more interesting than Windows and has fewer games )

I would never say that!



17 % of retired people prefer windows .......
( They spend a lot of their days looking out of them - waiting for their computers to get to a state where they can play scrabble on them without wanting to throw them out of the Windows ........ )

You may become a little more sensitive to older people as you get older yourself?



5 % of people with more money than sense prefer mac .........
( Because they do not need to be shown how to use them - they possibly already know everything there is to know about everything ........ )

Well, you picked me straight out, no questions asked.

Except I use Arch Linux on my Mac & avoid OS X.



48 % of all people have no need to use computers .... but they have them anyhow for playing games ...... when they are bored ?

I'd recommend a PS3, especially since the dramatic price drop; the PS3 now costs about as much as a worthwhile graphics card & allows Linux users to play games without the limitations & hassles that are still inherent in the Linux system.

Perhaps by the time the PS3 becomes redundant technology Linux will have picked up its game, so to speak... :)

[NightwishFan]

New ps3 will not support installing Linux. It still is a great system in it's own right though.

[howlingmadhowie]

I don't Microsoft give a shite if we use the products once we pay for them.

au contraire. microsoft doesn't care if we pay for their products so long as we use them. didn't gates once say that piracy was the best thing that ever happened to microsoft or words to that effect?

[Khakilang]

All those statistic is not important to me. Now if there is a statistic of virus attack on Windows, Mac OS and Linux, I really will like to have a look.

[handy]

New ps3 will not support installing Linux. It still is a great system in it's own right though.

Yes, I agree, they dropped a number of peripheral features, like older playstation support (though some say it never worked properly anyway?) & flash card support.

Though for that price drop ($200- + here in Oz) you get a smaller & more energy efficient black box.

From what I read, the Linux support wasn't really worth having anyway, as it was slow & most likely impeded by the RAM size limitation.


I bought a PS3 recently, & I must say, the system is incredibly polished, & has taken the stress out of Linux & the difficulty associated with games altogether.

My No.2. box would have had to have had a great deal more than the cost of the PS3 to make it game-able beyond its AGP slot, even though the thing is a quite powerful Athlon64 3500+ / 2GB RAM / 7950GT/512MB bit of gear.

The PS3 was the cheap way out for me, as No.2. is still a VERY useful piece of hardware.

[ElSlunko]

90 million? That's nuts! Cha ching.

[a8jr]

All those statistic is not important to me. Now if there is a statistic of virus attack on Windows, Mac OS and Linux, I really will like to have a look.


AGREE :p
How could my computer is able to be "commanded" by other people rather than myself? How could those programs run in the background without my permission? How could im being block for this and that, for a reason that I can't understand?

Surely, windows has violate the most basic ethic of software engineering... that software is for the good of user and not for the good of the creator.

I dont care if ubuntu is being sold or if it is free to get. that one point of ethic is more important than the price of the software. anyway because ubuntu is free, then it is priceless
TOTALLY AGREE WITH UBUNTU PHILOSOPHY ;)

Windows win on statistic simply because of time, it starts first being an OS before linux did it. well, there is always time.

[the8thstar]

The statistics don't mean anything if we don't know how many more PCs have been sold during that period, and with what OS onboard.

That's just FUD, FUD and more FUD.

[MisfitI38]

Unbelievable that so many are still following the "GNU/Linux on the desktop" carrot.

[ramjitmyrtle]

well, i do believe that the M$ sales really sky rocketed because most of the system have M$ OS with them... more people buy the system more sale for M$... though the are systems with no OS installed... but people wants to buy the ready to use system and that could explain why they get a lot of money... and most people thinks FOSS is hard to use... maybe it's time to promote FOSS to people...