Ubuntu PC sales skyrocket ..

[philinux]

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/11/ubuntu-pc-sales-skyrocket-in-2011

[sffvba[e0rt]

Interesting.


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[Eggnog]

The big question is whether Ubuntu remains on the laptops for use, or whether it is wiped clean, the drive re-formatted, and pirated Windows installed. Linux machines are probably a tad bit cheaper.

[Jakin]

The big question is whether Ubuntu remains on the laptops for use, or whether it is wiped clean, the drive re-formatted, and pirated Windows installed. Linux machines are probably a tad bit cheaper.

But atleast it gives a new owner a chance with the OS, where they might not ever of known about it otherwise. I think the average user just doesn't care what the OS is, as long as it's working.

Also if the user is "new" to computers in general- why should they be inclined to think another OS is better or easier; So, many will work with it, and like it, and use it.

[Lars Noodén]

The big question is whether Ubuntu remains on the laptops for use, or whether it is wiped clean, the drive re-formatted, and pirated Windows installed. Linux machines are probably a tad bit cheaper.

That's probably only an issue in Microsoft's marketing presentations. Plenty of machines with Windows pre-installed got wiped and replaced with legitimate copies of Linux, be it Ubuntu, Fedora or something else. It's going to get very interesting over the next few years as tablets also cut into PC sales and combine with this. MS is fully dependent on the monopoly rents they get from OEM sales, if the proportion of the market shared by Apple and Ubuntu gets large enough, those monopoly rents will no longer be supported and the bubble pops.

I look very much forward to being able to go into a store and buy off the shelf a machine that I know works with Linux. In the past, say with the Asus EEE, the Linux machines flew off the shelves.

[agy2154]

Dell said they were going to start to ship with Ubuntu preinstalled. That would be beast.

[Lars Noodén]

Dell said they were going to start to ship with Ubuntu preinstalled. That would be beast.

Dell's made claims to sell Linux before, but it was alway unavailable in practice. If it really happens though then that means a big victory. Do you have a good link to the announcement and or timeline?

[Mikeb85]

The big question is whether Ubuntu remains on the laptops for use, or whether it is wiped clean, the drive re-formatted, and pirated Windows installed. Linux machines are probably a tad bit cheaper.

It wouldn't be difficult for the techs to wipe the machine, install pirated Windows before the sale, up the price, and pocket the difference. Indeed quite a few Chinese companies do exactly this.

I wouldn't be surprised if there actually is a market for Ubuntu, it's a great system. Everyone I know who has seen it is quite interested...

[KiwiNZ]

"Ubuntu to account for 9% of the total PC shipments by 2014", the claim should have been backed by hard evidence and the marketing regime that will be used to bring about that quantum shift if anything in his presentation is to be believed as anything more than pie in the sky.

At 9% it would mean Ubuntu being shipped on circa 45,000,000 units per year by 2014, on current independent market analysis I find his figures unbelievable.

[Copper Bezel]

Yeah, we're getting into the realm of just making up numbers that sound impressive here. Or, perhaps, a bit of this:

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/extrapolating.png

[Mikeb85]

"Ubuntu to account for 9% of the total PC shipments by 2014", the claim should have been backed by hard evidence and the marketing regime that will be used to bring about that quantum shift if anything in his presentation is to be believed as anything more than pie in the sky.

At 9% it would mean Ubuntu being shipped on circa 45,000,000 units per year by 2014, on current independent market analysis I find his figures unbelievable.

China and India alone account for 2+ billion people in this world. With the rate of entrepreneurship, tech startups, etc..., happening in emerging markets, especially China, India, SE Asia and Africa, it could definitely happen.

45 million personal computers is a stretch, but if you count computers used for business, schools, etc...(which you should, as they're not servers or tablets/phones) in developing markets, I think it's pretty realistic.

A related fact (though doesn't have to do specifically with Ubuntu) is that despite RIM being thrashed in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, they're still growing and increasing their user base. Thanks to developing markets.

[KiwiNZ]

China and India alone account for 2+ billion people in this world. With the rate of entrepreneurship, tech startups, etc..., happening in emerging markets, especially China, India, SE Asia and Africa, it could definitely happen.

45 million personal computers is a stretch, but if you count computers used for business, schools, etc...(which you should, as they're not servers or tablets/phones) in developing markets, I think it's pretty realistic.

A related fact (though doesn't have to do specifically with Ubuntu) is that despite RIM being thrashed in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, they're still growing and increasing their user base. Thanks to developing markets.

RIM increased by 1.5% points not exactly stellar, and where the growth was gathered to bottom line was a loss due to heavy discounting.

[Mikeb85]

RIM increased by 1.5% points not exactly stellar, and where the growth was gathered to bottom line was a loss due to heavy discounting.

Considering the loss in market share in developed economies and their current product offering, I think they did alright.

I spend some time this summer in a few 3rd world countries, the 'must have' phones were Blackberries, which retailed for $300-600 Canadian (after exchange rate).

Anyhow, back to my premise...

Despite not having running water or reliable power, the areas I was in were surprisingly well-connected, with most households having at least 1 laptop connected to the internet, and a data-capable phone.

While the profit potential might not be fully developed, getting emerging economies into certain ecosystems is going to be very important, and will offer huge potential growth.

Although I won't be able to attend this http://www.cmtevents.com/aboutevent.aspx?ev=120636 , I've been interested in what's been going on in Myanmar for awhile now. I've also been looking at setting up a business in Guyana and elsewhere in the Caribbean, as I have some contacts down there.

Anyhow, there's plenty of other compelling stories in various developing countries, tons of room for growth. 45 million seems like alot in already saturated markets, but with the entrepreneurial spirit that exists in developing countries, coupled with the need for technology and the rapidly developing infrastructure, offers great potential (Guyana for instance, despite only have dirt roads in many parts, no public services, etc..., is well connected with WiMAX networks and internet cafés are as ubiquitous as convenience stores are here).

And I will say, for the level of industrial development in these countries, they are incredibly tech-savvy, and understand that by using technology they can drastically improve their business models, and their level of development, by leap-frogging the entire industrialization process that the West went through.

Solar panels, mobile water sanitation, wireless internet, and now things like portable 3D printing will enable entire communities to be connected and offer the potential to set up viable businesses.

These things are happening now, I've personally seen it, if Ubuntu is a part of it they could easily reach MS' goals, and very quickly. Having a small-business ready OS (key is small - however unsuitable Ubuntu may be for large enterprises, it's perfecly suitable for startups) that's free is very, very compelling to a huge part of the world.

[mr john]

I've been using Ubuntu since breezy in 2006 (possibly late 2005 I don't know). Since then I've seen alot of these threads.

This will be the year of Linux on the desktop because Vista sucks
This will be the year of Linux on the desktop because Netbooks have Linux
This will be the year of Linux on the desktop because Android is Linux
This will be the year of Linux on the desktop because Steam is coming to Linux
This will be the year of Linux on the desktop because Dell is building Linux machines

This will be the year of Linux on the desktop because of the Chromebook (actually not much for this one)

Yes, these are good steps... But I'm yet to see Ubuntu or other distros really crack the market. Apple succeeded to crack the market and get into the mainstream but Ubuntu has to do something really special to become the next Apple or Microsoft. It could happen, but they need to bring the bloggers, twitters, facebook and tv media into the mix to get people talking.

[Primefalcon]

year of linux... linux is dead....

both bs... we're getting steady growth... and thats the best kind