"Debunking the 1% Myth"

[MasterNetra]

http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2010/09...he-1-myth.html

"'There's nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it.' --William James

It seems like almost every day someone in the tech press or someone commenting in a technical forum will claim that Linux adoption on the desktop (including laptops) is insignificant. The number that is thrown around is 1%. These claims are even repeated by some who advocate for Linux adoption. Both the idea that Linux market share on the desktop is insignificant and the 1% figure are simply false and have been for many years.

Linux market share is not tiny. Linux and UNIX have held a majority share of the server room for over a decade. Linux is very competitive in embedded devices. It is also making great strides on the consumer and business desktop, which includes laptops, notebooks and netbooks.

Let's start with netbooks, the area where Linux has made the biggest inroads. According to ABI Research Linux regained 32% of the netbook market in 2009 despite being next to impossible to find in brick and mortar stores. That number did not include systems sold in dual boot configurations with both Windows and Linux. On such systems Windows is still considered to be the default operating system. ..."




"... Additional confirmation of the growth in Linux desktop market share last year came from an unlikely source: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Using a slide to visualize OS market share Ballmer had Linux desktop market share as a slightly larger slice of the pie than MacOS. Nobody considers Apple insignificant on the desktop and neither is Linux. Here is, in part, what Mr. Ballmer had to say about Linux on the desktop and the competition for Windows:

Linux, you could see on the slide, and Apple has certainly increased its share somewhat.
[...]

' I think depending on how you look at it, Apple has probably increased its market share over the last year or so by a point or more. And a point of market share on a number that's about 300 million is interesting. It's an interesting amount of market share, while not necessarily being as dramatic as people would think, but we're very focused in on both Apple as a competitor, and Linux as a competitor. '

Does anyone believe that Microsoft would see Linux as a serious competitor is Linux had captured just 1% of the market? That doesn't seem very likely, does it? All the figures I have quoted so far represent sales of systems preloaded with a given operating system: Windows, MacOS or Linux. They do not represent actual usage. ..."

[Bachstelze]

TL;DR

The only people who care about market share are marketers. The less we think like them, the better.

[MasterNetra]

TL;DR

The only people who care about market share are marketers. The less we think like them, the better.

It still is of importance, better market-share the more attractive linux becomes to software companies in general. And that's just for starters...

[kamaboko]

Not another Linux market share thread.

[MasterNetra]

Not another Linux market share thread.

Not quite, this thread is actually about a article which trys to debunk the 1% marketshare myth.

[blueturtl]

I find among enthusiasts Linux adoption is quite high. Typically so that if I look over people's shoulders during lectures at the university, I will witness the following ratio: of the notbooks present, half are PCs, half are Macs. Of the PCs, half don't run Windows. I am in the field of information technology though, so it is to be expected. However, these people will take their preferences to their jobs and eventually to their own businesses and so on. The neighborhood geeks more and more often use and support Linux, so slowly even the regular Joes do follow. For example my turning to Linux has led to increased adoption by my friends and family (who depend on me for support).

[Simian Man]

I see no reason to put any stock in the points you raise, especially when the 1% figure comes from several different sources. Get over it.

[Calash]

I see no reason to put any stock in the points you raise, especially when the 1% figure comes from several different sources. Get over it.

Care to post the sources? The OP posted his.

[MasterNetra]

I see no reason to put any stock in the points you raise, especially when the 1% figure comes from several different sources. Get over it.

Everything in my first post came from a article, I was sharing the article. While my stance maybe in favor of the article to a extent, the true purpose of this thread is sharing this article. And the author refer to several sources too. Though I think the 10% is a over estimate myself, but meh.

[Simian Man]

Care to post the sources? The OP posted his.

This mainly. If there are really that many Linux netbooks, then they must not be used for the web ever huh?

And I wouldn't rely on something Steve Ballmer said in a presentation.

Everything in my first post came from a article, I was sharing the article. While my stance maybe in favor of the article to a extent, the true purpose of this thread is sharing this article. And the author refer to several sources too. Though I think the 10% is a over estimate myself, but meh.

Right, I didn't mean to direct my comments at you.