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- darkchild, on 07/24/2008, -1/+23Out of curiosity, how did you arrive at the figure of 1% (or less) for the Linux market share? The reason I ask is that Linux is free as in cost and freedom, so without actual figures about the number of downloads and installations per user or organisations, on what basis can people accurately quantify Linux market share.
- lickmyback, on 07/24/2008, -0/+18The biggest problem with Linux is perception. People are so used to advertising and brand-imagery that they see that cute little penguin, read all the hype in the tech media and instantly think that Linux must be some software company trying to compete against Microsoft and Apple. Then when comparing operating systems they compare the aspects where commercial software is traditionally strong such as market share, usability and support. You're comparing two completely different things.
Linux HAS no marketing department, no shareholders, no financial interests, and those media snippets were not press releases. Nobody cares what market share Linux has except the fanboys who like to boast about how much it's risen in the past year. You can compare usability, aesthetics, and user interfaces until the cows come home but one thing Linux has that proprietary software will never have is an open-source licensing agreement, and if that means nothing to you then don't bitch about wireless drivers or graphics cards - just go use something else! If you don't care about open-source or GNU then you're ignoring the main reason to use and support Linux in the first place. Go home to your EULAs and customer support lines. - n0odles, on 07/24/2008, -2/+17FAIL blog is FAIL!
Diversity != divided. - iridesce, on 07/24/2008, -1/+11I run various distros on various machines -
Everyone I care about uses linux as the machines I work on have linux when I am done - part of the package ..
After that introduction, they rarely use Windows except at work ...
i appreciate your point, but really who cares if it just works ?? - Nintensity, on 07/24/2008, -2/+11I think "mediocre" is the wrong word. It may be mediocre to you because you lack the knowledge to use Linux efficiently.
- diggdiggdug, on 07/24/2008, -1/+915% of users that come to my website are Linux users. I do not host any linux articles or tutorials.
Linux desktop and server market share is very difficult to quantify and track.
Linux is freely available in numerous locations and since few companies sell Linux it cant be tracked by sales.
Month in and month out it has been rising steadily and quickly. I think you could take my figures as a randon sample.
Any other web hosts out there care to share figures from your websites. - highlymodified, on 07/24/2008, -1/+8Mostly, I'd like all my fellow Linux fanboys to join hands with the Apple crowd and kick the ***** out of Microsoft's stranglehold on the industry. 2 totally different target audiences need not argue amongst themselves, but start releasing totally cross-compatible everything to provide real competition.
Besides, Apple could really use the example of Linux's security and performance, while Linux needs to get more intuitive and user-friendly in the Apple tradition. - louiebaur, on 07/24/2008, -0/+6Yea it seems like it might be more
- diggdiggdug, on 07/24/2008, -0/+6here are the sources that this article refers to.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux#Market_share_an ...
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid= ...
Linux desktop and server market share is very difficult to quantify and track.
Linux is freely available in numerous locations and since few companies sell Linux it cant be tracked by sales.
15% of users that come to my website are Linux users. I do not host any linux articles or tutorials. - hockeyfighter09, on 07/24/2008, -0/+6If your hardware supports it Linux is probably the easiest of the 3 big OS out there right now. If more people discovered this they would be coming in flocks.
- highlymodified, on 07/24/2008, -0/+6I have no idea how one would calculate the market share of linux at 1%, especially with so many people who double-boot.
- atdigg, on 07/24/2008, -0/+5Even if 1% would be accurate it would still mean millions of users. Any product that has million of happy users is a stunning success. If it's free, even better!
- inactive, on 07/24/2008, -1/+4You can make fun of us linux people but as soon as you lay hands on our penguin the gloves come off.
- Schmich, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2As an outsider I would say it's mainly those with large mouths (hands?) who make it seem that the communities are divided from each other. By large mouths I mean those that are a fan of one distro and automatically just hate any other distros.
- doctorfungi, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Most people buy computers that come with Windows already installed. Windows also does everything the average Joe needs it to do and thus there is no need for them to use Linux.
The reason I'm not using Linux is because it isn't supported by the audio recording software and hardware that I use, and that it doesn't do anything I need that Window's doesn't. It'd just be illogical for me to use Linux. - msaleem, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2I bet a lot of it is just because people are lazy and don't want to be inconvienced. Until very recently most major hardware manufacturers didn't even offer a Linux option.
- inactive, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2dude its dual-boot
(still i dugg you for commen sense) - mahsah, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Well, I for one, don't want to use GNOME. So I don't use a distro that uses GNOME as its main desktop. I'm sure many people feel the same way, or vice-versa.
- murder1, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2People need to stop using the word sheeple.
- inactive, on 07/25/2008, -1/+3Because Linux SUXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.
Anywho, I think this fanboy ***** is starting to get a little out of control, we don't actually give a ***** that your mac can create interesting documents with the click of a one button mouse and not get any viruses, your windows computer can run anything, anywhere at anytime, then crash, burn and leave you gouging your eyes out in an alley somewhere or your Linux computer can run 462 different desktops at once and not run World of Warcraft.
To be honest it's all down to what you PREFER to use, people prefer to use macs because of simplicity, people love using linux because you can customize everything and people like me prefer using windows because I can't be arsed to get used ot a whole new system.
Please stop with the fanboy jibblejabble, it's extremely annoying and it makes me want to shoot myself in the neck with a blowdart. How would I shoot myself in the neck with a blow dart you ask? I don't know. - vault, on 07/25/2008, -0/+2Most users want as little learning curve as possible, never want to use the command line, and want to use what they already know- and that's windows at their job.
Unfortunate situation, but that's reality. - inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+2You are misinterpreting my post. Yes, you don't have to be a l33t h4x0r to install most programs or modify your system anymore. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is that the user interface, whether gnome or KDE, is a watered-down imitation of Mac or Windows that is inconsistent and unintuitive. No, it isn't *hard* to use, but it's not *good* either.
Users want something that is *good*. The design of OS X, and to a lesser extent, Windows, is *good*. It's not just passable, it's something that users genuinely like and have fun using.
And as far as applications go, name one program that's available on Linux that isn't available on Windows or Mac, that the average person would be interested in. Didn't think so. Now, do it the other way around.
People look forward to the new version of their operating system because they are interested in the ways that their company has made computing easier, more innovative, and cooler. These people would see something like Linux as a "downgrade" to their computer.
Linux is a techie OS. Always has been, and always will be, unless the Linux desktop experience can genuinely outpace Windows or OS X. - whataboutdave, on 07/24/2008, -3/+4Can we finally quit it with all the Dark Knight references?
Seriously folks. The movie came out last weekend. - dampfire, on 07/24/2008, -2/+3I actually agree. Coming from a NON-TECHNICAL stand point, im not sure tux was really made for anyone who isnt technical tho.
- subgeniusd, on 07/24/2008, -1/+2If you were talking about Linux 2004 or even 2005 I would agree with you and I in fact yelled about poor usability myself back then. But in the last few years with distros like Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS and a dozen others that assertion no longer applies.
Anyone able to work through a mild learning curve can use Linux in 2008 for practically any and all computer usage, both everyday stuff and advanced. - inactive, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1wow, yeah the quote doesn't really fit in. you're comparing linux users to crazy, homicidal sociopaths that's about to carve a smile into a black mafioso. yeah, the similarites are abundant.
- hockeyfighter09, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1That is what I think is holding so many people back from Linux. There's so many choices in the world of Linux that the Average Joe won't bother with it. They want everything spoon fed for there and everything to work right away.
- 3242130193, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1I disagree with a lot of the points in the article.
1. I've never had someone call me a noob for using Ubuntu, I've even known people that have had over a decade of experience with Linux recommend it over other distros like Debian.
2. A lot of people believe that only open source should be used, but not all. Again, Ubuntu has a number of programs that are closed source. If you want to use it, obviously you can, no one will stop you.
3. I don't have a clue where the author is coming from when people get ridiculed for customizing their desktop to look like Vista or OS X. I'm sure of course that there are situations where you can find things like this happening, but really, the majority of Linux users probably don't care and would even be pleased to see that you can do this cause it just means that the programs that they use are doing what they want them to and maybe with this progress they can better appeal to people recently "converted."
etc. etc.
Honestly, look at the Ubuntu forums - the majority of the support that I have seen from there has been entirely positive. Obviously if you do something stupid like make Slackware your first distro then you're doing something wrong, but this article is taking a 2000-2005ish type viewpoint on how Linux is perceived internally.
Whatever - the facts are available to everyone, you make your own decision. - Nintensity, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1One thing this article does not address is increase amount of exposure Linux systems are getting. Go to a major university and their main or engineering computer lab will have about 20% - 30% of the machines running Red Hat. Many research labs use Linux because of its versatility as both a workstation or a sever, at least in my field of study. There are software compatibility issues, but if you use the past decade as an indicator, more and more software companies are producing versions for both Windows and Linux. One Example: Matlab, excellent calculation and plotting tool used extensively in most engineering fields. In my experience, the biggest complainers about Linux are gamers. Linux sucks for gaming. But if you look at the deceasing sales for PC Games since 2002, this is becoming a non-issue. And remember, you cannot really compare Linux to Windows. You need to compare Windows to a distro for a given task. For example, if we are talking individual desktop pc? Compare Windows to ,say, Ubuntu. If we are talking severs or a network of computers for a business, compare Windows to Red Hat. The distros are developed with a specific purpose in mind.
- tbhurst, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1Seriously, why?
I know that was lame, but couldn't help it. - Lynx55, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1I personally am scared to death of Linux! All I read is that one must practically a PC tech in order to run it! If not, Linux has an image issue!
- innercr, on 12/09/2008, -0/+0Okay, I like using Linux, but prefer Windows XP and Windows apps. I hate the terminal and resent the way the apps need to be compiled from source. How and when will the Linux be improved to such a degree, when an average user like myself would not need to resort to endless typing and compiling? And don't get me started on package dependencies, the RPMs, DEBs, etc. These are the real, down to earth reasons why people at large won't adopt Linux - there's simply way too much work. And why all this work is needed if there's life to enjoy after you get things done quickly and easily with Windows? When Linux arrives at that juncture, I will gladly dump Microsoft, but until then, my time is way too valuable to expend on trying to get things and apps work in Linux. We need Mark Shuttleworth of Ubuntu to become the next "Steve Jobs" and get all this stuff to work seamlessly. By the way I'd rather pay for a mature, stable and complete OS than get "free", "free", "free" system with half-done components.
- Hellman109, on 07/25/2008, -1/+1See your wrong on one HUGE point:
Users care mainly about usability, second to that what 'experts' are saying. Just look at Vista (apparent 'experts' say its bad so people dont like it) and what they did with their Mojave test (called Vista Mojave to some Vista bashers, and 90% LIKED it). Perception is reality.
One great example. Girlfriend and I go shopping for a new laptop for her.
Whats the most important factor? CPU?RAM?Brand?GPU?HDD?Screen?
Nope, how 'tappidy tappidy' the keys were, I kid you not!
I dealth with everything bar that one CRITICAL factor. She seriously tried every keyboard of every laptop we looked at. Second to that was how it looked (couldnt be a flat white/black/grey/silver). - BeachHouseChris, on 07/25/2008, -1/+1I will explain why I have no interest in Linux. I am internet savvy and computer illiterate. I like my hardware to work with my software, straight out of the box. I don't know what a kernel is, nor do I need to know. I don't mind paying a little extra money to get an OS that does what I want it to do without any customization or hassle.
Here's an analogy. I want to fly from New York to Los Angeles. I don't need flight training to get there when Jet Blue does a good job doing it for me. - SamusAu, on 07/25/2008, -0/+0and the really horrid thing is the first three comments just play into what the post is about.
- MommaLu, on 07/24/2008, -8/+3Linux has a great product, especially when you compare it to Microsoft, but they just never marketed it to the sheeple in the free market.
- inactive, on 08/11/2008, -14/+6From a non-technical standpoint, there is nothing compelling or innovative about Linux. Mediocre software, a mediocre user interface, and mediocre ease of use...there is simply no reason why the average user would want to use Linux over Windows or OS X. Linux will never, ever, *ever* become a major player in the desktop market until developers get serious about creating an interface and software that truly rivals the proprietary offerings.
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