[vox] Linux No. 2?

[Ken Bloom]

On Fri, Aug 06, 2004 at 12:21:53PM -0700, Karsten M. Self wrote:
> on Fri, Aug 06, 2004 at 11:06:57AM -0700, Bill Kendrick (nbs at sonic.net) wrote:
> > On Fri, Aug 06, 2004 at 10:51:44AM -0700, Karsten M. Self wrote:
> > > Note too:  IDC is talking about "units".  AKA "units shipped".
> > <snip>
> > > We've got the classic counting problem going on here.
> > 
> > Exactly.
> > 
> > I never understood how accurately they can determine how many 'units'
> > of Linux are 'shipped', considering it's available freely off the 'net
> > from numerous sources.
> 
> That's easy:  you define "units" for the purposes of your report.  It's
> probably "units reported as shipped with preloaded Linux OS by the
> following vendors...".
> 
> But you'd have to buy their report and read just what that is.
> 
> I suspect they query major vendors (Dell, HP, IBM, etc.) and ask for
> counts.  That's going to hit a large portion of the _total_ market,
> though the Linux market tends to be served strongly by smaller
> "whitebox" vendors, both in desktops _and_ servers.
> 
> 
> There's similar problems with counting Windows.  There are a lot of
> shipments:
> 
>   - OS preloads.
>   - System rebuilds by major enterprises.
>   - Employee purchases.
>   - Promotional copies.
>   - Aftermarket sales.
>   - For the latter:  fresh install vs. "upgrade" versions.
> 
> Speaking as the guy who's had to "count" things for numerous industries,
> just settling on what it is your counting is no simple task.

So in general, we're probably doing better than that 6% figure.

>  
> > And it's not like we 'register' people with some official body
> > every time we have a successful install at an installfest...
> 
> No.  That's what makes this guessing game so much fun.
> 
> 
> Peace.
> 

I'm Registered Linux User #250585 (http://counter.li.org)
I think. It may have lapsed because I haven't updated in a while. (I
still use Debian on the same box)

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