Just one Quick Question..

[Spud1200]

Hello,

Just woundering how Poular Linux, any Distro acutally is.. Linux it self being Open Source unlink Windows you dont have too fork out your hard earnd Cash and as Far as im aware has a Big Following.. Is this Rite and can anyone Give any Percentage on the Microsoft, Linux Domination in the Market?

Chears Spud1200..

 

[kmote]

Getting accurate figures for this is not going to be possible. The number of Linux installs may be more than the number of times it has been downloaded, or it may be less.
Having said that I don't think anyone would object to the following statements:
1) Linux is the third most popular desktop OS (though Linux is not strictly an OS) with maybe 2-5% of the market
2) Windows is the most popular desktop OS with almost 90% of the market
3) Linux probably has a better share in the server market, a total guess on my part would put it at maybe 15%
4) Linux is also used in some appliances (network equipment, set top boxes, etc), phones, and other devices (maybe in a few robots, for example)

 

[MindoverMaster]

Agreed, Linux is not very much used for home use. Some do use it, yes, but the majority is used in business servers.

 

[patonb]

Linux is used in home situations. Alot of netbooks run it to keep costs down, and to keep the install foot print small.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Yes, but not as much as 1 million servers running it.

 

[Jayce]

Linux did things backwards from Windows. When Windows came out, it was a desktop OS that adapted to server platforms. Linux came out for servers and adapted as a desktop OS.

Linux certainly isn't Mr. Popular when compared to the usage Windows has, but it surprises me how many random situations I got myself into where I had a Linux conversation with a complete stranger. The most memorable was in Best Buy when an elderly customer was asking the employee why in the world don't more people use it because he thought Ubuntu was that much better than Windows. To my surprise, the employee even agreed... turns out he was a Linux user as well. Imagine that?

We're out there - just not in as high of numbers as Windows people. (yet)

 

[KSoD]

The main issue is this. Windows is made for the dumbest of people. I mean just about anyone can start up a PC running any version of Windows and be able to figure out how to use it. 99% of the software out there is made for Windows and it is as simple as download, click install and click okay and away you go.

For Linux you have to know various things. How to mount a drive, sudo apt get install, propritary drivers and so on. People dont know that at least 75% of the software they use and pay for has a Open Source brother that they can use for free.

*NIX isnt made to be plug and play like Windows. You have to know and understand a PC just a little bit in order to be able to use it. That is not the case when it comes to Windows which is what makes it so user friendly. Which is why it is at the top right now. It is cost effective and user friendly. Any grandparent can buy a laptop, turn it on and use Windows without ever having touched a PC before. That is not the case if Ubuntu was installed. They might have to do some stuff with sudo, or find Flash for it or whatever it maybe. The newer versions of Ubuntu are getting close, but still it will be hard to topple Microsoft from the idiot friendly market that it has obtained.

*Note* I may say somethings about how Windows is not made for the brightest of the bunch, that doesnt mean everyone. That is for those people who have no clue about what a PC is or how to even turn it on let alone use it.

 

[TieFighter]

I enjoy lighting things on fire, so I like to use Ubuntu.

I suppose there are better reasons to go with one OS or another, like how Windows distributions use of file allocation tables (in FAT, FAT32 and NTFS) and storage space on hard drives as opposed to Linux's variable size blocks used in ext3 or ext4, which are more efficient, so you never have to defragment your hard drive. Ever.

More software is designed for Windows, especially games. This is the main reason that Linux is less popular today.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Yet, you could use VirtualBox and run Windows. But the brightest would not know to do that. We can fight back and forth all day, but in the end, Windows has the largest popularity for end users.

 

[KSoD]

Im not even going to get into the file tables or anything. As i said, Windows is made for dummies. Anyone can use it with little to no PC knowledge. This can not be said of *NIX. That is the whole story right there.