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Its about the market share.

Posted by tomi30 on · 25 comments
www.idreamoflinux.com; By tuxxie 		Mail this story
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The market share of an OS is important. The larger the market share the more companies take notice and create products for the platform.

Some people argue that the market share of an OS is not very important and that we should not try to switch people over to GNU/Linux. They argue that the GNU/Linux project is fine with the small market share it currently has. According to me, the market share of an OS is very crucial and we need to get more people on board.

The Linux market share today is around two percent on desktop computers and slowly growing. In contrast, Windows is around eighty eight percent and Mac OS is nine percent. The more people use a particular OS the more they all benefit as a community. GNU/Linux has been marginalized for a very long time because its market share is negligible. Software and hardware manufacturers were able to ignore Linux in the past but today things seem to be shifting slightly. Now that GNU/Linux is being adopted by more users you can see that companies and people are taking notice. A lot more software and hardware is being created for GNU/Linux and people are realizing that there is a huge potential in this expanding market.

If GNU/Linux would be able to get a larger market share on the desktop, lets say around ten or fifteen percent, it would be a huge win for the community. Not only would it show that we are doing something right but companies would have to create software and hardware that is compatible with Linux. The larger the market share, the more support for the operating system we would have. People would demand certain products for Linux and companies would have no choice but to oblige or lose to competition. With a larger market share we would have more clout and leverage against large and established companies. There is power in numbers and this applies to GNU/Linux as well.

Currently we are still hoping for certain companies to produce their products for Linux. However, if we would have a larger market share then these companies would be competing and trying very hard to be on the GNU/Linux platform.

The good news is that Linux is slowly growing and a lot more individuals are starting to switch over. They are realizing that GNU/Linux is a good operating system and that it is suitable for the average user. Now, all we need is to gain a larger market share so that companies realize that Linux is a strong force in the computer industry. The larger we are the more attention we get. The market share of GNU/Linux is important and hopefully it will continue to increase.

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Comments (25)

5 earlier comments in the full thread.

Scott_Ruecker ·
Fixed the spelling in the title of the thread..;-)
caitlyn ·
Scott, you ruined all the fun we were having with it. The article itself isn't worth much...
Scott_Ruecker ·
Sorry, its the grammar bug in me. I cannot resist its urge to correct...;-)
tracyanne ·
No the article itself is mostly puff, and it repeats oft repeated FUD, the writer, obviously, did liitle or no research. The fact that my comment, which contradicted the main point, never got posted, I find particularly offensive. After reading some of the other comments, it looks like tuxxie, only accepts comments that are congratulatory, or are in agreement.
caitlyn ·
Quoting:Sorry, its the grammar bug in me.


No, it isn't. "I tried to post a comment to this bog" is perfectly good English grammar. It may have nothing to do with the article or what tracyanne wanted to say but it certainly was acceptable grammar :)

@tracyanne: I agree with you 100%. I hope you aren't upset that I poked a little fun at your typo.
tracyanne ·
caitlyn, I'm an Aussie, we take the piss out of everyone and everything, including, maybe even especially, ourselves. No I wasn't offended, I just didn't have a good come back.
Bob_Robertson ·
> "I tried to post a comment to this bog"

By scratching it into the peat?
caitlyn ·
Oh, for peat's sake!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
tracyanne ·
Instead it got buried in the peat. In a thousand years they'll dig it up and wonder what the ritual significance of it was. They'll discover the broken phrases, and declare this was to ensure it would never roam the earth again, and declare us all silly buggers, full of strange notions and difficult rhyme and meter.
jdixon ·
> Instead it got buried in the peat.

Isn't that what normally happens to posts in a bog?
Scott_Ruecker ·
Now if you really want me too, I will change the title back to what it was..we'll take a vote say..
caitlyn ·
Well... there's more discussion about bogs than about the blog so maybe that would be a good thing, Scott.

+1 tracyanne for taking the bog thing and running with it in a humorous way.

It's really nice to see that this thread hasn't gotten bogged down. Nope, we're not stuck in the mud here...
gus3 ·
@Scott:

Quit mucking around.
flufferbeer ·
Mucking around in the mire. I wouldn't be surprised if more and more people end up getting sucked up in Ballmer's FUD. (and his temper.... legendary, ouch!!)
gus3 ·
Windows is to a PC what quicksand is to a moor.
caitlyn ·
Windows conquers Spain? The Moors did that. I don't think they used quicksand, though.
gus3 ·
... I knew someone would say something like that...
caitlyn ·
@gus3: You must be prescient.... or maybe prickly... something like that.
gus3 ·
Or maybe I studied in Spain for a year.

A toast to the vagaries of English!

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