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Linux's share of netbooks surging, not sagging, says analyst

Posted by Scott_Ruecker on · 9 comments
Computerworld; By Eric Lai 		Mail this story
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Reports that the Linux netbook is dead or dying are incorrect, at least globally, according to an analyst firm. Nearly one-third of the 35 million netbooks on track to ship this year will come with some variant of the free, open-source operating system, ABI Research said. The exact split is 32% Linux versus 68% Windows, said Jeff Orr, an analyst at ABI, which works out to about 11 million Linux netbooks this year. That number contradicts third-party market figures, trumpeted by Microsoft, that showed Linux shipping on as few as 4% of U.S. netbooks.

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Comments (9)

caitlyn ·
We've all known that the MS claims were BS. Now, at least, we have some data to back it up.
caitlyn ·
I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion of this. 32% of the netbook market is a big deal right now. It translates to about 8% of the total market and would be pretty solid proof that Linux market share is in double digits on the desktop. 10% is often considered the point at which things become interesting for ISVs.
dinotrac ·
caitlyn --

But that 32% includes a lot of sales where PC penetration is low and price sensitivity high. In other words, no existing infrastructure with which to compete. Lots of money, good for manufacturers, but not apples to apples.
montezuma ·
I wonder whether this will force Microsoft to retain XP or else drastically reduce the price of a fully functional 7 installation on a netbook. They tried to introduce a crippleware version of 7 I recall but that didn't fly. It must be an unusual sensation for Ballmer to have some real market competition for a change: From linux here, from apple on more powerful machines and from Android and Apple on smartphones. In the latter case I suspect they are already dead in the water.
TxtEdMacs ·
Quoting:... In the latter case I suspect they are already dead in the water.
Maybe, but absolutely NOT a certainty ... indeed whose body* do you see floating lifeless in that fluid state of matter?

YBT

* MS** or the obstreperous client?

* Never underestimate ROI of a well executed contract ...
montezuma ·
TxtEdMacs,

Here is my source:

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/08/windows-mobile...

Pretty low market share. They are being creamed by Symbian, Iphone and Android....
TxtEdMacs ·
Is this really a LXer forum page? Then something is grievously amiss* on this date, location and time. Since when are any of my posts not carrying a proper tag default to a serious take on anything? Answered with reason and statistics? The world has gone mad. I can only say I am flummoxed and ashamed my persona is so misunderstood.

YBT

* Being taken seriously in the absence of [serious] tags.
montezuma ·
Are you implying Lxer isn't interested in serious discussion or am I misreading your humor? If the latter is the case I apologise but the the internet is a very monochromatic filter of human discourse.

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