Linux market penetration

[Shunjoss]

Hi guys & girls.
Linux is growing in France, according to gs statcounter.
In one year, linux took twice his market share! Growing to 3,63 %
It is a good start, isn't it ?
Maybe this graph will say more.

[MartyMint]

58.9% of people surveyed found graphs to be somewhat helpful.

[Shunjoss]

Yeah actually if you are unable to read a graph this is not really helpful ^^.

[/dev/urandom]

In one year, linux took twice his market share! Growing to 3,63 %
It is a good start, isn't it ?

Why does it matter?

[Pjotr]

In one year, linux took twice his market share! Growing to 3,63 %
It is a good start, isn't it ?

Why does it matter?

Why this pointless putting down of somebody who is clearly enthusiastic about Linux and its growth?

@ShunJoss: cool! After the short-lived temporary boost of Linux after the demise of Windows XP, you can see now a clear steady growth which seems to be more durable.

[/dev/urandom]

Why this pointless putting down of somebody who is clearly enthusiastic about Linux and its growth?

Why the enthusiasm about numbers?

[Pjotr]

Why the enthusiasm about numbers?

Because higher numbers mean more attention from hardware manufacturers, so we can expect even better hardware support in Linux?

[/dev/urandom]

Which hardware is missing for you?

[Pjotr]

Which hardware is missing for you?

I have all the hardware I need, thank you. And all of it is supported well in Linux, by the way.

But would you claim that there's no room for improvement in hardware support for Linux?

[/dev/urandom]

I would claim that there is room for hardware improvement in all operating systems. Even Windows could support certain audio devices better. You might see that this is not related to the market share.

[Pjotr]

I would claim that there is room for hardware improvement in all operating systems. Even Windows could support certain audio devices better.

True, but that's not the point at all.

You might see that this is not related to the market share.

And that's where you're demonstrably and utterly wrong. *Of course* hardware manufacturers are more likely to invest in drivers for a specific operating system, if that operating system has high market share. Duh.

I fail to see why you would want to disregard such a clear fact.

[1.618]

I have to agree with pjotr on this one, computing is one area where support is a necessity and if more people use linux then that increases the chance of hardware support from manufacturers increasing too, which in turn will add more users because there is sufficient support. It's a no brainer

[/dev/urandom]

True, but that's not the point at all.

What's the point then?

*Of course* hardware manufacturers are more likely to invest in drivers for a specific operating system, if that operating system has high market share.

So you say, good hardware support is only possible with a good market share?

So, as even Windows does not have a "really good" hardware support, how much market share do you need?

[Pjotr]

It's a no brainer

Exactly. For people who have a normal attitude and no hidden negative agenda, that is....

[BenTrabetere]

*Of course* hardware manufacturers are more likely to invest in drivers for a specific operating system, if that operating system has high market share.

So you say, good hardware support is only possible with a good market share?[/quote]

I don't think that is what he is saying. Not at all. Your interpretation is little more than a feeble straw man.

Here are my takes on his comment.

'Good market share might lead to better hardware support.'

'Increased market share might cause a hardware (or software) vendor to notice an OS like Linux and consider the business opportunities.'

"Might" is the key word in both, and it is far from a certainty. And it would remain so as long as the market share remained in the low single digits. Hardware and software vendors are in business to make money, and they evaluate emerging markets to see if there is money to be made there.

Market share certainly is not the only factor at play; there are strategic, tactical and economic factors at to consider. It is my experience that a higher market share tends to make the other factors less a factor.

[xfrank]

Why the enthusiasm about numbers?

Because higher numbers mean more attention from hardware manufacturers, so we can expect even better hardware support in Linux?

I agree. More Linux usage = better hardware support in some devices (printers, phones), software support (autocad, itunes...), and format support (odf over ooxml). Would be nice to see Linux at 25% market share.

[xfrank]

"Might" is the key word in both, and it is far from a certainty. And it would remain so as long as the market share remained in the low single digits. Hardware and software vendors are in business to make money, and they evaluate emerging markets to see if there is money to be made there.

Market share certainly is not the only factor at play; there are strategic, tactical and economic factors at to consider. It is my experience that a higher market share tends to make the other factors less a factor.

true, but for example Android don't generate much money to Google, and yet its usage is so high (dominant, actually) that support for Android (hardware, software) is almost universal.

[Shunjoss]

Well, my idea is : if there is a higher market share there is also more money to make and what is interesting industries ? yeah you guess it. Making more money.
If people are comfortable with Linux, with a better image "this is not only for hacker/geeks" and "this is good for everyday use", well we know this.
They will be more likely to try it.

So industries get interested in Linux too : this is good for us. Better hardware compatibility or software like game or utility (scan, print, writing ...).
I think it could be good consequences to the linux world.
Well there is no cover on a major release on general newspaper unlike windows or apple. This is the difference.

Why this pointless putting down of somebody who is clearly enthusiastic about Linux and its growth?

@ShunJoss: cool! After the short-lived temporary boost of Linux after the demise of Windows XP, you can see now a clear steady growth which seems to be more durable.

I think it was also the try of the new distro coming with ubuntu stable release last year. This graph is for France but this is a global trend maybe, i hope people like Linux ^^

[joseph8]

More attention from industry is big thing for many use cases for Linux. Software support is still lacking for some very important stuff. This was more of a problem for Mac until their market share got up above 5% - now it seems a fairly rare case for mainstream software to not support it.

[Pierre]

if that French trend continues - then it may overtake both win-xp & win-vista, maybe next year. ..

and if Linux can get above that 5% - at least in Europe, then it may even get some mainstream attention, at last.