Linux preinstalls rocket to three per cent
Hold on to your hat
LINUX HAS MADE headway in Microsoft's UK heartland, the PC sales channel. The number of machines shipped with Linux preloaded on them has multiplied a whopping 28 times since Microsoft launched its Vista operating system in January 2007.
Sounds impressive, but Linux was starting from a rather small base in traditional sales channels: of all PCs sold in the UK last January through indirect channels, a feeble 0.1 per cent had Linux preloaded, according to numbers given to us by market research firm Context.
The Linux share of this route to market has edged up ever since the Vista launch. Then it broke the two per cent barrier in May after the latest release of Ubuntu, the strain of Linux most capable of kicking Microsoft in the shins.
Microsoft is still be shipped with 93 per cent of all PCs sold through distribution in the UK, according to Context.
Yet Linux has nevertheless made an impressive gain. The UK's distribution business was built around the arteries of marketing money flowing from vendors - money they earned from selling their software. You might say that the distribution business is dependent on the marketing funds it gets from vendors.
Microsoft spends three per cent of its UK sales revenue on marketing funds given to distributors and resellers, said Rod Baptie, managing director of sales consultancy Baptie & Co, "It would be a foolish distributor who took a product if it wasn't marketed for them."
In the late 1990s competition was so keen that distributors were said to sell at or below cost and take their profit direct from the marketing funds they received from vendors. Vendors nowadays keep watch to see their marketing funds are actually spent on marketing, but distribution runs on single figure profits and vendor marketing funds are a crucial aid.
As most everyone in the UK sales channel sups on Microsoft's marketing teat, Linux hasn't got a hope in hell bar customer demand. So its record of 2.8 per cent of all preloads in June is something to be noted. µ
Comments
and so...
... it beginesEEE
I'd say 2.5% of that has been from EEEPc's and other devices running linux rather than Home/Office PC's from dell preinstalled with Ubuntu!Mike
From acorns...
I distinctly remember when Firefox was at 3% market share. It's hard to unseat a huge turd like Vista; it's not quite solid, but not a liquid either - kinda gloopy, hard to get a good hold on it. Linux won't make much progress very quickly but at least it might encourage Microsoft to do a better job of catering to the needs of the customer when Vienna comes around.Hmm June
I think that was my mate's brother who bought 3 Ubuntu laden machines.Nothign to do with the EEE PC then
I really can't see how you can talk about this jump in the number without talking about the huge success of the whole Netbook scene. Since the EEE PC launch late last year netbooks have gone from nowhere to being a really hot item of hardware. I really think that probably half of all netbooks sold come with a custom distro of linux must have had a huge effect on the linux pre-installed numbersLinux is shelfware
Once you try Linux, you stick it on the shelf and let dust pile on it. That is all it is good for. There is no software written for it. It is nothing more than an interesting oddity.I see no market
"As most everyone in the UK sales channel sups on Microsoft's marketing teat, Linux hasn't got a hope in hell bar customer demand..."What a commentary on our vaunted "free market" system, where the customer is supposed to be king and demand theoretically drives everything else.
In reality - despite the economists and their useless, unreadable, fantasy-riddled textbooks - we are pronged on an interesting dilemma.
1. Let capitalism have its head, whereupon a monopoly or similar will arise in a few years - and you no longer have a free market. (This is what has happened in IT, mainly because politicians and most other decision makers don't have a clue how any of it works).
2. Try to regulate the market to prevent a monopoly arising. Then you get a market micro-managed by government, which is arguably the only thing that could possibly be worse than a monopoly.
Either way, no free market. It's a delicate element that decays spontaneously, with a very short half life.
Microsoft sells linux for us!
The best reason to use Linux is Microsoft's policy of putting their own interests before all others. They try to cheat the client by forcing the client to debug their product for them, and that keep promising a "stable program". Each time they break that promise and each time we have been duped.Microsoft got rich selling us a faulty operating system time and again, and then selling us many promises of stability! Their copy protection goes way beyond reason! They demand the ability to spy on us and disable our computers at will, if the believe our Windows version might possibly a copy!
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me 20 times, it is time to get Ubuntu Linux!
Mark Heinemann
Geek Stuff
As good as the 'user friendly' flavours of linux go, Ubuntu is one of the best, however, it's still not user friendly enough! Until the average joe can install it, configure it, install apps easily, play games easily then it will never be a serious alternative to the vole's efforts.@Tom Welsh
"Either way, no free market." Are you suggesting, perhaps, that capitalism is self defeating?But surely that means that the economic theory forced on our governments by those with all the money, is wrong. Now how can a theory, created by those who've made lots of money, be wrong? If it works for them surely it must work for all of us - if we only worked harder and harder and harder ...
New Dell With Ubuntu
I just received my new Dell with Ubuntu factory installed. The fact that the OS was installed didn't really mean that much to me as I have installed Ubuntu on dozens of systems, but I am glad I didn't have to pay extra for MS-Windows which I DO NOT USE. The system I got has a Q9300, 2Gig RAM, and a 250Gig hard drive (no monitor as I use my 52" LCD HDTV for a monitor). This system replaces an old Frys Pentium that I have had for 10 years (still use it in the basement).It was really nice to be able to get a system from a main stream manufacturer with out MS-Windows!
Oh really?
"Linux is shelfwareOnce you try Linux, you stick it on the shelf and let dust pile on it. That is all it is good for. There is no software written for it. It is nothing more than an interesting oddity."
posted by : Linux expert, 02 August 2008
Oh really? I have three computers that run nothing but linux (no dual boot). You said there is no software written for linux, then call yourself Linux expert? There are tens of thousands of programs written for linux. You can find programs for just about every need. A friend of mine just moved his multi-million dollar business from Windows XP to Redhat linux a few months ago. He is so happy with the change he told me he wondered why he didn't do it earlier.
Statistics are all lies!
All stats need to be put into perspective... They are what the marketing bods use to blind idiot mid-level managers.Good example is Microsoft's 'record breaking' Vista 'sales'. Ok, so umpteen gazillion copies of Vista have gone out the door, yeah whopee! How many copies have been pre-installed on a new desktop or laptop and rammed down the throat of the unsuspecting user, and then subsequently taken off again when they :-
1) Realise it's slower than their old machine
2) Don't like the new interface either cause the can't be bothered to go through the learning curve again, or they were perfectly happy with XP
or...
3) Their custom application at work/home or their particular hardware setup doesn't work with Vista.
Yeah I know we had this before with XP, but not to this extent. I actually thought XP was kinda cool when it first came out, but realised it would take a while before compatibility with old stuff set in, and also developers got around to coding for the new OS.
Every laptop I buy in for employees comes with the broken O/S pre-installed cos it's cheaper. I ensure drivers are available for the particular model and make on the net first, and then reformat and install XP. Vista pre-installs are cheaper due to Microsoft subsidising the cost of the OS over less for XP.
Vista will be like Me in the history of O/S's - quickly forgotten about.
My advise is try Ubuntu, as it just works, and it works quickly. It's great as long as you don't need that customer Windows app or ActiveX based websites.
Otherwise XP, and the business world will also stay this way. Heck, I know firms still using 2000 cos it just works, and they are loath to reinvest on new hardware/software and user training for no real benefit to the business!
Re: Linux is shelfware
Man, the fact that you cannot figure how to use it or that there is no some specific software needed to do some weird thing does not mean that it is not useful. Linux is the only OS I use it at my job since late 90's.Regards,
Kurt.-
Jealous
At least in the UK you can order Dell's pre-installed with Ubuntu. Not an option down-under. It's a shame because it gives publicity to Ubuntu and desktop Linux, which helps EEE linux sales as well, I'm sure.Easy enough for grannies to use
@Willy Wonka: My mum is in her 70's and she uses PCLinuxOS while dad runs Kubuntu (and Xubuntu on his 10 year old laptop) so I have experience with both and the Mandriva based PCLInuxOS is the most user friendly distro I have found. Ubuntu is by no means a do but I think PCLOS beats it by a nose.I've done about a dozen installs and dual boot (easy as hell) using it and the only thing you need to know is how to press ENTER. I'm actually thinking of making a video of my 14month old who knows how to move the mouse around and click buttons and have him install it as a joke. Enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, etc...
She also knows how to go to Synaptic and she installed EVERY game in the repository.
Mark the program you want with a check mark and click on Apply.
But netbooks are where its at with Linux. The numbers are huge for this year and they are actually forecasting double for next year.
But most importantly, regular people are finally given and option. Linux was going to go nowhere if it didnt get in the pre-installed game.
My wife has 3-4 friends who have an EEE and Acer One and we are going to get her mom one for when she travels.
If Dell gets their act together and if they use that sweet Ubuntu Netbook Remix, this will be the one.
Point is none of these women seem to care what they were using as long as they could do what they needed AND they couldnt get any virus,trojan, spyware (almost all bought a desktop at a certain time and had the machines rendered useless because of infestation within the first month. All remember that very well...so that is a big selling point.)
One of them wanted to have the nice eye candy that my wife sports on her XPS laptop that runs KDE/Compiz so I promised to install it for her but she loves her simple interface (Linpus Lite) that she changed her mind. I have to say that I was impressed by what I saw of Linpus' usability.
The secret to make this work is good manufacturer and distros communication and let's remember before Dell started selling Ubuntu and then Asus joined with the EE, there was no preinstalled Linux. By the end of this year, 20 manufacturers will carry Linux. The numbers cant help but grow.
My father compares a good OS to VLC, you totally forget what you are running when things go well and smoothly. Dad remembers the days of chasing codecs and has become format agnostic since his beloved VLC opens every video file he needs. He says he often forgets what OS he is using because it just works and he concentrates on other things.
Come back next year at this time and I would be surprised if they double the number.
Btw, if Microsoft has 93% and Linux has 2.8% that means Mac has 4.2% or less.
Linux is soooo passing by Mac by next summer.
What we all think
Seems to me we all think alike on this, and with good reason. Ubuntu Linux is hopefully the next FireFox. I wrote a blog entry about it here: http://knutsindre.blogspot.com/2008/08/why-you-may-soon-know-what-ubuntu-means.htmlThat graph is typical of Linux lack of user-friendly-ness.
It looks ok, but it's hard to read quickly. Instead of the colour key they could have put the months at the bottom of each bar along the X axis.When I want to see April08 I can see it right away. Not look to the key, check the colour, go back to the graph, look for that colour.
Was the graph made using openoffice or excel? ;-)
User Friendly Graphs
Hello interested_party,If you want to see user-friendly graphing capabilities in Linux, check out rrdtool, a utility written by Tobias Oetiker. It is used in many open-source monitoring packages such as nagios, cricket and cacti - and with good reason. It is simple, flexible and powerful. I have written my own monitoring software that uses rrdtool, and I have been told by one client that they prefer the graphs thus produced to those from a commercial tool that they also use.
There are other tools available for creating graphs in Linux, such as gnuplot, but I haven't tried them myself. The beauty of Linux is choice, and its always the case that if you can't do it with one utility, you may be able to find one that is more appropriate.
Regards,
Hugh
Linux is shelfware? Your joking of course.
Ubuntu is made from Debian Linux.the Debian Linux platform is one of the oldest Linux distributions in the world and is comprised to offer more than 22,000 (Twenty Two Thousand +) software programs that can make a desktop giant of a computer.
With its GUI of either KDE or GNOME or one of several others and the use of its fantastic software installation program Synaptic (apt-get with a skin) choosing and installing gobs of software applications is stupid simple.
integration is automatic, functionality perfect.
Smell the coffee, Linux IS the future.
I have not used Windows for twelve years now and have watched Linux go from difficult to install and use to auto pilot installation, and flawless operational use in that time. The idea that Microsoft has a future is laughable, knowing what a good Linux computer can do.
M