This probably sounds like quite an anti-climax, but considering its 60% year on year growth, this is quite an achievement. And Windows has dropped 4% in the last year, which is a considerable dent in its market share. This together with the erosion of Internet Explorer’s browser market, indicates a general downturn for Microsoft. The desktop remains a very important piece of the puzzle for MS – without a desktop market, they don’t have anywhere to run their server applications. And those 2 areas remain MS’s biggest markets.
This is of course a good thing as it means that Microsoft has less of a say in world computing circles in which it traditionally has driven events in directions only advantageous for itself.
Comments
2 responses to “Linux hits 1% market share”
1% does seem awfully small though. Microsoft will still dominate the market for a long time to come. I can’t see the common man taking up Linux. Windows is aimed at helping your Joe Soap use a computer. Linux is for us Nerds and Geeks. Can’t see my wife, sister or dad ever use Linux.
Hi Robert, I have to disagree with you in saying that your view is historical – Linux is now more than useable as a desktop OS, applications are abundant, app installation is a doddle, hardware support is pretty good and the desktops are easy to use. My wife, who has never had an ounce of ‘this is how you do something on Linux’ often gets onto my machine and plays games, surfs or edits documents. If you haven’t used a recent Linux desktop distro, give it a try – I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.