Er..Ok…

Either this is an advert or really its posted in the wrong place. I presume you will be using Windows as an OS?

I will leave your link intact….I will keep an eye on it though, if it starts getting shilly I will change the link to http://www.distro-watch.com

I`m building my own gaming pc on a budget of under £400, i think i have the best system for the budget i have, you can follow my progress at the squidoo lens.

Pardon me, but who cares?

Make sure you link here when the results are released and you give your views. I’ll put your blog on my links!

Regards

Goblin

You could be right, and to be fair I would take the figures of a poster here over anything that Microsoft says.

In regards to Microsoft future, true I think there is a varied range of possibilities,

I think Microsoft will cater for a small targetted Enterprise with custom solutions.

I think the golden age of Microsoft is over and in 10 years time, Microsoft will be a vastly different company to the one that released XP…

Time will tell and your final comment has made me curious! Interesting times ahead.

Great speaking with you, thanks for coming back!

Regards
Goblin

I believe that 10% is approximately right. It might be a bit higher. It might be a bit lower. But it’s close to that.

Currently there’s better Linux support for a wide range of devices than there is Mac support, and the only reason that Linux would be so well supported is if there was money in it.

Look at the game support for Linux. If Linux was at 1% as Net Applications says, there wouldn’t be enough users to make the support worthwhile. Other sites disagree with Net Applications. W3 Schools has Linux above 4%. This site shows Linux use above 6%.

As to Microsoft’s future, let’s wait and see what their upcoming 10K shows, if it shows what I think it will, you may change your mind.

I think the figures quoted are up for debate (the MS faithful cant seem to decide). If you purchase a PC with Windows and then install Linux, you are still included in Windows figures…every forum I have been to, every newsgroup and every chat room that discusses Windows/OS’s etc has users championing and expressing their pleasure with Linux. On that basis the 10% mark seems a little unrealistic (but hey, us Linux users judge a product on its merits not its popularity).

Whatever the actual figure is, it can’t be argued that Linux is being used more than any time in the past. Linux has kept going through the Microsoft golden age to emerge as the product it is today. It won’t go away and IMO as Microsoft is finding out, word of mouth and honest held belief are far more effective marketing tools and maybe why Linux is seeing an increase in use and interest.

In my opinion Microsoft’s future is in custom software solutions for Enterprise and I believe Vista sped up that transition. The average home user is far more savvy than ever before and I dont believe they buy the idea that PC solutions = Microsoft only.

Regards
Goblin

People buy more powerful computers to get a Mac. Apple has done a great job of producing a compelling operating system/computer experience.

People go to great lengths to install Linux/BSD/Solaris distributions on the computers, because Microsoft products have annoyed them to the point where they swear they’ll never run Microsoft again.

Microsoft is in deep trouble. With Linux as 10% and OSX at 6%, Microsoft’s operating system share is dropping fast. The lower their operating system share is, the less people buy Office and other Microsoft programs. When Microsoft tries to compete, their profitability is affected, which causes them to resort to layoffs and product shutdowns, and it all goes into a negative feedback loop.

Microsoft is in deep trouble. Read their last two 10K (annual filings). You can see things are not going well. The next 10K, which should be out by the end of July, will show continued deterioration. I give Microsoft no more than 5 years, before they have to do a General Motors, and apply for bailout funds.

But will there be any bailout funds available in 5 years?