OneStat.com, today reported that Microsoft’s Windows operating system has a global usage share of 97.46 percent. Microsoft’s Windows still dominates the global operating system market. The global usage share of for Apple’s Macintosh operating system is 1.43 percent and is the second most popular operating system in the world. The three most popular operating systems according to OneStat are: 1. Windows 97.46%, 2. Macintosh 1.43%, 3. Linux 0.26%. All numbers are an average of the last 2 months. The other big statistics company, StatMarket, placed (in June 2002) Microsoft at around 95%, MacOS at 2.4% and Linux around 0.35%.
Windows’ Market Share More Than 97%, OneStat.com Claims
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Perhaps the title of this article should read “Windows has a 97% market share of Internet capible systems with web browsers whose users frequent web sites monitored by OneStat.com”
Perhaps the title of this article should read “Windows has a 97% market share of Internet capible systems with web browsers whose users frequent web sites monitored by OneStat.com”
Lets not forget that many browsers / users on other systems report themselves as Windows / IE. Anyway without knowing the biases in one stat’s figures its hard to know what to make of these numbers. They are so out of line with other surveys though I’d be tempted not to put much weight on their numbers. Heck I’m sure DOS is somewhere over 3% which would make these numbers on their face not indicate what the headline says.
…The resulting groundswell could soon make the Linux-based desktop more prevalent in Europe than anyone could have predicted even a year ago. Dan Kusnetzky, an analyst for International Data Corp., said Linux had a 3.9 percent share of desktops worldwide, outpacing Macintosh’s 3.1 percent…
http://www.iht.com/articles/70026.html
I don’t believe those numbers. They must be using browser identification. 97.46% is almost virtually everything. I simply don’t believe that Mac, Linux and every other OS combined make up only 2.54%.
Remember what Benjamin Disraeli said: “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn lies and statistics”
Web Site Boring (StatMarket) and OneStat.com report this stuff over and over, trying to sell their over-priced and in my experience very unreliable services.
Imagine if someone told you that there are almost no Ferraris or HGVs on the road, and then you found out that they based this on counting the vehicles that were seen at their chain of filling stations which mostly (1) Only carry “standard” fuel and (2) Aren’t on long distance HGV routes
Both these stats companies serve primarily “Me too” web sites and the endless supply of “My {kitten, newborn child, wedding}” pages that people mean to update but never do. This inevitably distorts statistics. If you run a “Me too” web site then maybe this is interesting data, if you want to know what the world uses to browse the web it’s nearly useless.
No way around it and I can’t handle it any longer. Time to accept defeat and go back to using Microsoft products at work and at home.
Sometimes you just have to be slapped to realize the truth.
Thanks.
Is that 97.25% are moronic sheep uncapable of thinking differently(tm).
Btw, what are polls ment to represent? how many morons are willing to follow the flock?
Sheep are not uncapable of thinking differently. They just don’t “think again”.
/me loves little fluffy round sheep. They are adorable.
Here is the result from most recent poll:
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=848&aid=-1
Yeah, but that’s Slashdot. Linux’s crown web site.
#define SARCASM
I concede: Windows has won. So now I’ll use Linux knowing I’m a loser.
Boy, what a relief. No more advocating Linux, no more bashing Microsoft (if everybody uses it, what’s the use in bashing, after all?)…
Heck, maybe someone should just change the site name to WindowsNews, since other OSes became insignificant.
#undef SARCASM
Well _that_ would be interesting news.
I would also be interested to know how many people have Linux at least installed on one computer and how many people have MacOS at least installed on one computer. But how to get reliable statistics? You could only ask 50.000 people and then hope they are representative. Browser statistics, web polls and selling statistics don’t cut it of course.
“Is that 97.25% are moronic sheep uncapable of thinking differently(tm). ”
You know, it’s comments like this that REALLY piss me off! I don’t know why, but it does. Just because ignorant litte f**kstains like this can’t understand why people don’t wanna use his wanna-be cheap knock-off of an OS, he has to go shooting off at the mouth like some 10yo Slashdot whore, who has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about. Truly, the more people I meet like this, the more I want to stay a part of the 97.25%.
Darius: hehehe… 😉
People stay with Ms because Windows have or have support for apps they use. Companies do not port their apps, because even if it sells as well as in the Windows scene, you would still be selling to 1:50 ratio of users. Which of course does not justify the cost of doing any such ports. And all is just a circle…
If you want to see better stats go here
http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html
and see what operating systems are used to access google.
Again, this can’t be definite number because many people change their refferers to access some sites. IIRC, Opera on Linux is using IE as a refferer by default
The man is about to hyperventilate. I may be a loser but at least I know when somebody is just being a smartass. Relax. Its a poll. Its probably wrong.
Everyone here needs to blow up like darius did, it really takes a load off Eugenia’s shoulders.
I can almost believe the stats… you must realize that we are talking about millions and millions of users. A smaller subset, say Apple or Linux, can’t be much more than a few hundred thousand _desktop_ users. That’s a bad ratio, IMHO, where monopoly trials are concerned.
But, I also have to wonder about more people like me… I have but one Windows installation out of eight different PCs/IAs. That is on my laptop (alongside of BeOS and trying to get FreeBSD on there). However, due to the stinkin’ winmodem, I’m only online with Windows from the laptop. Sure, I browse with BeOS/Net+ from my desktop(s), but when I can’t get to a site that has JavaScript/et al, I have to resort to Windows (and that seems like a more common occurance these days with the larger sites – likely the ones the statistic companies watch). At work, I’m forced to use Windows to browse the internet.
I’m online, I’d guess, at least 50% of the time in Windows – yet it is only 1 of 3 OSes I have on but 1 of 8 machines. Go figure. :/
It is just a circle, it will take a hardware/software revolution to change this; we will have to break from both intel and microsoft. It will probably take something like the Cell platform to do this, if it works. Hey, it may even run linux.
I would imagine you are a sharp guy but anybody making off the cuff remarks like that has a serious attitude problem. Keep your politics to yourself.
Leave Thomas Jefferson out of it.
Fight Microsoft. Applaud the GPL. Talk about computers.
Thats what osnews is for.
Those google stats are probably the most accurate representation of OS usage stats that anyone has mentioned here. Google has truly universal appeal, unlike pretty much all other sites on the web. And look at what they say… 91% MS, 9% everything else. Makes alot more sense.
I went to the site and tried the on-line demo. It counted me as using Windows even though my system reports the OS properly and said I am using IE even though I use Opera 3.62 for BeOS. No wonder the stats don’t add up. If they can’t place you in the proper category, they place you in the default, Window$ and IE.
Yea I think the google stats are pretty much dead on. In fact considering how big google is in the linux community, I would say they 1% linux number is probably overblown. It’s probably more like the numbers from the other stats. I would expect that over the next year the Mac stats to increase though. Too bad I can’t afford one.
Just remember MS made a mouse just for the people that wanted to be different when using computers and not be another average user! they decided that all those people that want to be unique just need a new MS optical mouse that is blue. After you have your new MS optical mouse that is blue you will become a unique person! and no longer but just another person with a beige mouse.
“We accept this as proof that the Microsoft Corportion is Not a Monoply. We wish to end this antitrust case agaisnt the great American software company, that still has valid competition for over %2 of the operating systems market.”
Then they said something about this being great for national security.
Yet this article: http://www.iht.com/articles/70026.html states otherwise. It was just posted on Slashdot, stating that Linux has 3.9% desktop market share, while Mac has 3.1%. So how could MS Windows have 97%? Are my high school algebra skills that rusty? Where do these statistics come from anyway?
Matthew Gardiner: Is that 97.25% are moronic sheep uncapable of thinking differently(tm).
No, majority of them don’t see any reason not to use an non-MS platform. My dad for example, take away Access from him, and he would try like a baby.
(He tried using AdabasD, he never liked it, saying too little features).
Asun: Here is the result from most recent poll:
Ironically, Apple isn’t considered to be Microsoft’s competitor in the antitrust case, neither is Linux. (If they are considered competitors, Microsoft is no longer legally an monopoly).
TV: Bush Administration Reply…
Unless they do a rehearing (start back from square one), Linux and Apple won’t be considered as competitors to Microsoft. Even if tommorrow 1 billion people start using Linux and dominates the world.
“It will probably take something like the Cell platform to do this, if it works. Hey, it may even run linux.”
Again, brandon this isn’t meant to be at you. Its just a good example of what I see a lot all over the forums. Its this one track mind with linux. Everywhere people say if we get rid of MS/Intel, Sun, Apple, Unix, etc. we can run Linux in its place, regarless of if Linux is better or even useful for that particular task. Linux this, Linux that, everything has to be linux or the linux people just don’t seem to be happy. In fact, I’m sure if most of them could wire their @$$s to fart the word “Linux” they would.
I know this is a bit of troll but since other people can insult 97% of the world by calling them mindless sheep and dismiss them for not having the same opinion on what OS to use, I can hit the _insignificant_ .36%
They CAN’T claim anything about global usage by just measuring the few users that hit their sites… what about all those machines which do NOT have internet access (say, in universities) ?
What about people from OTHER countries?
There ARE countries where Linux is king.
I’m not saying windows users are mindless sheep, but you should really try alternatives.
Hey, it’s always good to try several similar products…
The advantage with Open Source software ( and OS) is that you can twist things YOUR way. And you can learn a lot from their code.
Please don’t be too lazy to try alternatives. Who knows, perhaps you’ll find something which you like better?
The Google MS numbers seem OK to me, but 4% “Other” seems too high. What OS, or combo of OSes, adds up to same as Mac and four times higher than Linux? Any ideas?
What makes up the 4% labeled “other”?
DOS/Win 3.1
BSD
OS/2
BeOS
AmigaOS
Solaris
Other Unixs
WebTV (and other Internet box type things)
The Really Alternative OSes
…how big win98 still is. would be nice if they graphed the rate of change on all of them too. that way we can see what is growing and shrinking from month to month.
I’m scrambling even now to delete my Gentoo partitions and reinstall Windows …
Everyone knows statistics can’t be wrong. Now, if all 36 other people using Linux and the few dozen more using Macs will do the same (well, they’ll need a whole new computer, too, I guess) we can all wait for Longhorn and Office2005 (combined cost — US$1275.00 + US$450.00/hour for a team of lawyers to translate the EULAs).
Of course, in the spirit of offering the user a choice, and to show a kinder, gentler face to the world, future Microsoft EULA’s will offer an additional, more humane choice at install time: “With lube, or without?”
Proprosal to bring the Microsoft EULAs into line with the Reduction of Paperwork Act:
“Thank you for using <MS PRODUCT NAME>.
“Use of this Software Product is governed by the following License Agreement. By using this Product, you agree to all of the following:
“ALL YOUR COMPUTER ARE BELONG TO US!”
Now, isn’t that a much more concise/efficient way to say it than the present wording?
Okay, okay. Before everyone goes ballistic and starts flaming me, I’m NOT serious. I mean, in a way I am, but seriously … these numbers don’t mean anything. There’s no real way to gauge this sort of thing since there’s no way to prove — or disprove — the veracity of the numbers used to derive the final percentages. I’m using Konqueror right now, set to spoof as IE because my bank gets all panicky otherwise. — And with 2 mouse clicks I’m now spoofing as “Internet Explorer 5.0 on Mac PPC”.
Besides, LOTS of people use Windows and Linux. Windows and Macs. Macs and Linux. *BSD, BeOS, any of the less-well-known systems. What’s the point?
Simple: If you just look at those numbers, your first reaction is probably to think, “X% uses Windows, X% uses Linux, X% uses Macs …” And, subconsciously, you might be tempted to expand that to, “WOW! X% of people use Windows and NOT anything else!”
Wrong. Even if those numbers WERE true, it wouldn’t matter. The story you do NOT get is, how many of those Windows users ALSO use other OSes? How many use Windows as their PRIMARY OS, but also have an alternative OS installed? That’s certainly the way I started. I didn’t just pick up a Linux CD, install it, and burn my Windows CDs that same day. I know plenty of people (such as my roommate) who boots into Windows or Linux fairly randomly. He doesn’t do anything except surf the Web, instant messaging, play a few games. He has favorite games on BOTH OSes. He prefers to IM with gAIM. He prefers to surf with Opera, no matter which OS he’s using. In other words, he doesn’t care which OS he’s using — all depends on his mood, I guess, or what, specifically, he intends to do.
In my not so humble opinion, THAT is what we should ALL be encouraging. The whole Either/Or thing is … silly. It’s worse than silly — it’s the EXACT same thing we allegedly dislike Microsoft for! I use only Linux, but if I wanted Linux to destroy Windows I’d simply be working my ass off to trade one monster for another. Choice is the key. It makes those providing the choices bust their collective asses to produce the BEST product, not merely the ONLY product. Not all Linux advocates are rabid zealots, and while I rant passionately about some of the crap Microsoft has done/does/has yet to do, I also happily troubleshoot my roommate’s Windows machine. And my mom’s. My sister’s. My roommate CHOSE to use Linux (sometimes) because he started to like it after using my laptop (Gentoo) a few times. I never pushed.
Linux is growing. In time, it will be “big enough” and ISVs and OEMs *will* begin to support it more heavily — this is already happening, slowly but surely. I don’t want to see Microsoft disappear, I just want to see something like the Intel/AMD wars. Do I secretly hope for something more along the lines of the 3dfx/nVidia war? Sure, but only if another competitor (like ATI in the 3dfx/nVidia war) will be there to offer real competition to the winner in the end. Without ATI (or the reverse, without nVidia to challenge ATI) how much do you think a new high-end video card would cost now? Would it be even half as fast? If Microsoft had truly been innovating for the past decade, if it had truly been challenged to do its utter best or be cast unceremoniously by the wayside, how much better would Windows be today? Think about it. AMD beat Intel to 1Ghz, and then “it was on” as they say. Speeds increased, prices dropped, faster and faster. It was literally a war. And who won? Neither, yet, but as long as they fight, the consumer will ALWAYS win. Microsoft has never faced a challenge like that, and, say what you will about Windows, it is only a pale shadow of the product we could have if they HAD faced such a challenge and been forced to fight their way through it.
I think everyone can agree, without competition, MS has no REASON to improve, just as, before AMD declared war on Intel with the Athlon, Intel was complacent, content, slow, and horribly overpriced. And that is the one thing Microsoft fears more than any other. Microsoft can’t fight Linux with any of its traditional methods — they’ve basically admitted as much — and for the first time in a LONG time they are actually having to THINK. Personally, I think the next 2-3 years are going to be very interesting … so far MS has faced enemies pretty much on the level of Elmer Fudd (such as IBM, who created a wonderful OS and didn’t bother to sell it). Maybe Linux will prove to be something else altogether … in time.
…or maybe the judge will surprise us all … the verdict is still out. Any day now …
@ Spark:
> But how to get reliable statistics? You could only
> ask 50.000 people and then hope they are
> representative.
That’s a science called “empirical sociology”. They teach it at the university. Problem is, representative statistics cost money…
and /. just posted that Linux overtook Apple as far as marketshare on the desktop goes. Another good example how 50,86% of all statistics are just made up on the spot.
It cites an analyst with “Linux has a 3.9 percent share of desktops worldwide, outpacing Macintosh’s 3.1 percent.”
http://www.iht.com/articles/70026.html
.. of this page ?
Yup, a Microsoft advert for Windows XP.
What this implies is left as an exercise for the reader, blah, blah…
The statistics sound just about right to me. You’ll be lucky to find one in twenty web-browsing boxes running an OS other than Windows. Even people who have a Mac or a Linux box are likely to have a Windows machine sitting around as well. I have one of each, although I tend to use my Mac the most these days.
This doesn’t mean Windows has won, the battle’s not over. This doesn’t mean Linux or Apple have lost, Apple are profitable, and Linux continues to improve as software. But don’t kid yourselves, we’re not taking over the world here.
OMG!!!1 YOURE RIGHT M$ HAS BUYED OSNEWS AND USE IT TO SPRED FUD!!! BACK TO SLASHDOT!!!
“Yea I think the google stats are pretty much dead on.”
How can they be? How do Google know what OS you are actually running?
All the minority OSes have to spoof on the web. There is no way that
Google can tell that I am using AmigaOS.
The only way to find out is by in-depth interviews of a sample of the
public in several countries. Those companies that could afford this
would not want to know the answers.
Judging from the story synopsis, these statistics represent global usage share of all computers. This is of course totally silly since it only measured computers used to access web sites.
There are tons of computers which are in fact not used for web surfing. Computing centers (both public and corporate), server farms and friends spring to mind.
Considering that this is more like desktop OS statistics, they look fairly accurate. But the story doesn’t say that it is a measure of desktops.
Booo.
I’ve sugested this before I know.. how about a poll on OSNews on what systems we’re running ( Processor, memory, software ) to get an idea of whats still out there.
Well, since Google is now illegal in China, which definetly is one of the countries where Linux is extremely widespread, even the google stats aren’t that representative.
…Just because ignorant litte f**kstains…
I wasn’t aware they could be sentient.
…like this can’t understand why people don’t wanna use his wanna-be cheap knock-off of an OS…
Yes, that is much better than calling people sheep.
…he has to go shooting off at the mouth like some 10yo Slashdot whore
Yes, you definitely have insults down to a science.
…who has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about.
I assume all this applies to present company as well?
Truly, the more people I meet like this, the more I want to stay a part of the 97.25%.
Okay, now to completely lay off the sarcasm. How is your post any better than the one that called you a sheep? How has any more intelligence or wisdom been displayed?
I think one of the reasons that Linux users (as well as other non-Windows users) put down Microsoft and Windows (and consequentially those who like it) is not because Linux is so much better, but rather because Microsoft is viewed as an evil company (Linux being more stable, secure and dependable is just a bonus. People would use it anyway regardless).
Look at it this way. Imagine your government were on the news tonight, and they announced a new initiative to stop crime. Good so far right?
Now, they explain, to do this, all citizen’s homes and all establishments will be equiped with cameras, microphones and other sensors to alert us to possible criminal intents. The benefits will be immediately obvious. Drug users will be easily arrested, stolen goods will be easily tracked down and recovered, domestic violence, molestation, rape, and all other types of violent crime will be instantly prosecuted, and the list goes on. All this, in hopes that fear and technology will prevent people from commiting crime.
Then, knowing the citizen’s concern over raising taxes, they will assure us that taxes won’t be raised. Instead, information gathered from conversations in your home will be sold to marketing companies on a monthly basis, who will then be able to peddle their goods to you based on your personal interests and needs (“I see you don’t have a couch Mr. Schlemiel. Well, we have a great installment plan…”).
If this were to happen, I imagine there would be an immediate outrage against it; and rightly so.
I think most Linux users (and even some Windows users) view Microsoft’s undisclosed data gathering, products that call home to Bill, product activation, security issues, etc. as a total violation of individual privacy and rights. Basically MS is spying on you aren’t they?
Non-Windows users also view Microsoft, just as the draconian government illustrated above, as trying to force these things onto willing and unwilling users alike with initiatives like Paladium, the Initiative for Software Choice, etc.
If the government were to do something similar to what I wrote above, then wouldn’t you see supporters of that initiative as sheep? Since a lot of Linux users probably view Microsoft in exactly the same light as they would my erzats government, it is only logical that they would rile against Microsoft and Windows.
I wouldn’t take it personally. I don’t like Windows either (even though I’m using it right now), but that has nothing to do with your intelligence does it? I personally think that Windows users are walking down a maudlin path; slipping on the shackels of digital rights, license metering, activation and so on. But, that is for each person to choose for themselves. To each his own.
“Please don’t be too lazy to try alternatives. Who knows, perhaps you’ll find something which you like better?”
See, that’s another thing about Linux lovers .. they assume that just because you’re using Windows, you haven’t tried anything else. My last experience with Linux was Redhat 7.2. Granted, probably not cutting edge by today’s Linux desktops, but I am waiting for a distro to come with both KDE3 and Gnome2, and then give it another spin. I always load up Linux about once a year to see how much better it’s gotten.
You know, it’s comments like this that REALLY piss me off! I don’t know why, but it does. Just because ignorant litte f**kstains like this can’t understand why people don’t wanna use his wanna-be cheap knock-off of an OS, he has to go shooting off at the mouth like some 10yo Slashdot whore, who has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about. Truly, the more people I meet like this, the more I want to stay a part of the 97.25%.
—
No people won’t move because it would require reading abook and learning basic computer fundamentals.
Their excuse, I don’t have enough time. BS! What? instead of watching TV and letting their brains melt into a mulsh of grey matter they could read a book and push the average IQ up a few notches.
People stay with Ms because Windows have or have support for apps they use. Companies do not port their apps, because even if it sells as well as in the Windows scene, you would still be selling to 1:50 ratio of users. Which of course does not justify the cost of doing any such ports. And all is just a circle…
—
Many of these companies could team up with codeweavers and bring wine support for their applications to Linux/*BSD or any other *NIX/*BSD on x86.
When a wine compat. is done correctly, one doesn’t see the difference appart from widget set differences and the cursor changing to the Windows style.
Well, Lotus Approach 9.7 is getting there(tm). Once Crossover office can run it, you should give it a try.
The reason I call them sheep is the fact that these people get virus’s and cracked into, then bitch to Microsoft and sundry for their stupidity.
You use Windows, all power to you, however, I don’t want one word or complaint when you find a bug or vulnerability in your OS. You have made your choice, and now live with it.
Microsoft is where it is because people keep buying. An Apple is a perfect alternative. And no, they are not more expensive. They are the same price as a name brand computer like HP from Dick Smiths or Harvey Norman.
So basically then unless you are a programmer, you too are one of the many sheep, only a slightly more hypocritical one. Because if you are not a programmer, then you are as equally “useless” as all of those windows users that rely on someone else to fix their woes when they complain about bugs or problems.
So ill throw the same argument back at you: “You use windows, all power to you, however, I don’t want one word or complaint when you find a bug or vulnerability in your OS. You made your choice now live with it.” Funny, its sounds just as stupid when I say it.
Oh and by the way your little indirect spat about windows being so much more insecure then linux – linux isnt very big on the desktop so its not targeted as much by script kiddes for making convenient email worms and other virii. The argument that linux is safer because you have more eyes looking at the source to see if their are flaws also holds true in this case: windows has a lot more eyes looking for holes than linux. So just because the current number of people looking at linux can’t find them does not mean they are not there. But I will empathize with you – its fun to throw stones while in a glass house.
Oh and Matthew, if you’ve bothered to read this far, since you didn’t in my last post you’ll notice I didn’t comment on the reference to windows users being sheep or say that I was windows user. In fact use Apples and _My Comment_ was on Linux users wiring their @$$s to say “Linux” when they farted. But I do appreciate the attention, eventhough you didn’t bother to respond to me about what I posted.