Linux snickers at Microsoft's victory declaration

Re:Linux snickers at Microsoft's victory declaration by recoiledsnake on Tuesday August 16, 2011 @04:42PM (#2892802)

>it was that Windows had already lost (largely because their competitors changed the game.) Competitors no longer compete only with Internet Explorer, they now offer an alternative to the entire Windows OS. Linux on the desktop (GNOME/KDE) didn't win per-se, but the browser did win, and Windows isn't a necessary choice for a browser-first system.

Is that reflected in sales figures?

They do acknowledge competition from Apple(OS X and iPad) and Google(Chromebook) and OS X has been offering a very big and popular alternative to 'the entire Windows OS' since inception.

How can you say Windows already lost while they are shipping on 85% of the PCs and laptops in the US and much higher worldwide?

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Re:Linux snickers at Microsoft's victory declaration by justinsb on Tuesday August 16, 2011 @05:15PM (#2892919)

It's reflected in (my reading of) Microsoft's statement.

Sales figures are retrospective; this section of their 10-K is forward looking.

Also, if you define the market to include smartphones and tablets, I'm pretty sure Microsoft doesn't have 85% market share. The open question is whether that broader definition represents the future of "the computer market" or whether it should remain a separate category.

Of course, you're welcome to your own interpretation - lots of people read it very differently than I did.

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Re:Linux snickers at Microsoft's victory declaration by riffraff on Tuesday August 16, 2011 @07:39PM (#2893358)

would you care to share data sources for your confidence?

I am not arguing they are wrong, I am just unable to google concrete data for PC and smarthphone + tablets usage in a recent time period.

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Re:Linux snickers at Microsoft's victory declaration by justinsb on Tuesday August 16, 2011 @07:55PM (#2893404)

A few sources... I wouldn't put too much faith in the details, but in terms of rough magnitude they're probably pretty accurate.

Gartner says PC sales in 2011 will be <400 million. I'm pretty sure that's mostly Windows: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870330090457617...

iPad sales looking like 40 million (or more) for 2011: http://blogs.computerworld.com/18550/apple_2011_ipad_sales_h...

Smartphone sales were 100 million in Q2 alone; Windows share of that was 1.6% (!): http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219112/Gartner_Smart...

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Re:Linux snickers at Microsoft's victory declaration by rat on Wednesday August 17, 2011 @12:31AM (#2894110)

Chromebook? hahahahaha

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