Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Boasts 96% Netbook Penetration
An anonymous reader writes "Citing figures from market research firm NPD, Microsoft says Windows' share of the US netbook market has ballooned from less than 10% in the first half of 2008 to 96% as of February. 'The growth of Windows on netbook PCs over the last year has been phenomenal,' wrote Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft's in-house Windows blogger, in a post Friday. Information Week author Paul McDougall notes Microsoft's 8% decline in Windows sales is due to netbooks sporting Linux. How does Redmond make an 80% gain in netbook market share without the sales numbers reflecting that gain?"
Car Phone Warehouse sold an early version of the MS Wind which came with Linux but which didn't have drivers for the wifi or webcam. Wouldn't you return that? Unless you were a Linux geek or installing Windows, I'm sure that you would.
Put identity in the browser.
And where were the retailers you talked to?
There are no longer any Linux netbooks for sale at physical retail stores where I live (USA). No, it's not that they're out of stock frequently (as some Windows models are); they are no longer kept in stock.
Target is the only retailer that even lists Linux models on their website; they used to sell the 7" Eee PC in stores. Now they sell Windows models in-store & advertise them, as do all the other retail stores that sell computers.
http://blog.laptopmag.com/ubuntu-confirms-linux-netbook-returns-higher-than-anticpated
Would you kindly mod me +1 insightful?
it wasn't Moore's Law, it was Microsoft financing and marketing kickback programs. Did you notice how Asus, after negotiating putting Windows XP on the EeePC they then changed the hardware such that the Linux versions were more expensive? We all know Linux distros easily run on anything Windows runs on but not the other way around. So Asus beefed up the hardware for the Linux models, beefed up the price, and then would only make 50% Windows based and 50% Linux based and some countries were no longer getting Linux versions at all.
It was monopoly money that changed the netbook market share numbers instead of market demand defining those numbers.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
What's with the ARM CPUs? I recommended the XO laptop use an ARM CPU but then was told (and understood the problem) that the graphics card would not be integrated in one, which adds a new power drain; they are now rebasing it on ARM, as the Geode is being discontinued. I posted on Dell IdeaStorm a couple years back to make low-power ARM machines running Linux, consuming a few watts peak power and lasting days on battery; there was a huge battle over how stupid/awesome this would be and how much Debian fucked up ARM and it's impossible, and now there's buzz about ARM laptops coming out?
Support my political activism on Patreon.
You're right. I'm in Canada and you simply cannot purchase a netbook with Linux on it from the local retail.
Even the "refurbished" ones have XP which makes me think that MS is helping the refurbish.
Not only linux versions are hard or impossible to find but because of the licensing agreements with M$ (for XP) the hardware specs are crippled to 1GB RAM and 160GB hdd. So if you want a larger hdd and 2GB RAM (many people do, take a look at forum.eeeuser.com) you need to buy them yourself and then decide if ebay is worth the trouble for the parts you took out (which might be a bad idea in case you need to send the device back for warranty). So not only you pay extra for windows with no way out (even if you want to use linux on the machine or if you already have a transferable license for XP or why not even Vista) but you also pay for a 1GB RAM stick and a small(ish) hard drive. These add up to quite a lot, easily 20-30% of the tag price.
Let's say there have been 10 millions netbooks sold before the "claim" period:
- Linux: 3 millions (30%)
- Windows: 7 millions (70%)
Let's say that reaching the "claim" period" there have been another 20 millions netbook sold and that they were all (?) Windows-based:
Totals: - Linux: 3 millions (10%)
- Windows: 27 millions (90%)
Let's even consider the 20% return rate for the Linux-based ones:
- Linux: 2.4 millions (8.1%)
- Windows: 27 millions (91.9%)
Even if the maths is correct, their claim is higher than what can possibly be explained by a full 100% penetration like slashdot user 624575 says, so I'd converge my thoughts towards their usual FUD...
Can I put a spell on those who can't spell?
Your wheels are loose and they're losing their grip, good you're there.