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Android Overtakes Windows as the Internet's Most Used Operating System (betanews.com)

As expected last month, Android has surpassed Windows to become the world's most used operating system, according to the web analytics firm StatCounter. From a report: Usage figures published by StatCounter show that Android accounted for 37.93 percent of the worldwide OS Internet usage share in March. Windows is not far behind at 37.91 percent, but Android taking the lead is being described as a "milestone in technology history." The fact that Android is now topping the charts can be attributed to the fact that mobile devices are now used to connect to the Internet far more frequently than desktop computers and laptop. Coupled with declining PC sales, Windows is starting to lose out overall, although it still accounts for 84 percent of the worldwide desktop operating system market.

6 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The year of the Linux. . . by jeremyp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Android isn't really Linux. Yes, buried in there somewhere is a Linux kernel, but the kernel is not the operating system.

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    All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
  2. Re:The year of the Linux. . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So because Android doesn't include GNU component, you don't consider it Linux despite the fact that it runs the same kernel as your favorite distribution. Okay smart guy....

  3. Re:The year of the Linux. . . by TWX · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you're being pedantic about it, Android's claim to Linux is just as strong, what it lacks is the GNU toolkit and the general base of additional software that one normally finds on a UNIX-like system. The Android shell, whatever it happens to be called, is intended to obscure what's underneath and it does a pretty good job of that.

    I sort of see why they did that. Windows users were accustomed to running with account privileges that left the platform vulnerable to exploit. Android largely has avoided that through simply not giving the end user the ability to have those kinds of access privileges through native tools. This also forces application developers to design software that doesn't require those kinds of superuser access privileges, so that the whole system remains relatively secure compared to the morass that Microsoft's OSes have been for the past twenty-five years.

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    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  4. Re:You gotta love these statistics, spot the fake by bgrahambo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    And each of those examples you provided is a valid set of statistics to know. It's pretty common to break down usage statistics into certain markets and categories. If you can only handle everything lumped together into one giant category lump, maybe you should stop looking at the more detailed stuff. You certainly shouldn't start complaining about stuff that the rest of us are interested in.

  5. Re:The year of the Linux. . . by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Um, yes, it's Linux, just as much as any embedded Linux-based OS is Linux. True, it may not be the Stallman-esque "GNU/Linux", in that it has very little of the GNU toolset, but that's true of most embedded Linux systems (i.e. anything with BusyBox).

    So yes, it is Linux, just as much as, say, a WR54G is a Linux-based system.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  6. Re:even more tilted than it seems by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Citation? At least the US, the FCC is very, very, humorless about anyone nosing in on the spectrum that has been declared the rightful dominion of the cell carriers. The only real exception is transient use of stingrays. Definitely don't bet against IT on the wifi; but attempting to tamper with 4G traffic is inviting a world of pain for rather minimal benefit.