Join us now at the IRC channel.
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| schestowitz | > Counting Linux users on the web is like counting rats in the sewer. | Aug 28 08:44 |
|---|---|---|
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > The very notion is absurd, for the following reasons. | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > 1 - Linux users share DHCP IP addresses with Windows users. | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > Windows users and Linux users have two ways to get access to the Internet. | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > They can go to a service, such as a dial-up provider or cellular carrier where | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > they will get a DHCP address. | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > 2 - Linux users share NAT IP addresses with Windows users. | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > Because there aren't enough IPv4 addresses for everybody to have a dedicate IP | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > address, many companies create a private network, and then provide a NAT | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > gateway to the public internet. For example, your cable company or cellular | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > carrier might give you one IP address on their private network, but the | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > Network Address Translation (NAT) router routes all that traffic through one | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > IP address. | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > 3 - How do you apportion the shared addresses? | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > This is often a political, rather than a technical, decision. | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > Microsoft has a nice big army of lawyers and requires that you get prior | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > written approval before publishing benchmarks of any kind involving Windows, | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > including usage statistics. | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > Linux is managed by a non-profit organization and encourages any publications | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > of any benchmarks and places no restrictions on such benchmarks. In fact, | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > Linus, who owns the Linux trademark as well as the copyright to the core Linux | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > kernel, doesn't even require that Linux licensees display the Linux trademark | Aug 28 08:44 |
| schestowitz | > in any meaningful way. The only requirement is that the licensee provide a | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > link on a web page that shows where they can download the Linux source code. | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > That page doesn't even need to be easy to find. | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > As a result, if Microsoft insists that any benchmark based on browser | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > statistics count any IP address used by both Linux and Windows as ONLY a | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > Windows address, refusing to do so would mean being hassled by lawyers and | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > possibly even losing the rights to all corporate Windows and Microsoft Office | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > licenses. Accepting these terms means that you only had to deal with | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > push-back from COLA advocates. | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > On the other hand, Microsoft would very legitimately balk if a survey saw both | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > Linux and Windows users on the same IP address and assumed "one of each". | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > This would result in Windows being under-counted. | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > On the other hand, if you assume that ONLY IP addresses that use Linux | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > EXCLUSIVELY for extended periods of time, such as a week or a month, then it's | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > quite likely that Linux would be very under-counted and Windows would be | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > over-counted. | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > Unfortunately, these are the types of statistics that are published as freely | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > available statistics such as StatMarket. At one time, they published their | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > methodology and this was an obvious flaw. | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > If being counted requires the ability to support front-page, IE6 JavaScript, | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > VBScript, or ActiveX controls, the numbers skew even further in favor of | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > Windows. For Linux to support these features, additional software such as | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > CrossOver would need to be purchased and configured. | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > A more accurate count can be achieved by having users log-in and giving them a | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > cookie for each device/system they use to connect. This way, you have a | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > unique cookie for each OS/User combination. But this highlights another | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > trend. | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > According to the CEO of Linspire, when he tried to gather such statistics, he | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > found that only about 7% of all Linux users used Linux exclusively. Most | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > Linux users still had the option of using Windows when it was needed. There | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > are many ways that Linux users can get Linux and Windows. | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:45 |
| schestowitz | > Dual-Boot - each time the machine starts, they can choose their system. | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > Live-DVD - boot with the DVD into Linux - easiest way to get a "taste" and | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > also useful for maintenance and support. | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > Live-USB - boot with a USB memory stick or drive - a nice way to take your | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > computer with you, without having to take your computer with you. This tactic | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > lets you boot Linux on almost any computer - so that you don't have to take | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > your entire laptop with you to work on personal files. It also gives you more | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > privacy and better security. | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > Virtual Linux - using virtualization software such as VMWare, VirtualBox, | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > VirtualPC, or parallels, you can run Linux as a Windows application. You | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > don't get the legendary Linux security, reliability, and stability, but at | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > least you get a Linux environment without having to shut down Windows. | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > Unfortunately, Windows doesn't like sharing memory and other resources, so | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > performance can be a real problem, especially each time you try to switch from | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > Linux to Windows or from Windows applications to Linux. | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > Virtual Windows - In this case, Linux is the "Native" operating system, and | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > Windows is run as a Linux application. Many corporations are now using this | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > option because it makes it much easier to back-up and recovery, and it's much | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > easier to distribute a "standard image" which can be downloaded and installed | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > with all of the correct corporate applications. In some cases, users might | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > not even know they are running Linux unless they notice the Linux prompts as | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > the machine is booting up. | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > Remote access to Linux - in this case, the user uses his Windows PC to | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > remotely access the Linux desktop environment. Linux supports a number of | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > different interfaces, including VNC, X11, and Citrix style sharing. | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > Remote access to Windows - in this case, the user uses his Linux PC to | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > remotely access the Windows desktop. The one catch is that the Linux user | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > much have a Windows license for the PC. As a result, Linux users often | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > purchase a PC with Windows pre-installed, not because they want to use Windows | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > on it, but because they want the legal rights that come with having the | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > license. This is a really big issue for corporate users. When Microsoft | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > tried to claim that Windows Home edition users could not use Virtual machines, | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > or use Windows on another operating system, corporate customers rejected it, | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > and made it clear to OEMs and Microsoft that unless that was revoked, they | Aug 28 08:46 |
| schestowitz | > would stick with XP and switch to "Pure Linux". | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > As a result, about 98% of all PCs sold by the major manufacturers are licensed | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > and shipped with Windows pre-installed, but as many as 30% of those PCs may | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > ALSO be running Linux some portion of the time. This is based on the | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > "User/OS" registration patters seen on sites like Google, Facebook, and Amazon | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > - all of whom have become big fans of Linux. Google and Amazon have now | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > started offering their own Linux based devices and Google has licensed it's | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > software to others. Facebook has also been very aggressive about supporting | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > Linux desktop users. | Aug 28 08:47 |
| schestowitz | > Let's just bottom line this, shall we? | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > By the time Linux came out, Microsoft already had close to a monopoly on the | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > PC operating system market. By 1993, Microsoft's Windows 3.1 and Microsoft | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > Office were being pre-installed on practically every compund ter. Jobs was | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > gone, Apple was stagnant, and IBM's OS/2 2.0 was way behind schedule and | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > riddled with bugs. | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > By 1993, Microsoft was spending $4 billion a year on promotional efforts, and | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > was settling the bundling case in Judge Jackson's court. Microsoft was | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > spending about $2 billion on lawyers, legal fees, and settlements. | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > In 1993 and 1994, NT was still pretty much vapor-ware, and not selling very | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > well. Microsoft was worried about a number of competitors including SCO, | Aug 28 08:49 |
| schestowitz | > Novell's UnixWare, Mark Williams Unix, Linux, BSD/386, FreeBSD, and OS/2. Sun | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > was also beginning to offer Solaris for 32 bit Intel, as well as lower priced | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > SparcStations. | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > Windows NT had compatibility problems, users weren't used to the security, | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > they didn't understand the licenses, and thought that client licenses for | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > servers meant the right to install NT on client PCs. Windows NT licenses were | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > far more expensive than previous versions of MS-DOS and Windows, and most 3rd | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > party applications didn't run on NT 3.x. | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > The failure of NT 3.x was so obvious to everybody that Bill Gates announced | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > "Chicago" - claiming that it would be "NT Lite". Unlike NT it was | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > multi-threaded, and multitasking was spotty and unpredictable. It was more | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > reliable than Windows 3.1, which was it's main saving grace. It's | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > competitors, both Linux and UNIX based, as well as OS/2, offered true | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > preemptive multitasking, excellent support for multiple windows on screen, and | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > better support for Internet based applications. | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > Microsoft legitimately felt that there was a real risk that some variant of | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > Linux or UNIX could pose a very real threat to the Windows monopoly. | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > Microsoft implemented a number of countermeasures to prevent this. Many of | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > these countermeasures were considered legal at the time they were implemented, | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > but later, as the practices were disclosed in court, Judges often made | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > preliminary rulings that these activities and tactics were illegal. | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > On a number of cases, Microsoft lost in the lower courts, and had the verdicts | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > overturned on appeal. In other cases, Microsoft was able to negotiate | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > settlements which included blanket immunity for all acts discovered, and | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > sealed the court records so that the discoveries could not be used to support | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > other cases. | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > Some of the tactics used by Microsoft were later ruled by judges to be fraud, | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > extortion, blackmail, sabotage, and obstruction of justice. The preliminary | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > rulings were reported in web and print publications, but the settlements | Aug 28 08:50 |
| schestowitz | > resulted in Microsoft having the web versions of these articles purged. | Aug 28 08:50 |
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| schestowitz | http://i.imgur.com/i8lkx.jpg | Aug 28 12:18 |
| TechrightsSocial | Not a web page! Aborting image/jpeg type | Aug 28 12:18 |
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| schestowitz | LOL http://i.imgur.com/QRMPp.jpg | Aug 28 18:43 |
| TechrightsSocial | Not a web page! Aborting image/jpeg type | Aug 28 18:43 |
| schestowitz | http://twitter.com/jonpryor/statuses/107838385346977793 | Aug 28 22:06 |
| TechrightsSocial | @jonpryor: "I refuse to accept that a mono booster can come up with something faster than a glibc guy, but his code is faster" http://t.co/K7iQVj6 | Aug 28 22:06 |
| TechrightsSocial | @: | Aug 28 22:06 |
| schestowitz | LOL | Aug 28 22:06 |
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| sebsebseb | Aug 28 22:18 | |
| schestowitz | 0/ | Aug 28 22:30 |
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