Steve Ballmer's presentation slide
from 2009 shows GNU/Linux as bigger than Apple on the desktop

Summary: In terms of market share, Free software beats Apple (especially thanks to poorer regions where Microsoft too is struggling to win)

"Why does the Open Source Community love Apple?" That is the new headline from Stephen Spector, a Microsoft apologist. In an attempt to give Microsoft a break, he seemingly tries to paint its critics as hypocrites or overly obsessed while the reality, as one person put it, is:

They don't [re: Open Source Community love Apple]. They actually are beginning to hate them more than Microsoft.

In the front page of Techrights we even have Apple listed before Microsoft and Novell. But anyway, Spector once again begins with a false premise, which makes the rest somewhat irrelevant. Does anyone really love Apple at all? Some people honestly do, but they are mostly people in the West -- people who are concerned about Microsoft, which has attacked GNU/Linux more than Apple has (so far anyway). There are interesting comments on Spector's opinion piece, which is simply not accurate.

We are reminded again by Africa that it is GNU/Linux which keeps growing outside the rich countries, not Apple. The hypeP* products (hypePad, HypePod, etc.) hardly even exist in more than several countries, or as Ghabuntu put it a couple of days ago:

And mind you, there are 6 continents that make up this world. So if the iHype is making some "pretty impressive" sales in North America and some parts of Europe, the rest of us still want to read news other than how much is being added to the Apple bottom line.

Here are some more stories of Apple censorship [1, 2], which ought to remind people of Apple's dark side. We gave another example yesterday.

Speaking of rich countries, that's where most of Microsoft's income arrives from. Apple is hurting Microsoft's bottom line (Microsoft's numbers decline), so Microsoft is turning to places like China in hope of getting some money. Counterfeiting is what keeps Microsoft relevant in the developing world, so if the following is true, then it's great news to GNU/Linux adoption in the East.

Microsoft willing to avoid China due to piracy

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted his company is looking to expand outside of China due to the country’s disappointing stance on software piracy that runs rampant within its borders.

Shifting focus from China to other Asian nations is a risky gamble for PC hardware and software makers, as China has more than 1 billion people — and a growing number of tech savvy consumers — but just 1 percent of Microsoft’s current revenue come from the country.

That's right. One percent, assuming that Microsoft is not lying (which is common). Microsoft is not sure how to actually make much money over there because if it starts charging money, then GNU/Linux will take over the place even faster. It's the world's largest Internet population. ⬆

"It's easier for our software to compete with Linux when there's piracy than when there's not."

--Bill Gates