From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Wed Feb 23 12:30:35 2005 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1456216A4CE for ; Wed, 23 Feb 2005 12:30:35 +0000 (GMT) Received: from mail.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com (mail.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com [65.75.192.90]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A33E843D39 for ; Wed, 23 Feb 2005 12:30:34 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from tedm@toybox.placo.com) Received: from tedwin2k (nat-rtr.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com [65.75.197.130]) j1NCUZb91400; Wed, 23 Feb 2005 04:30:36 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from tedm@toybox.placo.com) From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" To: "Robert Kim, Wireless Internet / Wifi Hotspot Advisor" , "List Free Bsd" Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 04:30:35 -0800 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.6604 (9.0.2911.0) In-Reply-To: Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1478 Subject: RE: Different OS's? Marketshare X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 12:30:35 -0000 > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org > [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Robert Kim, > Wireless Internet / Wifi Hotspot Advisor > Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2005 7:49 AM > To: List Free Bsd > Subject: Different OS's? Marketshare > > > Different OS's? Marketshare... > > any idea how many major OS's are out there today and what market share > they have? > > i think > > WIN 70% > Lin 20% > Apple 5% > so who is the other 5 % ??? > > you realze the statisticians and economists hold that 2 percent is the > break point... > Break even for what? Oh I get it - break even to make a profit, right? Hmm I wonder who gets the profits from the sale of FreeBSD? Do you suppose they would be overly concerned with the 2% rule? This is one of the (many) problems with trying to hold a free OS up to a measuring stick designed for measuring commercial OSes. Note that Linux is doing much better against these measuring sticks because the Linux community, for all their loud proclamations about being GPL, has been steadily making Linux less and less distinguishable from the commercial OSs. When for example was the last time you saw a Linux enthusiast with a burned CDROM of an ISO he downloaded somewhere? The ones I see all have colorful cardboard boxes with penguins on them that they bought at Fry's. Consider that even if FreeBSD had 50% of all running computers - if those 50% of computers all belong to people that never buy software and only run freeware, the people that create these measuring sticks would bend over backwards to be sure those 50% were not counted. Not because they have anything against FreeBSD, but simply because the customers of the data these measuring sticks produce cannot sell anything to that 50% - thus they don't care if that 50% exists or not. Ted