From: ajayshah@almaak.usc.edu (Ajay Shah) Subject: Re: Linux beoming a real choice? Date: 12 Jun 1993 11:38:26 -0700
richb@jti.com (Rich Braun) writes:
>OK, so now that my argument that Unix is fading in the face of
>competition from Microsoft, Apple, and IBM has been thoroughly
>debunked because as we all know, five to ten people are using each
>copy of SCO Unix sold (and every Windows 3.1 user sends in her
>registration card), allow me to ask another question:
No no no. SCO is a minute part of the Unix market. And a very
minute fraction of MS Windows 3.1 copies "sold" are actually used.
As I said, the TOTAL number of people who are registered users of
MS Windows 3.1 is under a million right now. So all the others aren't
really into using MS Windows.
> If it's possible to count them, how many Linux users are out there,
> and how many new arrivals are there each month?
(You should worry about 386BSD in this thread too).
No. I don't think it can be estimated.
We can do a census on the net. But many net Linux users are stable
and happy with their systems and do not read col. The arbitron
program reveals around 67k readers of col. That's the number of
people (a) active in developing Linux or applications for Linux
and (b) new end-users sorting out their installation hassles.
There is a whole world of Linux users away from the Internet. These
poor soles debug their installations by reading col archives :-)
Each user holding a full installation set of SLS or MCC could install
for his friends. In my local neighbourhood I've seen this happening.
A free Unix spreads fast by word of mouth. Once I've paid the pains of
figuring out the install I can readily do it for others.
And then there are vendors selling floppies and CD-ROMs. This reaches
into suit territory. One data point: one of the CD-ROM vendors
told me his shipments so far are 1300.
In short, it's impossible to measure the number of Linux users.
Any hope about 386bsd?
-ans.
-- Ajay Shah, (213)749-8133, ajayshah@rcf.usc.edu