XP the system of choice for netbook users
The netbook market may become yet another boost to the ‘XP won’t die’ phenomenon. Four leading producers say the system is proving far more popular then expected, at the notable expense of Linux.
Australian site IT Wire reports both Acer and Toshiba as saying more than 90 percent of their netbook sales are for models running Windows XP. Dell didn’t give figures but said it was along the same proportions as the Windows-Linux split in its laptops.
Today Asus, the company which introduced the netbook (and originally had it as a Linux-only device) also says XP is taking over. That’s partly down to Windows netbooks not being available at launch, but the firm reports “the shift now is more towards Windows due to customer demand for Windows XP being that consumers are more familiar with the Windows platform”.
On the face of it, none of these figures are particularly shocking. Windows has only just dropped below a 90 percent share of all internet-connected machines. When you look at PCs only, that share is around 99 percent. So if anything you might expect the Windows netbook share to be even higher than it is.
The real story is that the figures seriously bring into question the theory that netbooks would be the venue where Linux achieved a foothold. That idea had logic for a couple of reasons. First, on a device where memory, disk space and processor speeds are all kept to a minimum, ‘Windows bloat’ is more of a problem. Secondly, the cheaper prices mean the cost of even the lowest-priced edition of Windows (as opposed to free open source systems) is a much more significant target for economies.
It’s looking likely, however, that for most buyers the usual reasons for Windows dominance outweigh the added advantages of Linux on a netbook. The big question now is whether Windows 7 really will run effectively – and affordably – on the devices.
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December 18th, 2008
Linux and OSX will remain a relatively niche markets. Ironically, if you could take Apples consumer appeal with Linux’s server mojo you would really have something.
December 18th, 2008
Microsoft was all hell bent on ending XP on every level and promote and only offer Vista…period. If Microsoft followed through, the netbook market would have been primarily Linux.
MSFT felt threatened by Linux and there was no way they were going to let Linux have the market all to themselves. (Does this sound familiar?)
Not bad for a operating system that fanboys repeatedly quote only has a .86% share…surely Linux and its “paltry .86%” can not be that much as a threat to Windows…or was it? Its a “niche market” anyway…why should Microsoft even care?
MSFT was caught unprepared (and it seems that with its Billions of dollars at its disposal …no one at Redmond saw a netbook market) …
Seemingly due to a lack of innovation and foresight and had nothing to offer to the netbook market except XP (which Microsoft already proclaimed its retirement) because Vista would not run properly on many of the machines….talk about lack of vision.
Fast track to 2008, ….and here on Vista Blorge we have a article called “Windows 7 seen as “Vista done right” which basically reviews a Beta of Windows 7…a OS that will not even be released until late next year sometime.
Which tells us one thing, when it comes innovation and its ability to change with the market place, and listen to its customers…something is amiss in Redmond.
December 19th, 2008
Microsoft didn’t see the internet coming either. It didn’t stop them from taking it over, by some ethically challenged at best, methods. I’m not one who thinks they are an evil monolith bent on world domination. They follow in the steps of IBM and ATT and others who had no qualms about positioning them selves and using their muscle to dominate. I don’t believe it’s any more than that.
I’ve been using Linux for around ten years as a WAN and Server product, and two as my main desktop OS.
A few years back they were really concerned with Linux. Now? Not so much. It was more about getting the license income from Netbooks sales than any real fear of a Linux toehold. Microsoft cares about the Server OS, Linux has become about the desktop.
Ever wonder why MS hasn’t bothered with any real Apple FUD? OSX isn’t a real threat to the heart of their business model. They used the desktop to get the Servers away from Novell.
Netware had no real GUI at the time of NT 3.5. WordPerfect and Lotus had the apps nailed down. NT 4 was released in 1995. As was Office 95.
They mowed down the competition on the strength of a consistent UI and the added features you got when going pure Windows. It also ran on a variety of CPUs and development was much easier because you programmed to the API instead of the hardware.
That doesn’t mean I particularly care for some of the methods they used. I think the Justice Dept. should have spun off the OS part of the company. And the licensing could be described as draconian. But the position of some enthusiasts of other OSs that MS is at the position they currently enjoy solely by stealing and using a club is just wrong.
Microsoft was much more concerned about Linux than OSX because it’s a viable replacement from the Servers forward. Apple seems content with a craptastic Server line and no interest in the Enterprise market despite the fanboy users who think that market consists only of the Desktop and Phone.
Your analysis of the Netbook isn’t very accurate. In spite of those “I’m a Mac” commercials, Microsoft doesn’t make computers. I’m not sure how you think they dropped the ball on a product they don’t make.
Asus caught HP and Lenovo napping. XP is perfectly usable in a gig of ram so I really don’t get how “they had nothing to offer”. This article says otherwise. They easily passed Linux with its year head start in a couple of months. It would have been stupid for them to reinvent the wheel with a new OS. Microsoft wants people to use Vista or 7 to enhance the Server OS line. It’s wishful thinking Vista has hurt them in any significant way, when people are paying a premium of over $100 dollars to Dell for XP.
Netbooks may very well fade away because the idea of very inexpensive hardware seems to have gone away in favor of pricing so close to a regular laptop with a usable keyboard and screen it hard to justify getting one.