2012 October 23 archive at Robert Pogson

Archive for October 23rd, 2012

Ugly Years

Published by Robert Pogson October 23rd, 2012 in technology. 1 Comment

Forrester predicts an ugly year for M$:
“When traditional PCs, tablets and smartphones are combined — Forrester dubs the three as a category called “personal devices” — Microsoft’s 2008 share of all operating systems in 2008, a whopping 95%, has fallen to 30% in 2012. The exploding growth of smartphones, where Microsoft has little traction, and tablets, where it has essentially none on the eve of Windows 8 and its offshoot Windows RT, have not only negated Microsoft’s gains in Windows users of traditional PCs, but put it in the hole.”

Forrester predicts M$ will split the OS into small/large versions. I recently wrote that was critical, not that M$ would ever take my advice, but at least it shows I am not “out to lunch”. I am so enjoying watching M$’s monopoly crash to Earth. Of course, M$ could revert to being a normal business and produce software instead of taxing the world, but that won’t happen. They are in quicksand and the more they struggle against Nature the lower they will fall. Reality will take years to penetrate the thick skulls at M$, so I predict multiple ugly years.

- Robert Pogson

Statistics Finland – Open Source in Business

Published by Robert Pogson October 23rd, 2012 in technology. 5 Comments

“Open source code office software is used by 43 per cent of enterprises. It is used by 49 per cent of enterprises in the smallest size category and by 23 per cent of those in the largest size category.

An open source code operating system is also quite general and it is used by 28 per cent of enterprises. It is used more commonly in large enterprises with at least 100 employees (41%) than in enterprises of smaller size categories, where its prevalence varies from 26 to 30 per cent. Examined by economic activity, its use is clearly most common in information and communication (58%).”

see Statistics Finland – Open source code software used by 79 per cent of enterprises 2011-11-24.

Use of open source code software in spring 2011, share of enterprises with at least ten employees.

If 43% use FLOSS office software, the proportion using GNU/Linux desktops could be pretty high. I have asked for a breakdown on that, if they have it. They plan an update next month. By comparison, NetApplications shows 3% for GNU/Linux in Finland. I don’t think that’s the case. I ask you, if 67% use a FLOSS browser, 43% use a FLOSS office application, wouldn’t somewhere around 36% use both and not have much use for that other OS? I would guess 18% use GNU/Linux.

- Robert Pogson

My Mission

My observations and opinions about IT are based on 40 years of use in science and technology and lately, in education. I like IT that is fast, cost-effective and reliable. I do not care whether my solution is the same as yours. I like to think for myself.

My first use of GNU/Linux in 2001 was so remarkably better than what I had been using, I feel it is important work to share GNU/Linux with the world. I have been blessed by working in schools where students and school systems have benefited by good, modular software easily installed in most systems.

I have shown GNU/Linux to thousands of students and hundreds of teachers over the years and will continue in some way doing that until I die in spite of the opposition.