Linux Reaches 32% Netbook Market Share

christian.einfeldt writes "Linux netbooks have captured 32% of the global netbook market, says Jeff Orr, an analyst with consumer computer research firm ABI Research. The largest share of netbook sales is in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, according to Orr. ABI's latest figures align with a statement by Dell executives in February of this year, to the effect that Linux netbooks comprised about 33% of Dell shipments of Dell Inspiron mini 9s netbooks. These data points cast doubt on claims by Microsoft that Windows XP has captured 98% of the netbook market (a figure Microsoft later revised to 93%). In an interview with DesktopLinux.com, Orr made clear that the 32% Linux netbook market share did not include either user-installed Linux or dual-boot systems, but was confined to just pre-installed Linux shipments."

Hard to find Linux Netbooks in Japan

[putaro]

All the ones I see in the shops are running Windows. I've even tried asking and got a blank look. Rinikusu? Nan desu ka (what's that)?

Re:Oh really?

[HeadSoft]

Name me a Linux based professional audio workstation on par with Pro Tools, Cubase, Sonar, Logic, Mixcraft, Tracktion, Reaper, etc., and doesn't require me to spend DAYS trying to get low latency drivers to work.

If you mention Audacity, that shows how little you know about serious audio work, or how your audio editing needs are of elementary quality.

I run FL Studio 9 in Wine and it works fine. Perhaps you could get Pro Tools, Cubase, etc. working this way as well, and spend the extra $100 you saved on new gear for your studio.

Re:Oh really?

[Mprx]

Ardour [ardour.org] is the only Free software DAW suitable for any serious work. It uses JACK [jackaudio.org], which is an excellent low-latency audio routing system, but actual audio playback on Linux depends on the ALSA backend, which varies in quality depending on your hardware. Check the Alsa SoundCard Matrix [alsa-project.org] for details. Recent Linux kernels have reasonably low latency by default, but for very tight latency requirements you might need a custom kernel configuration or patches.

Re:This Just In:

[pecosdave]

In my case it's not paying the money, it's who the money goes to. I don't want Microsoft taxing computers - it's philosophical.

Another reason I want to find a system with Linux pre-installed is when I wipe it and put my distro of choice on there, if it was sold with Linux chances are I can make all of it work with Linux. There's still a lot of crappy software based hardware out there that practically requires Windows to work, or requires so much effort and maintenance to work/keep working in Linux it's not worth messing with.

Re:This Just In:

[Anonymous Coward]

You're responding to the wrong post. GP is asking why anybody would bother buying a Linux netbook and then pirate Windows onto it when the Windows netbooks aren't any more expensive to start with.

Re:A view from Asia-Pacific

[Cimexus]

Huh? That's weird...I also live in Australia and was going to post that I'm not surprised that APAC seems to be a successful market for these Linux netbooks. The Linux netbooks are displayed quite prominently (along with the Windows ones of course) in quite a few retailer. JB Hifi springs to mind ... the one near my place has the linux netbooks right there on the ends of the aisle ... actually ~more~ prominently placed than the Windows ones now that I think about it.

Must be one of those things that varies depending on the particular store and demographic. The area I live in is quite 'young and techy' so perhaps the Linux netbooks do well here compared to other places in Australia.

Re:A view from Asia-Pacific

[MrNaz]

FWIW, I find Australians don't like tinkering with technology and are bit insecure.

Have you actually been here or are you just speculating about foreign places out of your ass in typical American fashion?

I remember reading somewhere that Australians buy a larger per capita number of Macs than other countries and my informal personal observations align with this. :-(

Ah. I see it's the latter. Global market share for Mac is around 9.3%. In Australia its about 5.3% Here's a new tagline for a company you may have heard of:

"Google - Dispelling arsehole-originated facts since 1998."

Re:What KIND of Linux?

[Gudeldar]

I realize I'm posing on Slashdot but I thought we at least read TFS here.

In an interview with DesktopLinux.com, Orr made clear that the 32% Linux netbook market share did not include either user-installed Linux or dual-boot systems, but was confined to just pre-installed Linux shipments

Just to clarify in case that isn't clear it DOES NOT include pre/fast boot installs (which would be dual boot systems).

Re:A view from Asia-Pacific

[rrohbeck]

My Eee PC 1005HA has a slightly slower CPU but twice as much RAM and disk as my 4 year old Latitude D800 which was pretty high end back then. It runs three times as long on one battery charge. Firefox feels about the same (although the wireless driver still has hiccups in Karmic) and OpenOffice feels faster on the netbook than MS Office on the laptop although it takes longer to start. evince definitely feels snappier than Acrobat Reader under XP.
The display size is the only major drawback. A netbook with 1920x1024 would be cool although I'd need to have my glasses tuned up more often.

Re:A view from Asia-Pacific

[fyoder]

That said, anyone who is really interested in Linux would not be satisfied with the simplified versions that come with netbooks.

That's true of the Aspire One anyway. The graphical environment that came with mine was a joke compared to even xfce. Prior to that I figured claims about people exchanging Linux netbooks on mass for XP were exaggerated, but on seeing it I had to wonder. If my only choice was that or XP, even I'd want XP, and I'm a registered fanatical Micro$oft basher. Fortunately it wasn't difficult to put xubuntu on it.

Re:Oh really?

[featurelesscube]

I'm so tired of hearing this 'no professional level music tools on linux' rubbish. Try Ardour. You can even use VST plugins if you really want to (though I wouldn't, too many are rubbish). I've been a recording engineer for close to twenty years and I find the only barrier I have to using it professionally is uninformed bigotry from ProTools users who regard themselves as the centre of the universe. Also, if it taking you DAYS to get jack working, you are definitely doing it wrong or your computer is from Mars.

Re:Put me down for 2 netbooks upgraded to linux.

[rrohbeck]

It's not that hard to go back to a traditional desktop. Disable Netbook Launcher and Maximus in Startup Applications. Enable show_desktop in apps->nautilus->preferences in gconf-editor, then set up your panels. You can even keep the netbook-launcher icon and start the launcher when you want it.

Re:Hard to find Linux Netbooks in Japan

[KamuZ]

Check the Sharp Netwalker, Linux loaded.

http://kakaku.com/item/K0000054614/ [kakaku.com]

Re:A view from Asia-Pacific

[zaivala]

Actually, the ASUS-Xandros which came on my Eee PC 901 had a bit longer battery life... but Ubuntu 9.10 Netbook Remix has more than enough added usability to make it worth it, and accurately reports battery data... I'm getting about 5.5 hours on a charge.

Having a free OEM OS is actually a good idea

[somecoffeemug]

I was travelling in China a year ago. I bought an Asus EEE pc there, and without asking me the salesperson started to install a pirated version of Windows. I was quite surprised when I discovered what he was doing; and he evenmore so, when I explained to him that I wanted Linux on the computer:) And this is actually a good thing. Having a free Linux OS pre-installed, gives the customer the ability to choose what OS he/she wants to install, without donating money to Microsoft, Apple, or some other OS manufactorer, which he/she doesn't want to use.

Re:One.

[jo42]

Clueless one, go visit http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/mac-os-x/ [mydellmini.com] to see hundreds of Dell Minis running OS X...

Re:A view from Asia-Pacific

[pjt33]

If it comes with some variant of Linux preinstalled then you know that all hardware components will work right out of the box, even if you install a different distro.

If you "know" that then you're wrong. I'm still kicking myself for not getting as much detail as possible on what drivers were running on my AspireOne before I installed Deb stable on it. The basics all work fine but there are driver issues with wireless and the webcam, and I think something's up with USB in general.