__/ [ BearItAll ] on Thursday 25 January 2007 12:00 \__
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
>> http://distrowatch.com/index.php?dataspan=1
>>
>> Not bad considering the fact that only a beta has just been released.
>> Ubuntu is a close second (7-day pageview average).b
>
> I like looking at the the distro watch lists, it makes interesting reading
> as far as trends go.
>
> It also shows a good degree of stability in trends. For example the top ten
> has been fairly stable for quite some time, Suse, Fedora, Debian, with
> upstarts such as Ubuntu and Damn Small Linux looking like a long term
> additions to that list.
Yeah, and don't forget the time when Opensuse got released and everyone was
talking about it. It temporarily brought it to the prestigious number one
spot.
> It suggest that of the top ten nearly all of them have been proven good
> distro's over several years, rather than a quick popular fad, such that
> they tend to keep their own user base as well as attracting new users.
I guess that as Linux reaches the masses, fewer hardcore distributions will
remain at the top. The technical users who run servers on their desktop, for
example, are becoming a minority.
> The list isn't infallible because they are the special Linux releases that
> will never appear on the top ten, but have great value in the right arena.
> Zenwalk and some that specialise in the Live areas probably Knoppix would
> likely come under that banner.
Zenwalk was one of the big leapers in the list, according to DW's report,
which was posted at the end of 2006.
> It is sad to see Mandriva dipping so low, I think part of that is the
> confusion generated by the Mandriva products web page. Why so many versions
> of the one product? Anyone used to Linux knows they can go for any and end
> up with the same end product, so why mess around with so many versions, new
> users don't know what bits-n-bobs they need until after they have Linux on
> their PC.
If it helps, PCLinuxOS, a Mandrake derivative, is becoming a star. Perhaps
Ulteo will join it one day (reference to the Ulteo -> Star slogan). Maybe
Gael Duval will find solace in the fact that his 'baby' does better than a
successor that had him betrayed/'backstabbed'. He sent me an E-mail last
month...
> I think it is also significant that Debian is always up there. That
> suggests that despite all the cotton wool padding of some distros, when it
> comes down to it many users just want a nice stable clean system with all
> the tosh taken out.
>
> I also think that in time we will Solaris in that top ten long term,
> particularly for people coming from the UNIX arena, it is a particularly
> powerfull distro, ok so it is best viewed on a particularly powerfull
> machine, but I am sure that users we like what it is and what it is capable
> of doing.
The other day I read that they gauged 7 million downloads. Could get
interesting... they send out free CDs/kits...
--
~~ Best wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | X-No-Archive: No. Stand behind what you say
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