Verily I say unto thee, that bbgruff spake thusly:
> Homer wrote:
>> So who exactly is "demanding" to read about GNU/Linux?
>>
>> 73% of computer magazine shoppers at WH Smith, apparently.
>
> I'll go along with most of what you say there - with perhaps a word
> of caution on your 73%
> Did you show 4/11 *exclusively* Linux (36%), with a further four
> showing Linux prominently?
There's certainly a degree of both Hollywood accounting and fuzzy logic
in my statement, but the general trend is undeniable. For example, in
the 4/11 non-Linux magazines with GNU/Linux coverage, that coverage is
not 100% of the total content, so is it fair to claim that this equates
to 36% of consumers demanding to read about GNU/Linux? But even if we
assume the baseline of 36% for those Linux-only magazines, and add an
arbitrary few percent to account for GNU/Linux coverage elsewhere,
that's still /far/ from the claimed 1% the Microsoft apologists like to
chant.
And bear in mind, this figure is about more than just mindshare. Since
those magazines (even the non-Linux ones) also distribute the actual OS
on their coverdiscs. That doesn't guarantee those discs are actually
being /used/, of course, but it is nonetheless a strong indicator.
> Linux is only a download or a magazine-cover away!
However, the mere availability of GNU/Linux doesn't guarantee adoption,
and Microsoft's efforts to suppress both knowledge and adoption of
GNU/Linux have thus far kept it in a minority position. So the
substantive point in this thread is that Microsoft's efforts in that
regard seem to be failing, despite their monopoly, despite their
domination, despite their money and power, and despite their criminal
tactics.
> I reckon a hell of a lot of folks, and certainly most of the folks
> who buy computer mags. are going to be giving it a try!
For the first time, it seems a large number of mainstream computer users
are finally being exposed to, and showing genuine interest in, GNU/Linux.
This is the best news the GNU/Linux community could ever hope for, not
in terms of any similar aspirations for dominance, but in terms of
finally achieving a remedy to Microsoft's inhibition of both market
parity and technological progress. Finally - a level playing field is
within our grasp.
--
K.
http://slated.org
.----
| "The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which
| the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf
| denounces him for the same act, as the destroyer of liberty.
| Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of
| the word liberty; and precisely the same difference prevails today
| among human creatures." ~ Abraham Lincoln
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Fedora release 8 (Werewolf) on sky, running kernel 2.6.26.8-57.fc8
23:35:06 up 68 days, 3:33, 4 users, load average: 0.02, 0.05, 0.00
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