On 2009-05-13, Miguel de Icaza <miguel.de.icaza@xxxxxxxxx> claimed:
> Hello,
>
>> > I do not think that Linux on the desktop is keeping folks at Microsoft
>> > awake at night. Our market share is still very small, we are deeply
>> > fragmented and our quality control is terrible.
>>
>> Speak for yourself.
>
> It does not matter what my experience or yours is. What matters are
> the actual market share numbers. Linux is still tiny.
Market share is a measure of sales. Linux sales won't reach the levels
of the monopoly's sales probably ever. Because a large chunk of linux
use isn't through the sales floor.
Nobody can evaluate the real numbers with the hope of any accuracy. But
even modest attempts have it used multiples over what sales would
suggest.
I'm sorry if you don't like that fact. I realize you work for a
company, and your need is for the company to succeed and make everybody
in it successful right along with them. But that doesn't change the
fact that the majority of linux users don't get it through boxed sales,
but by downloads, either of their own or from friends.
> Of course I want to change that, and that is why I have worked for the
> last 17 years in open source software.
You may have worked for 17 years in it, but your goal is still to push
it commercially. There's nothing wrong with that. But realize you can't
dismiss those of us who aren't attuned to your goals.
Without our numbers your job could well be over. We support the people
that support you. They write the software. We give them monetary
support, snippets of code, suggestions, bug reports, and in some cases
give them large portions of the code they use. We support them
verbally, financially and morally. That's not to say we're the sole
reason they're doing what they do. But we're an important part of all
of it, one way or another.
They give you something you can shape into a product that your company
can sell. Without *their* code, you guys would have to hire far more
people, and I'm not even sure you could pull it off then.
We're all in this together, so stop pretending we aren't an important
part of the ecosystem you claim to be trying to further.
I'd also further suggest you be careful about aligning yourself with
some of the more abrasive persons hanging around in this group. They're
troublemakers, their sole goal being all disruption of any attempt at
advocacy in this group. But that's just advice from me. Feel free to
ignore it or heed it. It won't be my loss or gain either way.
--
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