Windows 8 hype has hurt PC makers and distributors - Gartner Gartner slashed its PC sales forecast yesterday evening amid warnings that a glut of unwanted Windows 8 kit is sitting in warehouses gathering dust. The beancounter expects global shipments to reach a little over 305 million PCs this year, a decline of 10.6 per cent versus the previously projected drop of seven per cent. It …
I helped someone order a Windows 7 laptop from HP earlier this month. For reasons I don't know, HP has different models for Windows 7 and Windows 8. Because of that and the high demand for Windows 7 computers, this person had to wait 2 weeks for the laptop to ship. And she was told over the phone that the delay was because of high demand.
People want computers; they want Windows 7 and not Windows 8.
Samsung announced that they a going to drop desktop (then laptop) manufacture, a couple of days ago.
Michael Dell expressed his vision of dropping desktop/laptop and server manufacture, transforming his company into a software and services provider ('cause no one's ever done that before, have they...?) instead.
Lenovo? HP?
Without those Windows desktops and laptops, where's the need for Windows Server, AD et al?
And with all that depletion, even the future for 'flagship' Office, cloudy or not, looks bleak.
For years PC Makers have colluded with Microsoft to keep alternatives such as Linux out of the market. Everyone knew Windows 8 would be a train wreck but no one would stand up to them.
As for the <2% Market share myth of Linux, just because its repeated ad-infinitum does not make it true.
PC Makers (Dell, HP, Lenovo) offer their units without OS - just ask. It is not in the Webshop for "end users" for the same reason Linux is not in retail stores.
Retail stores sell what makes the least problems. And customers bringing back the box because <Latest ego shooter> and <Beloved picture manipulating software> does not run or <last pirated Game of Bones sequel> does not play on it is trouble.
So the client share of Linux is well below 2 percent because it is too much trouble.
"So the client share of Linux is well below 2 percent because it is too much trouble." What is this trouble?, there may be an issue regarding specific software but for some users Linux is fine. The 2 percent is debatable, as far as I know there hasn't been independent research into real Linux use.
I remember when the reason given for users not to use Linux was due to it being unfamiliar to Windows users exactly the problem with tifkam!
From experience the real reason many small businesses stuck with Windows (particularly XP) was due to requirements of software they used., lots of this software is badly written and is not (or cannot) be updated so does not work well with Windows 7 and even Worse with 8.
The average customer has been buying "Windows" maschines for two decades now. He is used to the fact that all "PC" software runs on his computer and does not look any further that the sign "PC" on the shelf.
Now we sell Auntie Annie a Penguin box. It may even look like the old one. But it won't run her software. Be it games, be it the (very popular in germany) tax software or the other stuff she has getten used to. Sure there are "alternatives" (OO instead of MS-Office, GIMP instead of Photoshop Elements....) for some but they are "new" and require a lot of learning. Software can no longer be gotten easily since Repositories, downloading etc, are well above Aunties background and the nephews do not service Penguins(1)
Win7->Win8 just requires to learn "it's big shiny icon instead of dig the menues" and the way many users have set up their WinXP+ boxes even that is not required. Because - they have big shiny icons on the desktop and do not dig through menues anyway.
So any big outlet chain selling "Linux" will get a high amount of returns and complains. Problems the generally under-trained and under-paid stuff can not handle most of the time resulting in escalations, lengthy discussions etc. Therefor they do not sell the stuff and keep problems low.
Company use is another field. There most software is "Windows only" and that's it. And many developers have learned the hard way that it is best to develop and test on the target platform. With Windows supporting fine tools for all languages and being sturdy platform ever since NT 4.0 at least - why use something else?
(1) Windows,Mac-OS and Solaris services are available in the family. Penguins get rm -r / and replaced
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