DevBlog

The Linux community is at it again. After having accused Microsoft of spreading FUD by sponsoring "independent" research that supports their own cause, the Linux community has done the same thing. Shame on you...again. A recent article, Linux Looms Larger than Thought, published on the TheStreet.com quotes research from IDC that "the Linux market -- including servers, PCs and packaged software -- is expected to register a 26% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over five years, reaching a whopping $35.7 billion by 2008." This is bigger than previous estimates because it included more categories of software. However, read further and you'll see who paid for the research. "The analysis was commissioned by Open Source Development Labs, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux." Not exactly independent, are they.

Linux supporters would have you believe that the OS is overtaking Windows more rapidly than previously stated. However, the numbers are suspect. "IDC and OSDL did not release comparable figures for other server operating systems such as Microsoft's Windows and Unix." So, all we know is that Linux acceptance will grow. Nothing in the research says it is growing more rapidly, slower, or the same pace as Windows.

This study...and the Open Source Community's trumpeting of it...is just another example of how statistics can be twisted to mean anything you want.