[OT] Market Share

[Kay C Lan]

On 6/30/06, Chipp Walters <chipp at chipp.com> wrote:
>
> On 6/29/06, Kay C Lan <lan.kc.macmail at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > If 90% of home PCs run Windows and 10% run OSX, yet 50% of the Windows
> users
> > use a pirated copy whilst for OSX it is only 5%, what is the market
> share?
>
> Where do you find this statistic? In America, regarding XP, I'm SURE
> it's wrong, as MS's copy protection features are absolutely the
> industry's best.


Yes I'll admit it is only my guess based on my own very small straw poll.

With regard to where I live, and the company I work for the XP market share
is 0%. We just spent a lot of money upgrading from 2000 to NT.

With regard to school my children attend the XP market share is 0%. They
have a variety of 98 and 2000 machines.

With regard to company my brother works for (sells highend software and
training/consultancy using the software) the XP market share is 0%. All the
machines run 95 except for a few NT and Linux boxes.

With regard to a company I paid to do some publishing/flyers, they freely
admitted that on every computer they used the OS plus all the Adobe
software, were pirated. They 'coudn't survive' if they had to pay for
registration.

But of course my estimate was for home use.

Microsoft can now detect a pirated machine and
> completely disable it from being used. All that's needed is a
> connection to the internet. For anyone wanting not to go through many
> 'format and replace all' scenarios, they would be wise to pay for XP.


Which may explain why I've recently come across more Mac users; and why I
started my straw poll. I simply ask why they switched and whether they were
using pirated OS and software. Generally the reason given was 'viruses and
needing to regularly restore'. The 'Yes' to the second question usually
comes in a tone like 'do you think I'm stupid, why would I pay so much for
something I can get for free'. I've never bothered to delve into exactly
what version of OS they were running.

Even hacked copies from China don't securely bypass MS's latest copy
> protection. If you don't believe me, just try getting one of the
> latest security updates from MS on a hacked version of XP and see what
> happens.


Again, this might explain why I'm coming across more Mac users. Maybe they
don't understand that the real reason the computer stops working is not
because of a virus but because they are not using an illegal OS.

OTOH, Apple has no copy protection on their software, so my *GUESS* is
> that OSX is pirated more often (% wise) than WinXP. I have a separate
> registered version of WinXP for each PC I have (5). Not to mention,
> it's hard nowadays to EVEN BUY a computer without XP already
> installed.


On my straw poll I went for 50% because basically anyone I come across with
a Win laptop will have a legal copy of Win installed because 'no name brand'
laptops are rare. But few people I come across have name brand desktops,
they are custom built and come fully loaded with all the pirated software
you could want - and still cost less than a Dell.

One good think about XP, is they don't hit you up every 18 months for
> another $125 for a new OS with minor changes like Apple does.


Yes, not one of my favourite things about Apple either, so I have to time
the upgrade for the 7 computers I have at home carefully. But I was
wondering if you could tell me, currently my 18 month outlay for Antivirus
software is $0. If I were running Windows XP would you recommend I run
Antivirus software (actually I can't log onto my work's VPN unless they can
detect one of several 'acceptable' Antivirus programs are running - or I use
a Mac) and what that would cost me:-)

Now I'm not sure whether the Linux revolution is being fueled by the geek
factor or by MS driving them there because if you can't afford to pay for an
OS you can't afford it. If you can't steal it then I guess people HAVE to
look elsewhere.

Generally I think pirating is like drugs. If you don't do it you're
blissfully unaware as to how prevelant it is.