News - Linux sales surge past competitors

["R. Sriram" <sriram@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

About 1.35 million copies of Linux were sold in 1999, which is 25 percent of
the 5.4 million total copies of operating system software, according to
preliminary data from market research firm International Data Corp. Linux
shipments surpassed that of tried-and-true operating systems Novell Netware
and all types of Unix in 1999. Nearly twice as many copies of Linux shipped
last year than in 1998, and it grew at roughly four times the rate of the
server OS market as a whole.

"Linux is moving much more rapidly than we thought," IDC analyst Dan
Kusnetzky said. "We had projected it would be No. 2 in 2002 or 2003. It
happened in 1999."

Linux shipments grew 92 percent from 1998 to 1999, faster than any other
operating system and faster than the average 23 percent unit growth.

That number could under-count the actual number of shipments, since IDC
counts only sales of the software, not the free downloads. In addition, a
purchased copy of Linux may be installed on as many computers as the
customer wants, which isn't the case with most operating systems.

The statistics show a remarkable growth rate for the OS, which until
recently was developed chiefly by hobbyists but now is part of the product
lines of many large hardware and software companies. Last year, IDC measured
a 212 percent growth rate, though they later reduced that number a little
below 200 percent.

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-1546430.html

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