After noticing the Google Trends from a lifehacker post, I decided to check out how well Linux is faring against windows. Initially I compared Linux and Windows which gave a huge difference for windows. This is understandable since Linux is not the main environment but rather the core. I then decided to check the actual desktop that someone might use, and the result were interesting
It seems that Ubuntu is slowly overcoming Windows XP in search popularity and even though Vista is still ahead which I will attribute in part to the ridiculous hype it has received. Currently ubuntu is slighly over XP in search popularity but that could be a minor surge as what happened back when Feisty came out. However if you take in the continuous downward trend of XP it might stay that way now that Gutsy is out.
It is also quite interesting to note that Ubuntu is a much more popular word in European sites and/or in European languages. English based sites tend to talk more about windows but that’s understandable if you consider that Europe is pioneering in that space while the USA (read: Companies in USA) is fighting tooth and nail to prevent the spread and awareness of GNU/Linux.
Funny note: Notice how Vista has entries about it since before 2004. It just shows how far back news about it have been circulating.
The “Vista” hits from before 2005 are most likely unrelated to Windows – “vista” is not an unusual english word in its own right, and there are also many other things named “Vista”.
I would like to see Debian and Ubuntu in the spotlight more often, either is better than VISTA !
The Vista name wasn’t even announced till mid 2005. As commented above, “vista” is a common word.
Most of the searches were probably people trying to solve problems, so this could be more of a gauge of problems than popularity.
It’s not exactly fair to compare “windows xp” against “ubuntu”, unless you also include just “xp”, and “ubuntu linux”. Do that and you find that Microsoft has more than a 2 to 1 lead, not surprising given the overall market shares (even given that the traditional figures are based on sales revenue, which makes it hard for a cost free operating system to measure up.)
I realize it very much Robert. Indeed before I checked Ubuntu vs Windows, I also included Fedora and Suse but they were quite low so as not to be relevant. Unfortunately google trends don’t provide a way (at least not that I’ve seen) to combine results so that I coud combine something like “(Ubuntu+Fedora+Suse+Gentoo+PCLinuxOS), (XP+Vista)”
I’m almost sure you wanted to compare Ubuntu, Windows XP and Windows Vista. The modified search query represents much more realistic view, IMO.
also is quite interesting.