Linux vs XP no desktop: Sondagem do The Register

[SUp3rFM]

O The Register realizou uma sondagem sobre o confronto Linux vs XP no desktop. Eis o link para o artigo: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/06/linux_desktops/

A survey of Register readers, carried out by analysts Quocirca, reveals you love Linux on the desktop, but you love Windows XP too.

Almost half the companies surveyed had deployed Linux on the desktop to some extent, with 43 per cent having at least some fully deployed Linux desktops. Another 24 per cent are experimenting with Linux, leaving 33 per cent using only Microsoft operating systems.
Click Here

Larger companies are less likely to be trying Linux than smaller firms - 50 per cent of firms with more than 5,000 employees are pure MS houses, falling to just over 20 per cent of firms with less than 50 staff. Quocirca believes IT staff in smaller organisations have more freedom to experiment. Comments like "I'd use Linux if I could but IT policy and user preference prevents it," increased as company size increased.

But the survey also showed a number of advocates for Windows XP. In organisations with a mix of XP and 2000 over 20 per cent thought XP was "a comprehensive OS with lots of benefits and is definitely worth upgrading to", this figure rose to over 40 per cent in organisations mostly using XP.

(...]

Os resultados são curiosos e explicam o porquê desta luta interminável (imho).

 

[NoMercy]

Este tipo de estudos estatísticos deixam-me sempre com duvidas relativamente aos seus resultados. Aqui está o "caveat" para este estudo:

"CAVEAT
-This study was based on what’s known in research circles as a “self selecting sample”. This essentially means that respondents chose whether or not to participate based on their level of interest in the topic.
-As a result of self selection, we can assume a natural skew towards extremes of feeling in this highly emotive area. Those with a strong advocacy for Linux or, to a lesser degree, Windows XP, are more likely to have responded and will therefore be over-represented.
-With this methodology limitation in mind, readers should remember that percentages relating to the total sample are almost certainly not representative of the general population.
-We can still learn a great deal, however, from looking at the variation between different types of respondent.
Tirado de "A summary of the results is available here .(pdf)."

Ainda assim, não deixam de ser interessantes algumas respostas.
Reparem, por exemplo, que a Europa (UK + Other) tem a maior fatia de pessoas que responderam ao inquérito. Pensando nas batalhas que se travam actualmente na Europa e tambem no facto de que a Microsoft é uma empresa Americana, a amostra (base de pessoas que responderam) pode alterar a conclusão do estudo, ainda que, como nota, esteja isto:

"Observations
No significant differences were observed between
USA, Europe and other geographies in terms of
attitudes or activity"

Mas, bom post super