[KLUG Advocacy] Linux Outpacing Macintosh On Desktops

[Robert G. Brown]

Adam Williams arranged bits as follows:
>If you survey a business that has, say ~100 desktops, on the whole those
>machines will be pretty homogeneous.  The managers will have
>documentation of the exceptions.  Maybe not across the entire business,
>but certainly each business unit will possess this information.
That's probably true (at least in well-run organization, or with well-
run networks). I don't know how much you get out, so I don't know how
much diversity you've seen in how well networks are run. My own experience
is that there is a *lot* of diversity here.

There is also a lot of diversity in business, in terms of size, scale,
coverage, degree of heterogenaity, security, up-to-datedness, and so
on (I'm sure I've missed at least FIVE imprtant variables, and I wouldn't
be surprised if some reader can enumerate a lot more).

>Home systems are likely to be misreported,  either deliberately or
>because the person doesn't even understand the question.  Also home
>systems may be dual-boot machines (pretty rare on a business desktop),
>etc.. that muddies the meaning of the question.
This is probably true, and surveyeos are adept at creating questionairres
that double-check this sort of thing, perhaps asking the same questions a
couple of different ways.

>Q: "What OS do you use at home?"
>A: "My system is a Compaq."
Or
Q: "What computer do you have at home?"
A: "I just upgraded to XP Pro."

That's right, and some question like this, when answered this way, 
contribute (negatively in these cases) to the confidence we have in 
these surveys. 

On the other hand, good surveyors do not leave it at that, or they 
supply questions that are more specific. Even a slight rewording,
like "What Operating System do you use on your home computer?" is
a clearer way to ask the above question. Telephone survey takers
are also trained (again, assuming a "godd survey") to filter out
unacceptable answers, with a bit of interactve prompting of the
vic^H^H^H folks being surveyed.

						Regards,
						---> RGB <---