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> Is there any big-scale, statistical data that is *publicly
> available* about operating systems used by corporations and by
> individuals, word processor/DTPs used by corporations, etc.,
> etc.?
Yes, and most of it's unreliable. SPA numbers change regularly; I think
their statistical methodology is fermented bovine excrement. Others like
Ingram, Computer Intelligence, and DataQuest, all define their terms
differently so there's no meaningful way to compare their numbers. I've
seen numbers for the same market period from each of the survey houses
which name a different hardware sales leader, and the numbers for any given
company can vary tremendously.
The prize for highest variance (and hence least reliability) goes to SPA,
who seem unable to even maintain consistency with themselves as they
quietly revise their previously reported figures on what seems almost like
an hourly basis. If you revisit the SPA numbers for a given period (say, Q1
1997) often, you'll see that over the course of a year or two those numbers
(for Q1 1997) will vary by 50% or more.
Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224
Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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In God we trust; all others must provide data.
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Opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
If JCI had an opinion on this, they'd hire someone else to deliver it.
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