""Tracking Linux is difficult in the current climate," Montreal
consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack concurred.
""My current laptop came with XP simply because I got a better
deal on the hardware; how can Dell know I opened it up and swapped
the Broadcom wireless adapter for a more Linux-friendly Atheros
that I got on eBay and reformatted?" he explained. "They can't.
Unless someone wants to make an automated Linux counter for the
distros to install, we're out of luck. And even then it will count
low thanks to Linux having a large number of privacy-conscious
users who will disable that feature if it exists."
"Indeed, while Linux does have some sales data for evidence of
market share, the fact that it's generally free makes tracking it
difficult, Slashdot blogger yagu told LinuxInsider.
"Consider, for example, how many Linux servers are running
without management's knowledge, he pointed out -- "I know they're
out there; I've worked in places where this is humorously so," he
said."
