The press (present company included) loves a fight. Or better yet, a war. That's why we're eager to cast two successful competitors — whether or not they're succeeding at each other's expense — as warriors fighting over market share.
The best copy, of course, are David vs. Goliath stories. IBM was Goliath for decades. Davids came and went. There were the BUNCH (there's a memory test). Then there was Digital. Then Apple. Steve Jobs loved the role. After
Microsoft took over the Goliath part, the Steve-less Apple made a pathetic David. Marc Andreessen and Netscape put in a much better performance. Now Marc has been replaced by Linus Torvalds, of course.
But Linus isn't following the script. In the server business, Linux is turning into another Goliath, even though Microsoft isn't going away. As the latest IDC numbers show, both Linux and Microsoft are winning, big time. The losers are NetWare and UNIX. The sad news is that IDC lumps UNIX — Sun, HP and the rest of them — into one shrinking non-Linux group. Between 1996 and 2003, IDC expects UNIX to lose half its share. NetWare was already declared dead by the press back when it led the pack, in 1996 (I remember, because I was working for those guys back then.)
On the client side, the story isn't quite as interesting, because there are no Davids, including Linux. It's almost all Windows.
Not that Linux is chopped liver. IDC shows Linux edging ahead of Macintosh on the desktop by 2003, leading by 5.5 to 5.2%. Amazingly, it also shows Windows gaining with almost a 90% share.
— Doc Searls