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June 16, 2005
Enterprise adoption rates
Enterprise adoption rates: CNET reports on a study of which operating system was used on business computers. They found 38% had moved up to Windows XP (released in 2001) by early 2005, while 48% were still using Windows 2000. Compare this with the "80% in 12 months" adoption of the Macromedia Flash Player, cited by Kevin Lynch on page 5 of his Platform PDF. Why the difference? A browser plugin is smaller and simpler to install than an operating system, true, but the key thing is that it does not change existing user habits... a plugin is easier to update than a browser because your UI and habits don't change at all... a browser is easier to update than a standalone app for similar reasons... an operating system change may carry much greater risks than changing an application, or a browser, or a plugin. If it has taken four years for XP to reach 40% business penetration, then it's clear (to me at least!) that Avalon and Flash are looking at very different audience scenarios.
Posted by John Dowdell at June 16, 2005 4:25 PM