Advertisement
Promo

Desktop platforms Toolkit in association with http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;205413468;14699245;m?http://adfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/2397-58840-22058-14

Novell survey: Suse users are young, technical males

Colin Barker ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 09 May 2007 09:41 BST

  • Email
  • Trackback
  • Clip Link
  • Print friendly
  • Post Comment

Users of the Linux distribution OpenSuse are overwhelmingly technical, young males and they prefer working in a character-based environment rather than with a GUI, or graphical user interface, according to a survey conducted by Novell, the creator of Suse.

These users mainly choose Suse Linux and OpenSuse as their distribution — 51 percent — but when they turn to other distributions, it's usually Windows (31 percent of respondents). Novell's research, which surveyed 27,000 users and which closed on Thursday, found that the most popular competing Linux version is Ubuntu, with five percent of Suse users.

Separated by age, the largest group of users (17.9 percent) is in the 25 to 29 age bracket. The second largest group (17.5 percent) is aged between 20 and 24. Ninety-eight percent are male.

The Suse user base is technically very strong, the survey found. The largest percentage of users, 35 percent, claims to be an experienced user to the extent that they have sufficient technical skills to update and configure their own computer. The next largest group, 32.9 percent, claims to have a professional knowledge of computers to the extent that they earn money working in an IT environment. Just 4.5 percent claim to have only a basic knowledge of computers.

Better hardware support is the most requested feature for Suse, demanded by 68.9 percent of users.

  • Email
  • Trackback
  • Clip Link
  • Print friendlyPrint with EPSON

Did you find this article useful?
7 out of 8 people found this useful


Company/Topic Alerts

Create a new alert from the list below:







Video icon

Video

Microsoft Windows 7 Special Report Special Report

How Microsoft can make Windows 7 a success

How Microsoft can make Windows 7 a success

Comment Many businesses have given Vista a wide berth; Microsoft must focus on five areas to make sure Windows 7 doesn't suffer the same fate, argues TechRepublic's Jason Hiner

More Special Reports

Desktop Management Benchmarking

Test Your Desktop Management Systems

How good are your company's desktop management solutions? How do they compare with those of your peers?

Take two minutes to complete our new Desktop Management and Energy Consumption benchmark, and find out what issues your business needs to focus on.


Skip Sub Navigation Links to CNET Brand Links

Help

Become part of the ZDNet community.

Newsletters