The OS Wars Through the Eyes of the Subversive Archaeologist

As a quasi-retired, semi-unemployed, academic archaeologist I have plenty of time to ply my trade, and keep up with current events. But I have to admit that after the disappointments of the G.W. Bush years, and the let-downs bought on by the current POTUS, SCOTUS,* and successive iterations of the United States Congress, my interest in the news of the day has flagged. So, when I'm writing I use my late-model iMac. When I'm recreating, I sit in front of an Apple TV-assisted giant flat screen, being entertained by whatever I can get free through the Apple TV, including my basic subscription to Netflix. For long stretches I amuse and inform myself with an iPad Air. I'm Apple rich, but penny poor. In my small world Apple does: Droid doesn't [for all kinds of reasons that I won't bore you with]. When I hear the A-word [i.e. Android], I'm at pains to keep the bile from rising in my gullet. This Tech War is fought on hardware—and I'll take Apple over the so-called competition any day.

"But, Rob, where are you getting all these goodies from? You're practically a ward of the state; your credit-card debt must be stratospheric!"

Easy answer: "Prioritizing! Something I'm getting very good at, and my credit-card principal lessens, incrementally, by the month."

"So, what's all this to do with archaeology, Dear Boy?"

Not a lot, really. It has more to do with my on-line avocation and the tools that I use most of the time in its pursuit. Shielded by choice from real world news, I've become an avid follower of Apple, Inc., and each technical advance they introduce. I'm being a bit silly, I know. But for me it's kinda like following geopolitics. Samsung, wielder of the weird—Google's Android mobile operating system—versus Apple's iOS—the world's most popular mobile operating system.

"But, wait. I thought Samsung outsold Apple by a ton!"

You're right, of course, within limits, but I've heard different when it comes to the number of people actually using their Android devices to do what you and I do almost constantly—use the world-wide web to stay informed. Today I found some seriously empirical evidence to support that claim.

I've known for a while that The Subversive Archaeologist is fast approaching 350,000 page views. Today should see that milestone passed. I know that datum because the service I use to mount this blog—Blogger.com—provides statistics for my amusement. I'm astonished, as ever, by the staggering numbers of 'hits' I get. So, as always, thank you for your support. Wanna see some of my evidence?

This first graphic is capped from the SA stats page, just a few moments ago. Daily visits are averaging about 800--900, and the all-time number stands at 349,486.

In terms of the Apple iOS—Google Android wars, look below at the past month's tally of the operating systems behind page views. Before we get to the mobile results, you might be surprised, as I am, to see the magnitude of the gap between Microsoft Windows users and Mac users. Compared to the way it once was, this represents massive growth in Apple's market penetration. Windows wins, with 57%; but Apple's not that far behind, at 35%. Oh, yeah, and Linux garners 1%.

Now to mobile. iPhone and iPad combine for 944 of the 25,654 visits last month. Android, supposedly the Apple defiler—the guts of vastly more mobile units than those running iOS—added up to 313, almost exactly just 25% of the iOS/Android total. Furthermore, as you can see, the numbers are very small for Canadian RIM's BlackBerry. Believe it or not, this imbalance in OSs used for accessing the Subversive Archaeologist is reflected everywhere else on the web. People use Android far less for web access than iOS. Quite astounding. Lots of theories, most having to do with the difficulty obtaining web access for vast numbers of smart phone users. 

I couldn't let you get away without showing you the Top 10 geographic origins of machines visiting this site. I'm a little suspicious of the tallies for the Ukraine and China. But the rest are at least more plausible.

WORLD RANK		PAGE VIEWS/MONTH
POPULATION		N	%
3.	United States	10550	41
1.	China	5064	20
30.	Ukraine	1197	5
22.	UK	1072	4
21.	France	1011	4
16.	Germany	567	2
37.	Canada	454	2
33.	Poland	362	2
17.	Turkey	305	1
+50.	Sweden	258	1
TOTAL		TOTAL	82

So, there ya have it! That's the way it is, Thursday, April 17, 2014.

* Odd, isn't it, that for the past five decades or so SCOTUS, constitutionally the third branch of government by the people, of the people, and for the people, seems less like a third branch, and more like a fifth column in its fascist, Christianist, and Christian Supremacist manipulations of the United States Constitution and the corpus of legal decisions taken at the highest level.