OS Stats Removed From Google's Zeitgeist

Kelly McNeill writes "Google's Zeitgeist service is sometimes used by news sources as a resource to generate install-base (don't call it market share!), statistics for operating systems. osViews contacted Google to bring some clarity to questionable aspects of the OS statistic, to which Google said that Zeitgeist is only a fun search inquiry resource and should not be used to generate statistical information. A couple days after that inquiry, we found that Google has since removed the OS stats from the Zeitgeist service."

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Re:Bets are on...

[DeathPenguin]

Looooooooonix?

MSN

[prostoalex]

Hopefully MSN will pick up where Google left off and provide free unbiased stats.

Google Cache?

[slavemowgli]

Is there a Google cache of Google's Zeitgeist?

Article text in full

[Anonymous Coward]

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Re:Browser stats also gone

[IGTeRR0r]

Not that it matters...using the firefox User Agent Switcher Extension [chrispederick.com] I changed mine to "Internet Explorer" just to trick people like you into thinking I was still using IE after the vulnerabilities...

Sigh.

[Anonymous Coward]

You surely do live in the greatest country in the world.

Re:Bets are on...

[IGTeRR0r]

According to this page:
http://www.illuminedgaming.com/eogoogle.htm [illuminedgaming.com]
(What google will look like in 10 years)
Google will OWN the earth...so what is the need for OS?

Slashdot Effect #2

[chill]

Hmmm...now that this is on /., will the search for "Natalie Portman" stay on the Top 10 Declining Queries?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Re:What about slashdot.org statistics?

[Anonymous Coward]

I, for one, would be very interested in seeing the browser and OS breakdown on Slashdot. IIRC, slashdot has not given out this info in the past?

That's because we know the results would be something like: 80% Windows, 15% OS X, 2% BSD, 2% Solaris, 1% Linux... : p

Re:ha

[Tackhead]

> I have a question for slashdot... can I use your polls for scientific research? Will my request result in slashdot removing their polls section? What kind of a crazy assed reaction is this? Why not just put a disclaimer up on the page that says, not scientific.

Well, you can't for Slashdot, because the poll page is pretty clear about it, but that reminds me.

"Can I use Google Zeitgeist for scientific research?"

Yes ................. 82% 7122 / 82%<BR>
No .... 18% 1560 / 18% <BR>
Only if you give CowboyNeal 100,000 shares of GOOG . 0.1% / 1 / 0.1%

Don't complain about lack of options. Most people are only after for pictures of the latest RIAA pop star's tits. Those are the breaks.

Feel free to Google for something else if you're feeling creative. I'd strongly suggest grepping "goatse" out of the past Zeitgeist logs first.

It's a good thing that Google Zeitgeist isn't wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, User-Agent spoofers, dynamic IPs, proxies. If you're using these numbers to decide whether to invest in our IPO, you're behaving at least as rationally as anybody else is in this market.

So if you're using Google Zeitgeist, I'd say go nuts, but only as long as every image search query returns a picture of that squirrel from Fark.

Re:Bets are on...

[edalytical]

Will relevant text ads be displayed based on the content of your files? Or will you have to pay to run Google OS?

Re:What about slashdot.org statistics?

[Anonymous Coward]

Slashdot's userbase would know how to game the results, there's only so many months you can analyse stats from

Gorganzilla/5.0 Big_Cheeze (X11; U; Linux i686; gaping-anus; rv:1.7)

Goatse/20040811 Watercat/0.9.3+

Re:MSN

[kagaku]

In which case Linux will suddenly have a 25% increase in market share.

"Yes sir Mr. DOJ, we no longer have a monopoly!"

Re:Huh

[k98sven]

The USS Enterprise was originally given the CV-6 designation to demonstrate that she was a "Carrier Vessel". However, after extensive war operations she was refitted for nighttime/round-the-clock operations. To signify this, her designation was changed to CVN-6 (Carrier Vessel, Night).

I don't know where you get your facts from, but they're all wrong. The USS Enterprise had the designation NCC-1701. (CC being Constitution-Class)

After Kirk blew up the original Enterprise, the USS Levant (NCC-1843) was redesignated USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A). And AFAIK, she did not only have round-the-clock operations, the ship was fitted for full five-year missions!

Re:Browser stats also gone

[angst_ridden_hipster]

Hm.

My browser's user agent string claims to be "Mozilla/4.8 [en] (TRS-80 Model I; U)"

You'd be surprised how many sites that insist on "modern browsers" still work.

Ph34r my '1337 Tr@sh-80!

Re:MSN

[flink]

I think you mean "fair and balanced" stats.

Re:Browser stats also gone

[NuclearDog]

Finally, a thread where this will be on-topic!

My user agent string: "All your base are belong to us."

ND

osViews.com

[bXTr]

Someone who works at osViews.com submits an article about osViews.com. Jeez, people, buy an ad!

Re:Bets are on...

[lombre]

no, its goonix

Now available for Konqueror

[leonbrooks]

Drop this [cyberknights.com.au] into /usr/share/services/useragentstrings and you can conveniently select it from Konqueror's "Tools/Change Browser Identification" menu at once. In 51 different languages. (-:

If you like melting webmaster brain cells, use this [cyberknights.com.au] instead.

My mailserver used to answer as a "Commodore 64 (with anti-spam cartridge)".

Re:MSN

[Sleepy]

Hopefully MSN will pick up where Google left off and provide free unbiased stats

Are you implying MSN is not Fair and Balanced?

Re:Browser stats also gone

[DA-MAN]

You mean there is an OS out there that IE is not available for?!?!?!

Re:The only reason this article was posted...

[ValourX]

And the proof of this is that the parent post was marked as Flamebait...

-Jem