Do more Betanews readers use Linux PCs than Macs?

It's the unexpected question I'm asking you following Friday's PC user poll, which is embedded below to take additional responses. The poll is about identification, rather than usage. Instead of asking what operating system you run, I ask how you identify yourself as a PC user. Not surprisingly, 76 percent of respondents identify themselves as Windows PC users. But surprisngly -- well, to me -- nearly 12 percent identify themselves as Linux users, which is slightly more than Macintosh. Could this possibly be true?

While the poll is embedded at Betanews, it is accessible by anyone. I expect that most respondents are Betanews readers, but they don't have to be. This post may marshall the fanboys and skew further results, which as I post are 682 votes, with 507 for Windows PC, 77 for Linux PC, 70 for Macintosh and 19 for other. Please vote if you haven't. The poll requires JavaScript. If you have disabled JavaScript or you can't see the embedded poll, please use this link.

Meanwhile, I ask: Do you identify yourself as a Linux user? Why? Which Linux version do you run? What are the primary benefits you see from Linux over Windows? Or Mac OS X? Please answer these questions or any others that you'd like to add. I will use the responses in a future post. You can respond in comments, or, better, by e-mail: joewilcox at gmail dot com. If you fit into the "other" category, then how do you identify yourself? I expect a mix of Unix and mobile users.

There already is some comment debate about Linux usage (The poll first appeared in post: "This film is rated PC: No Macs were used in the making of this video"), and I would like to encourage more. "Who are these people running linux?" asks Kevin Baron. "I can't think of one reason I would run linux. Unless maybe it was required for work." JLemire answers: "Programmers are using Linux for speed, control and web development -- and price."

Commenter Lokster writes: I use Linux. On my home PC, on my laptop and at work. For the record, I have been Windows user for many years, until I found Linux." Now there's an inflaming statement for the Betanews readership. "Linux is sooo much better than windows," writes Bladeforce. "Windows is for the cheesy crowd, linux is for the programmer." Say, guys, can you e-mail your real names?

So far, there are two comments to the poll, which I assume came directly to the poll rather than from Betanews, but who knows? "Your poll points out something that bears with what all other polls say -- there are more Linux users than Mac users," writes Old Rang, who asks why there are "none or poor drivers for Linux?" He rightly observes: "They -- Mac and Linux -- are both Unix based."

Someone identified simply as Steve comments:

A long time ago, i was in a pub having a beer. I friend of a friend asked what I do for work, I said I work in IT. He went on to say 'funny, there are PC people and Mac people.' I replied with 'Mmmm, only a Mac person would say that.' I game on a Wii [and] Xbox 360 (Nothing against the PS3), I phone on an IPhone (I do like WP7, my other half has one), I code on a Win7 laptop, I use Chrome at home [and] IE9 at work (enjoying IE9 thought). I am a person who uses devices that are powered by electricity, so does that make me the electric man?

Steve makes a good point. Does it even matter what kind of desktop operating system user you identify yourself to be? I want to ask something else of respondents: Who are you? Are you a geek? Programmer? Stock broker? Stock boy? More importantly, what identifies you as tech user -- if anything? Perhaps in the future I will do a long survey to gather real demographic information. For now, I'd like you to tell your story as a Linux user -- or Windows or Macintosh or something else. Again, please respond in comments or by e-mail: joewilcox at gmail dot com.