How long has this 'census' been out for?

The Open Source Census goes way beyond the traditional, too rarely used Linux Counter.

There is a growing demand for knowing the extent of open source usage, according to OpenLogic, which has undertaken a census to determine just how much OS software resides on enterprise servers. Enterprises struggle to sift through thousands of open source projects to determine what might work for them. However, not all industry watchers agree that a census is necessary.

Microsoft has become a sponsor of The Open Source Census, a project started earlier this year that aims to track and catalog the use of open-source software in enterprises worldwide, the group announced Monday.

Results of Australia’s first large-scale Open Source community census have been released to the public. Produced by Open Source consulting firm Waugh Partners, the Australian Open Source Industry & Community Report gives voice to the business potentials, patterns and concerns of a previously mute sector of the IT industry.

"Early results in a study that aims to track open source installations in business has seen Ubuntu and Firefox race to the top of the charts."

"IT workers who specialise in free and open source software are earning more than the national average for IT, according to the results of Australia's first open source census. The average full time salary of respondents to the Australian Open Source Industry and Community Census was between $76,000 and $100,000, but the 10 percent working on open source full time were earning almost three times the national median."

The Open Source Census rolls forward, but I'm not sure how far it has gone as yet. In the summary, it shows just 789 machines scanned (as of the time that I read it). That's not a bad start, but it is just a start. As such, it's hard to read much into the data.

The latest Microsoft move to upset open source advocates is word the giant of Redmond is helping sponsor the open source census.