Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share In USA
https://ostechnix.com/linux-reaches-5-desktop-market-share-in-usa/Open linkView original on lemmy.ml1587
Comments313https://ostechnix.com/linux-reaches-5-desktop-market-share-in-usa/Open linkView original on lemmy.ml
I just transitioned to Linux. Fully removed windows.
I'm doing my part!
I consider myself a trans ally, but I’m behind on the latest pronouns. Congrats!
I identify as Linux and my pronouns are root/0.
Somebody has a root complex, jeez.
It's not perfect but there are different values
The funny thing is there are lots of things that are designed better on Linux vs Windows/macos too.
My memory is fading on some of them since I primarily use Windows for work and a steam deck for gaming now, but keyboard shortcuts was definitely one of them. Easier to get shit done automation-wise from simple scripts. CMD is so basic and PowerShell feels like my fingers are exhausted from doing a simple thing, and like you always need to write a paragraph to get a simple thing done.
Afaik from my limited interaction with bash: At least you have proper datatypes.
Isnt bash essentially treating everything like a string and it's up to you to resolve that?
Pretty much, though I use a lot of jq these days and many tools support json output and input. I'd love to see that paradigm expanded for more Unix tools. Maybe a new kind of pipe symbol for shells that implies strict json objects.
Not sure if you know of it, but I found this a while back and it helped me a lot: https://github.com/kellyjonbrazil/jc
Oh, that is interesting.
Nushell?
Yeah, command lines just feel native on Linux, where in Windows it feels like it's running off behind the scenes to fetch a grown up.
Proton is a big deal for the change. Think back 5 years ago and switching to Linux was much less approachable because you needed to be an enthusiast to get your games running. Nowadays, you just click download on the Linux Steam client and >90% of the time, it'll just work.
I have been on Linux for over 15 years and even I don't want to go back to the old days of manually installing Wine and having to create different prefixes to get different games to launch without sound. or some missing textures.
not manually, yeah, but bottles and such are still really useful. it shows how much good GUI tools help with usability for everyone
Not just UI, but simplicity of operation. The closer to "it just works" a system/program is, the more palatable it is to adopt.
I ended up wading into the world of WINE prefixes when I tried to mod some older games. I got it working in the end, but it sure made me grateful for how easy I have it with Proton
Hear, hear!
There is nothing wrong, and in fact there is something good, with FOSS being polished and user friendly out of the box.
Historically that has not been a priority, because FOSS has been by the computer nerds, for the computer nerds. But if that priority shifts to being a bit more “by the computer nerds, for the normies” then that is a good thing as long as the developers don’t prevent the power users from accessing any part of the system they want. Fortunately that completely against the point of the FOSS world.
I first learned Unix in the 90s, I use my Linux desktop more than my phone, I’m an engineer on embedded systems digging through C and C++ code all day, I have terminals open all day, and… I have Linux Mint Cinnamon installed on all my machines and love it. Change My Mind, lol.
I, on the contrary, prefer it when everyone uses mainstream Wine with winetricks and prefixes so if something doesn't work, you can at least fix it using someone's advice posted on winehq. With Proton it seems that everyone expects stuff to either just work or doesn't bother. The Proton advice is usually as valuable as Windows problems advice.
What are you on about? ProtonDB is full of such advice
Like I said, similar quality to googling for Windows problems. Reports on WineHQ are sorted by Wine version, OS version, usually involve specific actions taken.
That’s exactly how protondb works. And you also get hardware and distro information.
You can search and filter reports by all of the aforementioned criteria for any game that’s listed.
OK, it just has utterly degenerate webpage design. I thought those were voluntary additions by users telling what they use, not common format. Inconvenient.
It's okay, we don't actually care that you were wrong about something.
Proton is just Wine under the hood. I even use winetricks with it ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Yes, I do that too, except different things work and don't. And making tweaks for Proton in Steam seems more bother.
100% this. I've been on Linux for 27 years now (ffs I'm getting old), and until proton, I just wrote off gaming as a hit or miss experience, usually not worth the trouble. Now I'll buy Windows only games without even checking compatibility in most cases. Unless it's a full price AAA game, I'll risk the off chance that it doesn't work.
Clair Obscur worked out of the box and it took a while for me to realize that I didn't even check before buying.
Honestly, 5 years ago Proton was already in pretty good shape. 2018 is when I switched to Linux, and already had very little trouble gaming.
Yes but nobody knew about it. SteamOs brought that to the surface.
Gaming on Mac was also more or less the same when it came to running windows games, had to use wine
And I'm sorry y'all I know wine is awesome but using it manually is a pain in the ass and I hated it and I consider myself more of an enthusiast
Crossover isn’t cheap, but it can save so much time compared to WINE that I think it does pay for itself.
I haven't used Mac in years, I wonder if Wine is now a much better experience as well compared to what it used to be.
It is. But in some cases there’ll be a game or something that has requirements that are hard to wrestle with. For me it was a video game that needed specific libraries to run (possibly directX or whatever is current these days). After hours of attempts I downloaded Crossover and it worked instantly.
Desktop applications like the Office suites typically ran well for me in WINE. although my experience with those is dated by now.
I’m speaking from a macOS perspective but I’ve used WINE on Linux too.
I think it's less Proton, more Vulkan/DXVK. Proton is just wrapping these amazing things. Before DXVK, games in Linux used to suck big time.
If we can get close to that kind of support for productivity software, I think Linux usage would explode. One of the problems with business adoption is that specialized software almost always skips Linux. The Affinity suite, for example. I’m hoping we see some snowballing now that Linux is growing so quickly, but getting Wine/Proton working with more non-game software would also be an enormous win.
now is a good time to switch. Im so glad im off windows and their bullshit. a lot of games just work, including many online games, which is super cool. often there's no difference between launching a game on Linux vs windows.
Absolutely. Linux in general has become very approachable. I recently came back to Linux after 15 years away and I have been very impressed with how well everything just works. I've only experienced very minor issues with peripherals that were solved with a simple Google search or update.
inb4 Linux users sweepingly get declared as criminals for some flimsy reason. There was some news of Facebook filtering out Linux content because it seemed harmful to them.
You wouldn't download an operating system, would you?
All my operating systems are hand written in assembly
Temple OS?
“They glow in the dark, but you can hit them with your car”
Pretty funny that the slang term “glowies” for feds was started by Terry Davis.
rip terry <3
Of course not! I will only get organic / grass fed computers with a OS preinstalled by the vendor. They only do this to protect the users and not for the fuckton of money MS shoves into their throats.
Reminds me of the thing in Spain where the cops just immediately suspect anyone of drug trafficking for using pixel devices because thats what grapheneos runs on.
I'm less worried about any specific targeting of Linux than I am about some random tech bro whispering in Trump's ear and suddenly he bans Open Source or something similarly unenforceable and insane.
Banning open source would basically destroy the entire Internet in the United States. No tech bro is going to want that.
Business tech Bros would absolutely love to force all open source closed, all long as it's now their property.
The software tech bro thing started with a letter from Bill Gates to the hobbyists that despite learning to program on freely available software, and copying a freely available language with his new version of Basic, everyone needs to stop sharing and pay to use software. They all have wet dreams of pulling out the ladder and owning everything. I wouldn’t put it past them to try to nullify copyleft or something like that.
I know that and you know that, but have you seen the sort of thing Trump and those who have his ear think is a good idea?
I don't think they'd just ban using all open source software, it'd be something ridiculous like asserting that all FOSS licenses are null and void and those projects are now the intellectual property of the US. Likely propped up by the classic "security" justification.
Gulf of Open Source
With the current political climate, my bf worries about exactly this. (Linux users being viewed as criminals, I mean.)
The irony of Facebook running entirely on Linux is not lost on me.
My understanding of that was Facebook just gave up on human moderation and let an AI do whatever it wanted. Still unacceptable but totally foreseeable.
Thank you Pewdiepie!!
He single-handedly changed a lot of people’s impression of Linux with a single video, and he did it gently enough to not intimidate and scare them away like many others did. I respect that.
Is he really the reason? I just started trying a bunch over the past month through vm's to see which one I like the best because I want to take the leap soon. I am doing it mostly due to the video game performance and compatibility reaching high enough levels that I don't think it will be a big issue anymore. I also listed out all my current Windows apps and looked up what the alternative is, and from what I see, there is nothing left that won't run on Linux anymore. The next step is seeing how some compare to what I am used to.
I can't be the only one who is noticing its current state and just wanting to try something different. I don't hate windows like everyone talks about it online, but I am at the point where I am noticing they are only going to get worse with privacy and continue to make awful built in features that do more to benefit themselves over you. So the 2 lines have crossed paths, and I think it's the perfect storm for Linux soon.
He has a large audience and used his position to publicise it.
There have been countless volunteers and enthusiasts who have worked hard to make Linux worth publicising.
Keep in mind quite a lot of online games have recently banned linux players, in case there's an important game for you like that.
Nah, I am more of a single-player kind of person. I was barely any good in my prime 25 years ago and I have only gotten worse since so I stick to mostly RPGs or other action style games.
I think you should be good for the most part then! I know pcvr works with linux now too but it depends what distribution you use for how difficult it is to setup.
I'm out of the loop. What did he do?
Recommended Linux.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVI_smLgTY0&t=7s
He made a video encouraging people to try Linux.
be a racist piece of shit with the emotional maturity of a 12 year old with fetal alcohol syndrome?
Oh wait, sorry, thats just what he is normally.
He stopped being edgy more than five years ago after backlash from his own community. No racist joke, no rage baiting, no channel wars.
His content this days is just wholesome family interaction, art journey, or tech experimentation.
I appreciate your earnest answer. I hope that it’s organic and legitimate growth on his part. My fear is that he simply decided not to pursue right wing stupidity openly. I seriously want to be wrong about that, but not everyone leans into the right wing lunatic grift economy and all that.
Nice try mr. dipwepie
What's up with your username homie?
too delicious for you?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_goreng
Huh, TIL
I'm really glad that's what it turned out to be.
Damn tasty username right there
Just switched last month and I love it so far (:
🙃
Hopefully this surge in users make people want to develop for it a lot more and break more walls for others who are interested.
The bad thing is that more malware will arrive to Linux and from time to time malware that exploit undiscovered vulnerabilities.
It was already a pretty attractive target because of servers for everything. I’m not sure reaching 5% desktop market share will really make it more attractive for malware.
It would, because desktop users are a lot easier to infect than servers. They might be a lot less valuable than servers, but at the same time, they are much less secure. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would prefer going for the easier targets if there is enough of them to make up for the smaller value.
Just made the full switch meself this past week!
Welcome Mr. Krabs
ᕙ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕗ
Windows
(╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻
Linux
¯\(ツ)/¯┬─┬
At some point companies will be forced to accept that they're losing out on revenue by not releasing a linux version of their software.
And the Windows version through Wine will still run better than the native... As is tradition.
Companies don't make native software anymore - most things are websites now
Adobe creative suite, most cad software, games (work with Proton already so little need for this), etc.
Wow, that's excluding Chrome OS, which has 2.71% on it's own. So you could say Linux is at over 7%, but glad they split it so we know.
ChromeOS is going to the Google graveyard, to be replaced by android
(Maybe this is a good thing as Chromebooks have an expiration date averaging 3-5 years where they stop getting Chrome updates, when if it's android can get updates to the browser for a much longer time AND have Firefox as default)
Android is also Linux though
Well yes, but Android now has a Debian container option. If they expose some Wayland/X interface to it for displaying stuff on Android, for a load of stuff, maybe that is good enough for a lot of stuff?
Linux as an OS is generally meant as Desktop Linux, and it most definitely is in this context that is about desktop marketshare, Desktop Linux is mostly following freedesktop guidelines, which has traditionally helped standards on Linux a lot to streamline developments. So for instance XFCE/Gnome/KDE desktop apps can be run in all the different desktop environments. For instance also standardizing things like how tray icons work. Freedesktop is part of X.Org Foundation, and Chrome OS does not use X.org or Free Desktop standards at all. The newer Wayland to replace X is also an X.org standard.
So while Chrome OS is based on the Linux kernel, it is NOT a Linux OS in the original sense, a term that became popular decades before Chrome OS or Android became a thing.
If you include Chrome OS you might as well include Android too. As it can run on for instance Raspberry Pi and other mini systems, and could be used as a desktop system.
Chrome OS is a Linux kernel based OS, and not much more than that.
It's somewhat confusing in some situations that Linux as a desktop OS doesn't have a unique name, but it wasn't a problem originally, as what some prefer to call GNU/Linux was made 100% for desktop use originally.
The Linux kernel is way way more widespread and successful than what we usually term Desktop Linux or GNU/Linux.
TLDR:
Linux OS, Desktop Linux, GNU/Linux are generally meant as the same thing.
Chrome OS and Android do not belong in that category. They are Linux based as in the Linux kernel only, but do not follow the standards of Desktop Linux.
This isn't entirely right because Chrome OS is using a lot more of normal desktop Linux than Android does, which basically uses none.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChromeOS
Android is this completely different thing (built round OpenBinder) that ended up using the Linux kernel for good hardware support. It's basically got nothing to do with desktop Linux, bar needed it to actually build Android. You can argue that Google basically tried forking Linux for Binder and control.
Oh so you can install KDE/Gnome/XFCE apps on Chrome OS and they will work?
You know the "desktop" in Desktop Linux means compatibility is on the desktop apps,and that goes way beyond terminal commands right?
Yes you can, but they are actually in a LXC container with Wayland/X from outside (I think it is also in a KVM/QEmu). (Interesting project : https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumos/platform2/+/HEAD/vm_tools/sommelier/README.md)
If you look at the architecture it looks more normal than Android.
https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/chromiumos-design-docs/software-architecture/
Others note this:
https://www.aboutchromebooks.com/now-more-than-ever-chromeos-is-linux-with-googles-desktop-environment/
It's made of lots of FOSS, but it is a dystopian version of a Linux desktop.
OK maybe you are technically correct which is the best kind of correct.
It just goes against every nerve in my body to categorize Chrome OS as part of Desktop Linux.
Yeah, I hear you. It's not going to be the case for long anyway.
Every year Linux fans:
👐 It's happening! 👐
I made the switch recently for probably the strangest reason.
I’ve been running win 11 for over a year using a shell tool that allowed me to move my task bar to the top of the screen and some other win 10 functionality.
However win 11 removed the ability to move the task bar and my shell program lost most of its functionality. After that I was done.
I’ve Linux off and on since 2002ish so it’s not scary to me and I’m pretty happy with Arch and KDE right now. Still the occasional crash that appears to happen sometimes when watching YouTube.
Hey, don't knock customization as a reason. A couple of decades ago, I was sold on Linux by silly Beryl/Compiz videos such as this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=038RHEGu4OY
yo compiz is the shit. You can do ANYTHING with it. It took me a while to figure out because where the hell is the manual, but I have my own custom thing going on and it's brilliant.
Gimme mah Cube!
And the wobblies and explosions are cool too!
If anyone is stuck on windows and not able to switch there's a program called wind hawk that will let you download customizations in windows 11 including moving the bar
it's sad, pathetic, and stupid that one has to download a potentially dangerous hack to do something so basic.
From my reading all ways to move the task bar have been removed.
This is working currently on windows 11 23h2. There are other mods for the top too I just prefer a right side vertical.
https://windhawk.net/mods/taskbar-vertical
Fine… that version, not 24H2
idk how you stayed on windows so long, had I tried linux sooner I wouldve dumped it faster, no software support or piracy for said software if it does have support is rough tho like houdinifx is hard to pirate if not impossible, davinci is easy tho, adobe has no support (no idea if it works well with wine pirated)
Welcome! Because we Linux aficionados are incorrigibly nosy and passionate, which distro did you pick and how are you liking it so far?
EndeavourOS is fantastic. It's my default distro because I love Arch, but CBA installing it manually these days. I've done my time with the Arch installer over the years 😂
And the community is great btw.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Mint.
There's a small army of Linux "snobs" that look down on it for recondite and mostly silly reasons. Mint is a great and user-friendly OS. The only thing I can say against it is that many of the binaries in the distro app manager are very out of date, but this hardly matters now because AppImage and Flatpaks are so on top of it and great.
You don't have to. I'm a long time Linux user and extremely well versed. I still use Mint and Debian because I'm an old fart who likes things that just work.
Same. It should be illegal for them to be forcing this shit on us. At least I only have to endure it on my work pc. No windows on personal devices
I use arch btw
This guy uses arch btw
Real men and women run Slack. Tarballs Yum!
To head off the zealots-- ./././
That's not even close to a proper test of Linux womanhood/manhood.
my linux runs only in RAM, has just a terminal
I briefly looked at LFS with the thought to try it a long time ago. No..... Just no.......
That's not an OS, that is a psychotic break with reality. Fortunately, you can take shots for it.........
Gentoo with allllllllll the custom cflags while hanging a 20 lb weight off your scrotum
I did Gentoo for a bit also. Ain't enough hours in the day......
Still far too low, considering that the US is now a police state.
Yeah, even from inside the US it seems more and more iffy to trust our tech giants even as a paying customer. I love reading the stories about groups and governments in Europe adopting Linux/FOSS, but I’m also surprised I don’t see it more.
Everything in the news is so insane that I could see journalists ignoring/missing such mundane events as public sector software choices.
Here in Germany, at least something is happening. Recently, for example, the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein decided to switch to Linux (and also LibreOffice), with the change planned for this fall.
Overall, however, far too little is happening in our country. The vast majority of federal states and the national government continue to rely on proprietary software (mainly from US corporations, especially Microsoft).
At the national level, this is hardly surprising, as our Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is more of a US lobbyist than a politician: Until 2020, he was on the supervisory board of Black Rock Germany and was also a long time chairman of the "Atlantik-Brücke", a German-American lobby organization for economic relations (so on and so forth). Unfortunately, no change of course is to be expected from him — nor from his party, the conservative CDU, that is the most popular party for some strange reason.
In Bavaria, which is also deeply conservative, the federal state government is even considering introducing Palantir.
I don't understand how all this can happen when it is perfectly obvious how vulnerable all these US products are making us – vulnerable to industrial espionage and worse - especially now that the US is developing into a fascist, unjust state.
But hey, I think we all have to remain somewhat positive despite all this. As I said, there is some movement in terms of FOSS —probably much more in other European countries than in Germany. So, slowly but steady, we're moving forward! I really hope that's how it is in the US as well.
Best of luck in these harsh times!
I'm doing my part! Switched to Linux earlier this year because Microsoft started showing ads in the start menu. I tried Nobara but ran into some glitches that I didn't want to troubleshoot so I switched to Bazzite. So far so good.
Woooo! Year of the linux desktop baby!!
Finally, the year of Desktop Linux. Twenty years after we were promised. And it's still a pittence, but I'll take it.
I'm on a Mac, only use Linux for server stuff, but the more people we can get off Windows, the better. Let's go!
Thanks, Gaben.
Great, but I don't think that graph is showing any particular spike, just a nice and gentle upward trend in share. The article also overlooks that there is a certain element of Windows and MacOS computers being replaced by tablets and phones, while Linux is already an enthusiast choice on the desktop, meaning it will be insulated somewhat and gain market share through attrition.
On the plus side, Steam and Proton and maturing DEs/distros and enshittification of Windows certainly make Linux a much more viable "normie" option than it's ever been. We're a far cry from the CD-ROM of Red Hat that came with my "Intro to Linux" book in 1999 but couldn't use my Winmodem or printer and really preferred to run XWindows in grayscale.
You can check the graph for all OSes from all devices combined in statcounter, and linux is also showing a growth, so it's a real increase in usage.
Knoppix or bust
I preferred Mepis. 😊
Just switched to Linux for my daily driver laptop!
As pointed out on hackernews, this is likely attributed to (a) decrease in desktop usage by non-linux-users, and (b) the gaming hardware industry embracing linux (steam deck etc.)
I'm not in the US, but here in the UK I made the switch too.
I went from Windows PC + Windows laptop ~2 years ago to now having a Linux PC (ZorinOS), Samsung tablet and a home server running Proxmox with an Ubuntu VM for Docker.
Never been happier with my setup. The grass truly is greener over here.
If it's anything like browsers that's about the level were a platform is hard to ignore.
It would probably be more if there weren't so many Linux gatekeepers that tell people to "go back to Windows/Apple" when they ask a questions.
I've only ever found the Linux community helpful. I'm not saying there aren't dicks out there (I saw the one in this thread even) but for the most part people are more than willing to help out.
Oh they're out there. Usually the neckbeards who treat new users like they're stupid if they can't do a bash script right off the bat.
I chalk it up to idiots that recommend Arch to new users, then they're so confused they ask questions that most Arch users would think are silly, then everyone gets pissed off.
Yes.
Also: theyrethesamepicture.jpg
1000% they are out there. Thank fucking Satan they don’t dominate certain spaces the way they used to! I always kept a lot of tech at arm’s length because I wasn’t capable of having a knock down drag out fight every time I formed even the mildest of opinion on a feature or something.
I’m sorry to put this so bluntly, but technical people are some of the dumbest human beings on planet earth.
Did this happen to you in particular? Most tech oriented people (and Linux users by extensions) are generally chill
I have not found that to be the case.
Try and tell them that your average user cannot, or will not, use the command line , and you'll both get called morons.
Okay but I've been using Linux for several years and I've never had to use the command line. I have used it a couple times, but it was by choice, not necessity.
You do not have to use the command line to use most Linux distros. I think it’s a good idea to learn, but it’s no longer a necessity.
Who is this mythical average user I keep hearing about?
I've never had a problem forcing people at work - even those with very limited IT knowledge - to run things from cli in windows.
For years in one place I worked the IT support first line solution was to tell all users to force a gp update from the windows cli. They'd point to a nice little how to guide with screenshots and everything. I don't know if any of the thousands of people working there were the all important average user either though, probably not.
Well you both would be making assumptions about people wouldnt you?
Yep, there it is.
That did not take long at all
Haha, Don't offer people windows 11 , even in jest. It's clearly the opposite of "being excellent" to them ( rule 3).
Gotta love mods.
The folks who show up looking to genuinely learn something, who have a goal to accomplish, I'll gladly help them out. I'll go learn something I don't know yet so I can teach it to them. Willingness to learn is the most respectable thing I can think of. All that "EAUGH Linux isn't user friendly enough" shit is unwillingness to learn. "Why doesn't this perfectly conform to my bad habits?" Because you haven't died in a fire yet. Common mistake for people like you.
Windows 11 is nowhere near as terrible as people here make it out to be.
Try to run it on 4/8 gb RAM (officially supported configuration and many brand new laptops still are sold with 8gb soldered) and experience how worse is compared to w10
Its not terrible, objectively speaking, but as someone who uses it for work - I don't care to use it at home at all. The only Windows instances at home are VMs running W10 LTSC, and they are strictly for specialty software (vehicle diagnostics stuff) or legal reasons (my lawyer requires Adobe Acrobat for PDFs). I have zero physical Windows machines otherwise.
No its just a common trend I see when I look for answers to questions I have about aspects of Linux. I work in tech and know lots of tech people. Chill is one of the few terms I would use for them hahaha.
It all depends on the context to be honest. I’ve found that tech people, outside of professional contexts, are generally a lot more helpful. Things are different at work.
God damn I love it :) I've been messing with Linux for 20 years now and there are some patterns that never seem to change.
In almost every thread about Linux there will usually be:
1 person bragging about 'Using Arch" btw (before that it was LFS or Slackware)
1 or 2 people saying this will be "The Year of the Linux Desktop"
2 or 3 people joking about it being "The Year of the Linux Desktop"
10 - 15 people explaining why it wont be or shouldn't ever be "The Year of the Linux Desktop"
3 or 4 people complaining about how rude the Linux community is.
10-20 people saying that isn't their experience and/or they always try to help people when they can.
1 or 2 people actually being rude (who are usually downvoted).
2 or 3 people saying how Windows/Mac OS is better in certain ways.
4 or 5 people complaining about one specific thing that doesn't quite work for them in Linux, or one specific Windows/Mac only program they must use for work.
8- 10 people giving them suggestions about how to solve their issue or work around it.
Personally I love the Linux community. The people are mostly great, friendly, able to think outside the box, and willing to help others. I try to emulate that whenever possible. Sure you are going to get rude people in every scene, I just ignore them.
I put Ubuntu on my year old Windows laptop and to my surprise, everything is just better. I mean better than Windows AND better than Linux ever was before when I used it previously. I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing some major manufacturers shipping PCs with Ubuntu pre-loaded in the coming years.
Why are is that stat counter splitting Macs into OS X and macOS
It’s the same OS.
I’m a Mac user and everyone in my family is too (I use a Linux desktop for work), but I have a hard time believing MacOS has a 25% market share.
Especially because the lion's share of computers are corporate/business machines.
Should be 105 percent the way Microsoft treats it's users.
I'm just waiting for double digits so that the FiveM devs can't ignore Linux gamers anymore and actually allow for GTAV online playability. I mean, you can run a server on Linux but can't play? Dumb.
Despite not being a gamer myself, Gamers are or should be a hotly contested demographic for Linux to chase and capture. And thanks to Steam, there is a shift happening as gaming gets easier.
Agreed. Gamers are probably one of the demographics which are most likely to care about the enshittification of their operating system, while most other users who only want Microsoft Office and their Web browser could not care less. The former can be swayed to endure a small amount of temporary inconvenience to switch while the latter will not.
I mean good for the desktop experience on Linux, its taken the movement of most desktop apps to the web to make OS choice basically immaterial. I’ll still nitpick some things in linux that are still worse than Windows (i’ve replaced my htpc with a cheapo N100 and its better in most ways, worse in a few smaller things), but the most important thing is that the things I mostly use a desktop for (namely media consumption, browsing, some game streaming, and docker containers) its more or less the same as using windows or macos.
I think the fastest way for Linux to spread is for there to be a cheap gross dirty disgusting commercial version pushed at bestbuy/walmart...etc where people can become familiar enough with it to switch to other distros and out still feel familiar.
I think the fastest way for linux to spread are a) a state-sponsored (totally open source) product that sees a free and open OS as part of a commitment to a free and open society. or 2) one of these fuckhead billionaires drops $200M or so into a trust, rather like the Poetry Foundation, which has the singular commitment to create an OS for people and to support it indefinitely.
I don't think the answer to any of society's ills is to get Wallmart involved. ed: walmart however its spelled WGAS.
Just recently converted myself! It's soooo much better than it used to be. I used Ubuntu as a daily driver several years ago, but I absolutely had to dual boot windows because getting any games running was a massive pain in the ass. Now I just slap a proton build on it and go on my merry way!
I've only had issues with some software that needs to attach itself to steam games, such as Archipelago, but I've been able to figure them all out so far!
Wow. Thats amazing.
I switched to mint like a month before PewDiePie lol
My main issue is that I kinda need actual Excel every so often because I require things like power query. I tried installing it using Wine, but it needs to authenticate with Microsofts servers, even the older versions.
You can spin up a virtual machine running Tiny10 and install office on that. Should work fine.
I switched over to EndeavourOS around the same time. I relegated my old windows install to a virtual image, which I boot into for specific games and Excel. 10/10 recommend.
Have you tried OnlyOffice? It has better compatibility with MS formats than LibreOffice.
OnlyOffice is worse (and not because of the security breach implications), but because it misses the Ctrl+D shortcut (copies the cell above to the current cell). Which is something I use A LOT for data entry.
Wait, what security breach implications?
Can't find the exact article I found about the security issues, I did find some more controversies surrounding it, but this thread is about the best Ican do regarding the information with the security breaches: https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/fpurk6/stop_recommending_onlyoffice/
This is the first news about Americans doing something smart in a little while. Great job!
The majority of Americans are educated, but they all happen to live in the same 5 or so cities
OS reveal party and it's a penguin.
The article was written this month, so it's conveniently ignoring the fact that the rise from 4% to 5% took 18 months. That's actually a huge slowdown in uptake, not an acceleration.
But I'm glad it's at 5%, even if it's only in the US. Now let's get there globally, and keep it going...
Mind you, the usage on the desktop, as the article says, is probably actually a significant bit higher than 5%, thanks to Unknown, and if you include ChromeOS, which personally it should be IMO.
That still seems high to me but actually checking the StatCounter website... it has more or less been steady at 5-ish% for three years?
Year of the Linux desktop
REVOLUTION
Pretty certain the rate of increase will accelerate over years. Even moreso outside of the USA. Good news for getting more attention to other open source software not just the kernel and core OS utils.
I will mainly switch to Linux whenever I feel ready for the headache of setting it up for the first time too. Already got another M.2 SSD to run it alongside my existing Win 10 for anything that doesn't run on Linux.
I started running openSUSE Tumbleweed full time at the beginning of this year!
I truly must thank the folks at Steam/Proton, GE-Proton, and wemod-launcher on GitHub for allowing me to play my games exactly like I did on Windows. I can't stress to anyone who isn't playing on Linux just how good it really is (for me, at least)!
I have beaten at least 10 games while on Linux. Games like: Metaphor: Refantazio, Persona 3 Reloaded, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Mass Effect Legendary Edition (all three games), Oblivion Remastered, and recently System Shock (Remake). Just to name a few off the top of my head!
I still have a Windows SSD dedicated to anything I MUST use on there (mainly modding games, logging back into openSUSE, then pulling those files straight from the Windows SSD onto my openSUSE SSD, fucking love that!), but that is mostly being unused because I found the wonders of QEMU/KVM Virtual Machine Manager. I use the VM to sideload apps onto my iPhone, for save editing, or for testing a Windows only app before trying to run it with Bottles or something else.
Logging into Linux feels like home, while logging onto Windows feels like someone else's home. :P
Never expected to see a shoutout for my project on here. Thanks, glad it has helped you.
Which is your project?
As an aside, your comment has hit me in a surprisingly profound way. I think it's because it can be too easy to forget about the people behind the software we use. This is especially the case with proprietary software from big companies, but it can also happen with open source or smaller projects from individual devs. I think that it arises in part from thinking about software as a product, which neglects the messy relationality of how things are actually made, maintained and used.
It's sweet to see such a serendipitous exchange of appreciation. It makes the world feel smaller, but in a good way.
Wemod-launcher
Hey, Dani! I don't have a lot of time to play games like I used to, so you and the others who have worked on wemod-launcher are a LIFE SAVER! I can't tell you how cool it is to see the developer here, and actually saw my comment.
Every time I get done playing a game, and WeMod asks the "How was it?" prompt, I also always shout the project out through that, just in case someone sees it and they want to help or make the switch over to Linux. :)
How do you side load apps onto iPhone?
I use a program called Sideloadly!
Obviously, just be careful on what you install, as with anything else! :-]
I'm guessing this only works with older iOS?
Nope! I have my iPhone always updated to the newest version (unless it is a new revamp like iOS 26 will be).
I share your enthusiasm. I wanted to learn Linux because so much scientific computing in my field relies on it, but when I dual booted, it was too easy to just retreat to Windows as the path of least resistance. I decided to fully make the switch to Linux as an attempt to force myself to learn stuff, but the big thing that held me back was nervousness about gaming.
Turns out that this fear was completely unfounded, and I have been utterly astounded at how easy gaming on Linux was. It wasn't completely pain free, and there were a couple times that I needed to tinker somewhat, but it was no more difficult or frequent than I needed to do similar stuff on Windows.
I get what you mean about logging on feeling like home. Besides the scientific computing, a big part of what pushed me to Linux was how ambiently icked out I felt by using Windows — it didn't feel like mine. Running Windows feels like renting a home from a landlord who doesn't respect your boundaries and just comes in to make changes while you're sleeping. Like, it's not even about whether those changes are good or bad, but how weird it feels to constantly be reminded that this home is not truly yours.
What field are you in, if you don't mind a stranger asking?
I wish I could have an interesting backstory to why I wanted to switch to Linux, but mine is much more simple! I just saw how well the SteamDeck was running some of the games I was throwing on it, and was pretty impressed! So, I pulled a spare SSD out of one of my old laptops, chucked it into the desktop, and started the install for openSUSE Tumbleweed because I had heard it was "one of the most stable distros" and was sold since I have always messed my Linux installs up! (I was also dual booting on the same laptop I pulled the SSD from, so that could have been a lot of the issues I had)
Gaming is definitely more simple once you acclimate to the new OS you are using. It was like when I used a Mac for the first time, and didn't find it very good to use, but now I can get on one and do a lot more things now that I understand the system a little better! If I need to look something up, I just always add openSUSE Tumbleweed, and generally find what I need.
I used some tools (ChrisTitusTech, and StartAllBack mainly) to make Windows bearable, but never liked not having the control over MY system. It is definitely weird when I am on Windows. I usually check to see if that nasty Recall system somehow installed itself on there, or something similar. Heebie jeebies!
I've actually been using Bazzite-gnome-nvidia image on my main desktop for the past few weeks and I have to say it's very slick.
My main issue with it is with scaling disabled everything seems slightly big or spaced out in comparison to when I ran windows? I've read up and it maybe has something to do with the default fractional scaling but I checked and I'm at 100%.
Other than that I'm very happy with it!
Last time I used fractional scaling with GNOME/Wayland it was a mess. Not sure of its state nowadays
Ubuntu 10.10 was my first linux. Though 11.04 was released soon after my switch.
My first experience with 10.10 was as a virtual machine on my school issued Dell Latitude D505 laptop with Windows XP, a dual core 32-bit processor and 512 megs of RAM. And boy, let me tell you, it ran like shit. But I knew that it was because I was virtualizing it and didn't hold that against it.
I can't remember what it was called, but I eventually installed this OS on my flash drive that was meant to be eco-friendly for old devices. It had a very green wallpaper. And just used that instead of ever booting into windows by changing the boot order and leaving the flash drive plugged in at all times.
Edit: I remember now. It was called Watt OS.
I ran my first distro in 2009 and had to switch back to PC when I got to college. Finally got around to switching back over earlier this year when my computer wasn’t eligible to upgrade to windows 11. It’s wild how much easier it is to get things up and running now, my 70 year old dad could probably do it and that was not the case the first time around.
I made the full work + home switch last year. I don’t know which experience is more improved over Windows: Installing the OS or Updating the OS.
I still use windows because of Visual Studio. I used to use Mac OSX because of XCode and I honestly don't understand people today who still use Windows or Mac for anything other than Development.
If there was an alternative to Visual Studio for Linux I wouldn't think twice.
People who use windows or Mac for anything but development do so for the same reasons as you, they are locked into some features. For example, at home I need a local music library manager with local sync to my phone music app and smart playlists. Mac is still the only platform with this.
At work I need MS exchange integration and all the features of native office. Even the Mac version isn't good enough for my workflow.
My only hope would be to turn to emulators or something like that, but at that point I'm not really running Linux anyway. I'm just running something else in a container inside Linux.
MPD works pretty well for the music thing, and, I don't know if this is would be an option for you, but I programmed my own smart-paylist-generator in rust as a hobby project to get control of my 500Gb (around 10,000 100% legally acquired tracks cough, cough) library. The additional control over the algo meant I got something that works waaaay better than pretty much anything else I've tried (including Spotify suggestions, etc. — the only thing I still use is Bandcamp for new artist suggestions); if you have the time, I highly recommend a homemade solution like that. It is a lot of work though.
Can you send me the details on your smart playlist generator? What does it do, comb the music and create a static playlist from the library music based on defined parameters?
As far as I can tell from an initial look, MPD doesn't have local playback and sync which are the main features I'm looking for. Does MPD have a mobile app that I can locally sync the whole library to?
I'm traveling right now, but will get back to you on my playlist generator.
I hadn't thought of syncing music libraries! You are indeed right, MPD does not have that, and it would be a hassle to set up. One point to apple...
The only thing I really miss about visual studio is the automatic profiler. Everything else just felt archaic, bloated, slow, and unintuitive. Adding one line in cmake often does the same thing as clicking through five submenus which never once got updated since 2012.
If it's for C#, I'm doing pretty well with VSCode/VSCodium on Linux.
WPF and Forms does not work but I also have a Rider license from work which I use occasionally to maintain one of our old WPF applications, which we converted to Avalonia XPF. It works great and we now also have a Mac and Linux version.
Without knowing what you are working on in Visual Studio, I would suggest checking out Jetbrains IDEs. I've used Rider for .NET quite successfully, and most of their other IDEs. I havent spent nearly as much time with CLion, but its supposed to be good. I haven't used VS since like 2015, so I really don't know how they compare these days. But I also haven't missed it.
In short, you want a .Net developement platform for Linux? And i assume something like VScode is not enough? The thing with .exe compilers in Linux ususally using Mingw/Msys2 because MS having their own proprietary compiler thing?
Visual Studio is a relic of the past. Does anyone still use it?
This question is a comment to its answer 🤔
I've been using Linux since 2006, and been gaming on it exclusively since maybe 2018? Seen reports it's even kicking Win 11's ass now performance-wise. Yall are just mean.
I'm helping!
Just put Mint on my 2-in-1! So far so good, except my volume buttons don't work, and I have to manually toggle the on screen keyboard for text entry if I detatch the keyboard cover.
Don’t use the stock kernel. Use the HWE one if you want newer hardware to work on Ubuntu and its derivatives like Mint.
Or try a Fedora live-usb and see if it works with the newer kernels.
My newer hardware is circa 2015.
Oof. I didn’t realise that and assumed it was some new fancy hardware.
My original comment still stands though. The HWE (hardware enablement) kernels on Debian and its derivatives like Ubuntu/Mint are your best bet when it comes to new or obscure hardware. They link extra drivers into the kernel and have patches to fix issues you normally wouldn’t encounter, basically stuff they won’t include in the mainstream kernel for the sake of stability or whatever. I always used these kernels before I migrated to Fedora because the extra keyboard buttons on my laptop wouldn’t work otherwise.
Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. I don't mind old hardware. It's a rescue. Poor thing was in a disposal bin, and I gave it a forever home.
Is your 2 in 1 one of those baytrail cpus with some atom z sonething? If so, they're really problematic with linux, since they were released, due to some obscure stuff in their soc. I remember even people who formatted and reinstalled windows losing functionality.
HP Elite x2 1012 G1. Has an Intel Core M5 processor.
Frankly. I was expecting to spend hours getting this thing in a useable state, but Mint had everything working on a clean install except for the the volume button on the tablet itself and the function buttons on the KB. Honestly very impressed. If I did a clean windows install I would be pulling drivers from HP and installing them for about an hour to get this level of functionality.
I figure a quick script or something that turns on the On Screen KB when the physical KB isn't detected is possible, and that I can manually config the volume buttons and keyboard shortcuts. Then this tablet will have all its features working.
linux is coming! we are unstoppable*!
* well except if the EU bans operating systems without built in age verification
I couldn't find it is in the article, is this new purchases, or how is this measured. If a computer ships with windows and I install mint on it, how do they know where that tally goes?
The stats are from StatCounter which has this in their FAQ:
What methodology is used to calculate Statcounter Global Stats? Statcounter is a web analytics service. Our tracking code is installed on more than 1.5 million sites globally. These sites cover various activities and geographic locations. Every month, we record billions of page views to these sites. For each page view, we analyse the browser/operating system/screen resolution used and we establish if the page view is from a mobile device.
So it's the percentage if web traffic (to sites that use this analytics service)
Ah so that should be pretty accurate then, because the amount of users spoofing their OS is likely fairly low, and I would assume would mostly be Linux users as well, meaning it wouldn't sell the data as being higher than it is, but rather possibly lower.
Also someone who uses Linux is more likely to use adblock and telemetry blocking features. The actual count is definitely slightly higher.
Does telemetry block that? If you go to a site like this, does it get your OS correct? I figured you'd have to use the spoof features like in Firefox to get it to say something different. (Like telling it your chrome so it doesn't block your browser on certain pages)
https://whatsmyos.com/
I know in Cromite I can do some of it from here:
You can get the browser version. But as per OP StatCounter says this
I am assuming these are some extra js files or external scripts that the website will try to load, it won't be part of the native website itself. Adblocker will completely prevent those file or websites from loading in the first place.
My initial point might not be quite right though, in the sense of Linux might be higher by pure numbers but not by percentage. The sheer number of people using Windows, even if a small portion use adblocker could outnumber the Linux users.
My first guess is the author is aggregating the numbers from either the distros download data directly or they are getting the numbers from some place like Distro Watch. You can even get a crude sense of the increase in new users if you hang out in a distro help forum. I check the r/Fedora sub on reddit a few times a week, (I run Fedora 42 BTW), and there has been enough of an increase in new users posting "OMG, I just ditched Windows and look at my shiny new Gnome/KDE desktop!" to be annoying to some people. It can be hard to find those posts from people looking for help with a problem sometimes.
What no one can say is just how long those shiny new users will stick with Linux or run back to Windows at a later date. My gut feeling is, if half of this new 5% sticks it's a major, major victory for all the distros.
A lot of it kicks back to companies as well. If every time someone interviews for a new job they are telling users they need to run their programs or even just the application for the interview from a Windows machine it pressures users into going back. I always see shit like that for stuff that is even just browser based. I prefer not to install zoom, teams, and such and just open in the browser, but ive run into companies saying their typing tests and other pre employment material only run on Windows. It's usually false, as I never actually have needed it to install Windows, but it sows doubt in people who don't want to take chances when they are already in a potentially tight spot.
If it was simple and easy to install and play games on Linux as is on Windows, I would have switched over a decade ago.
It doesn't say how they got this number in the piece (unless I missed it), but it's likely more than 5% if they are, say, counting the OS by user agent strings hitting a particular tracker. Linux distros use different browsers and they don't report the OS in an accurate way all the time.
For a long time my UAS just said "Firefox, the version #, NT-based" or something like that, but now it reports Linux properly... I haven't been paranoid enough to use a agent switcher lately.
Iine go up diamond hands
Why does that website have the same layout as one of those AI-generated blogs that clogs up search results on DDG? It isn't AI, but the design is almost identical.
Current rig has dual boot Windows/fedora but even in the windows there's a little WSL Ubuntu running sometimes so I guess I have way more Linux even though I use Windows more right now..... I'm trying..
I will fully switch when installing mods are just as easy as windows. So far I haven't found mod managers that work only for one or two games. I have switched mostly to pop os using plasma.
Which games? I know there are a few projects trying to improving linux modding.
Oblivion remastered, stardew valley, fallout 4, or rimworld.
I cant commend on the first 3 but im a huge rimworld enjoyer and i've had 0 issues modding on linux. Steamworkshop works as expected and even RimPy launcher workers natively on linux.
Modding might not be as easy as on Windows, but for example, Mod Organizer 2 works on Linux. Steam Tinker Launch helps with MO2 installation and usage. Wabbajack also works after some tinkering, but you'll need to search the Internet to figure out how to get it working.
I have recently played Fallout: New Vegas with Viva New Vegas modlist and Skyrim with Nordic Souls modlist under Linux. Took some tinkering to get the modding things working, and to figure out where each of the files are located, but other than those, the games worked fine.
Once you go through the pain of getting one modding tool working, you can then use it with other games without the initial hassle.
I doubt this is the case. Number is likely biased by SteanDecks and AI crawlers/Agents. It would be nice however.
Steamdecks are still linux, I dont think they should be discounted.
Sure, but not a desktop.
How is it not a desktop? My steamdeck is as much of a desktop as my laptop.
I use mine as a general purpose computer about as often as a gaming machine. I also use my desktop as a gaming machine about as frequently.
You know they're dockable, like a laptop, right?
Sure.
AI crawler and other bots do not advertise as Linux if you want to look like normal traffic you advertise as windows or apple user
The only things keeping my on Windows rn is Visual Studio and DirectX 11. Linux doesn't have C++ IDEs or a Graphics API that even comes close to these two
What
I’d argue that VSCode plus extensions is a decent replacement for Visual Studio and actually superior for many other text editing tasks that are not C++.
Vulkan is absolutely amazing. It also runs LLMs these days almost as well as CUDA.
Everything is online.
Who even needs to run local apps anymore?
Edit: My point is -native linux versions don't exist in many/most cases. I was making a point that a web version of some app accessible to Linux users is better than nothing at all.
I seriously don't want everything to be a god damn webpage.
The funny thing for me is that my job is like 80% webpages in LibreWolf on my Linux machine. But that’s because the company uses M365 and Github.
I use various different programs for different reasons just like anybody, but I bet browser + vscode + terminal covers 95% of my work day.
It's better than an app without Linux version comrade
Just write a linux version, then. Programming isn't hard.
What? Lmao. I was using Linux for many years - I assure you no one was writing Linux apps bro.
So I'll gladly take a webpage as a service. Windows /Mac devs can keep doing what they were doing, I don't care as long there is a web version.
Anyone who wants to own what they create and doesn't want their work stolen for some startup's plagiarism engine. Anyone who is interested in privacy. Anyone who wants a consistent user experience. Anyone who wants to be exempt from sinister targeted advertising. Anyone who is worried about censorship.
I would say that most people who own a computer use local apps, and that the experience, and long-term costs, of using a local program is often better than doing something completely cloud-based.
They use data from webtraffic to make their charts, so talking about local apps doesn't really have much to do with this website.
Video editors, photo editors, 3d modelers , animators, gamedevs, djs, etc.
Me, who uses low end hardware and can't spend several gigabytes for simple web apps that I can run locally for 10% of the hardware resources of the web equivalent.
But native linux versions don't exist on most cases. I was making a point that a web version accessible to Linux user is better than nothing at all.
That's true. Your first comment was a bit confusing, sorry.
If I could just go one day on Lemmy without hearing about Linux… nothing has turned me off Linux more than you guys not shutting up about it.
Liar! Lol
It has no marketing budget so the only way the userbase can grow is by proselytizing.
You might be happier elsewhere.
The online equivalent to “go back to your country”
You're getting angry about people talking about technology in a technology community, leading people to ask why you're here if you hate technology being spoken about.
That's obviously not equivalent to racism or xenophobia.
You're yearning so hard to be a victim. It's pathetic.
Feel free to stay on Windows or MacOS or whatever floats your boat. Won't bother anyone.
The downvotes say otherwise. Linux bros are toxic, and can’t handle anyone who isn’t one of them
I don’t see anyone being toxic here except you so far. If it bothers you so much, just add “Linux” as a keyword to your block filter on whatever client you use to access Lemmy. Easy fix
You're in a community about technology, clicked on a link about Linux and are now complaining that people are talking about... Linux? And when people got annoyed when you barged into the conversation you called them toxic?
Stop trolling and scroll to the next post. It's easy.
You're in [email protected] and we're talking about... technology. Seems fitting.