Apparently desktop Linux marketshare has finally hit that elusive 2% mark

Wow, I didn't expect that considering that we were well below 2% in the last months. But many people are considering to switch to Linux at the moment, now that Microsoft is increasing pressure with Windows 10 updates. Computer magazines also had specials about switching to Linux.

If this is responsible for the rise, it is likely that some of these people will reboot to Windows again. But some will stay on Linux, so it's good.

Also the W3Schools statistics pages show Linux at the highest share ever:

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp

Nice this is good news for the linux community, one step at the time.

Doesn't surprise me to see Linux grow. I'm a recent convert and I've been trying hard to get anyone I know to switch. A lot of people I know come to me for computer advice so given enough time there will be more and more people dropping Windows.
My cousin, who pretty much only knows how to use a browser, almost threw away his old laptop because he thought that it got trashed by a virus. I asked him to give it to me to play around with and once I got it I found that it was an unwanted Windows 10 update that trashed the system.
He's using Linux now too.

Don't forget to sue: http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/06/27/microsoft-sued-10000-windows-10-auto-update-renders-ladys-pc-unusable/

But yeah, Windows 10 auto install is one way to perster your users away to a different platform.

Nice to see this. I switched to Linux a few years back, a year after that the wife wanted it on her own machine too and now my mother has Mint installed as well. Seems it's contageous and for once that's something positive.

This does not include Android, even though it is Linux,

Android is not Linux. Linux programs don't work on Android and Android apps don't work on Linux.
Android uses a heavily modified version of the Linux kernel. That's it.

Finally, Linux is on par with my milk.

This does not include Android, even though it is Linux,

Android is not Linux. Linux programs don't work on Android and Android apps don't work on Linux.
Android uses a heavily modified version of the Linux kernel. That's it.

Linux is a Kernel, if it uses it, it is Linux. It's everything on top that makes it a desktop/mobile/server/whatever distribution.

Let's not split hairs over something silly eh.

This does not include Android, even though it is Linux,

Android is not Linux. Linux programs don't work on Android and Android apps don't work on Linux.
Android uses a heavily modified version of the Linux kernel. That's it.

I don't agree, because you can easily install a Linux distribution in a chroot and it will run your usual Linux applications then.

I think it's because stories like [this](http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1313089) are becoming more common.

Now is the time to be cool and constructive...

...

...


I WANT WINDOWS TRASH TO BURN IN A FIRE AND DIE!!!!!!!!!

PS AND ARS TECNICA TOO!

:P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_VFKqw1q2Q

Thank you Microsoft! :)

In the last few months I've made 2 Linux installations for friends with Windows problems. One might go back to Windows because she needs iTunes (for now I've installed it with wine), the other is perfectly happy with Linux.

Surprised she wouldn't just go with Apple if she needs iTunes.

Cost I guess.

This does not include Android, even though it is Linux,

Android is not Linux. Linux programs don't work on Android and Android apps don't work on Linux.
Android uses a heavily modified version of the Linux kernel. That's it.

Linux is a Kernel, if it uses it, it is Linux. It's everything on top that makes it a desktop/mobile/server/whatever distribution.

Let's not split hairs over something silly eh.

Its because you are wrong. While Linux is the kernel, the desktops that you use (and SteamOS) are GNU/Linux since it is the GNU utilities in combination with the Linux kernel to make it all work. While Android may use a Linux kernel, Google uses their own software and it has no relation to the the "Linux" you talk about on this page which are the Arch, Debian, SteamOS, and Ubuntu distributions.

Here is a good read from the father himself: [https://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html](https://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html)

Weirdly, statcounter stopped even listing Linux. Most of those stats aren't that useful.


Last edited by Shmerl on 1 Jul 2016 at 8:52 pm UTC

I'm not much for statistics however I've seen a small rise in Linux popularity outside the online world, the locals where I work tend to bring laptops with Linux and their request is never about removing it but rather for technical reasons, on another occasion a client would ask me to install Ubuntu for him.

While Ubuntu has been trying to bring Linux to the desktop, it seems in the past 2 years or so that it finally got the attention it deserves. Ironically we also have to "thank" Microsoft for the push, while it's still a small percentage they indirectly pushed many people towards Linux - I guess I should count myself for this one since I refused to see beyond Win7 ever since Win8 landed.

In my theory, I think in a couple of years time Linux might become on par with Mac in gaming popularity due to how easily accessible it is compared to Mac.

Gaming wise Linux already is probably ahead of OS X, especially for high end gaming. Apple's hardware simply can't cope with the times, and their software is even worse (OpenGL is in bit rot state there, no Vulkan support coming and so on). Expect OS X gaming usage to plummet going forward.


Last edited by Shmerl on 1 Jul 2016 at 9:01 pm UTC

This does not include Android, even though it is Linux,

Android is not Linux. Linux programs don't work on Android and Android apps don't work on Linux.
Android uses a heavily modified version of the Linux kernel. That's it.

Linux is a Kernel, if it uses it, it is Linux. It's everything on top that makes it a desktop/mobile/server/whatever distribution.

Let's not split hairs over something silly eh.

Its because you are wrong. While Linux is the kernel, the desktops that you use (and SteamOS) are GNU/Linux since it is the GNU utilities in combination with the Linux kernel to make it all work. While Android may use a Linux kernel, Google uses their own software and it has no relation to the the "Linux" you talk about on this page which are the Arch, Debian, SteamOS, and Ubuntu distributions.

Here is a good read from the father himself: https://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html

Again, splitting hairs, it's a minor point. We just have different opinions and I think it's a bit of a silly argument to have.

I don't agree with the rule that it's not Linux unless it specifically works on the desktop with .debs and so on.


Last edited by Liam Dawe on 1 Jul 2016 at 9:39 pm UTC

For the sake of discussion, Android is indeed not [glibc] Linux. It's [bionic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bionic_(software)) one. And bionic is bad news. That's all that should be said. Android is pretty useless for us, when Linux gaming is concerned. It only benefits things indirectly, i.e. may be wider adoption of Vulkan, some improvements to the kernel and so on. Huge rift on libc level and completely different graphics stack makes it "not Linux" for me.


Last edited by Shmerl on 1 Jul 2016 at 9:43 pm UTC

For the sake of discussion, Android is indeed not [glibc] Linux. It's bionic one. That's all that should be said. Android is pretty useless for us, when Linux gaming is concerned. Its only benefits are indirect, i.e. may be wider adoption of Vulkan, some improvements to the kernel and so on. Huge rift on libc level and completely different graphics stack makes it "not Linux" for me.

Probably best to leave this argument there. No point getting into an argument over such a small thing :)