Good news for Linux fans, as multiple big websites showing off statistics have shown Linux is on the rise!
Note: These should always been taken with a pinch of salt. Even with that said, multiple places are reporting a rise in Linux market-share, which is a good sign when put together.
Netmarketshare statistics reports that Linux has seen a marketshare of over 2% for 7 months in a row now. This means that Linux in the space of a year jumped 0.55%. This may not sound like much, but that can represent a lot of people. This is pretty damn good, since for years we were stuck well below 2%.
The site w3counter has seen something similar, as Linux didn't even register in their top 10 operating systems in September 2016, but suddenly in October 2016 it number 10 with 2.72%, then in November 2016 3.14% and December 2016 3.80%.
The case with w3schools stats is a bit different, but still trending towards something good for us. In 2003 Linux was just hitting 2.6%, but fast forward to 2016 and Linux is hitting around 5.6%.
Finally, pornhub (NSFW obviously), a popular porn website has seen a 14% increase in traffic from Linux in the space of a year.
Looks like things are going pretty nicely for Linux in general right now. This is good news for us, as more people using Linux means more people are likely to look into gaming on Linux too.
Keep it going Linux users and gamers! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Note: These should always been taken with a pinch of salt. Even with that said, multiple places are reporting a rise in Linux market-share, which is a good sign when put together.
Netmarketshare statistics reports that Linux has seen a marketshare of over 2% for 7 months in a row now. This means that Linux in the space of a year jumped 0.55%. This may not sound like much, but that can represent a lot of people. This is pretty damn good, since for years we were stuck well below 2%.
The site w3counter has seen something similar, as Linux didn't even register in their top 10 operating systems in September 2016, but suddenly in October 2016 it number 10 with 2.72%, then in November 2016 3.14% and December 2016 3.80%.
The case with w3schools stats is a bit different, but still trending towards something good for us. In 2003 Linux was just hitting 2.6%, but fast forward to 2016 and Linux is hitting around 5.6%.
Finally, pornhub (NSFW obviously), a popular porn website has seen a 14% increase in traffic from Linux in the space of a year.
Looks like things are going pretty nicely for Linux in general right now. This is good news for us, as more people using Linux means more people are likely to look into gaming on Linux too.
Keep it going Linux users and gamers! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Obviously, the Pornhub numbers are the hardest evidence yet for Linux growth. Hopefully Linux usage keeps thrusting forward and we reach a big climax in the future.how titillating it is.
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2016 was the year of Linux desktop!
Just kidding of course :D The "big boom" is not happening but I truly believe that Linux will indeed keep growing to the point where developers cannot just ignore us anymore. And when that happens, a whole bunch of new users should come to us as well.
Linux these days reminds me of what Windows used to be 10 years ago, just better... It is also starting to change rapidly in all departments (Wine windows compatibility, driver compatibility, new native software, stability, Vulkan, Wayland...) There is just so much going on that we are actually only beginning to see big changes in linux itself and yet we're already gaining some marketshare, I really hope that 2017 will show even bigger growths in the marketshare and that more companies will consider making linux preinstalled PCs.
Nonetheless Linux on desktop in my honest opinion looks healthier than ever before!
Last edited by MaCroX95 on 8 Jan 2017 at 12:25 am UTC
Just kidding of course :D The "big boom" is not happening but I truly believe that Linux will indeed keep growing to the point where developers cannot just ignore us anymore. And when that happens, a whole bunch of new users should come to us as well.
Linux these days reminds me of what Windows used to be 10 years ago, just better... It is also starting to change rapidly in all departments (Wine windows compatibility, driver compatibility, new native software, stability, Vulkan, Wayland...) There is just so much going on that we are actually only beginning to see big changes in linux itself and yet we're already gaining some marketshare, I really hope that 2017 will show even bigger growths in the marketshare and that more companies will consider making linux preinstalled PCs.
Nonetheless Linux on desktop in my honest opinion looks healthier than ever before!
Last edited by MaCroX95 on 8 Jan 2017 at 12:25 am UTC
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Comandante Ñoñardo 8 Jan 2017
Just for the record, on January 1st of this year I had the Steam HW survey pop up on my Steam Linux account,...
I suppose I was lucky...
I suppose I was lucky...
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We need AAA titles badly at this point.
Not so much AAA titles as platform sellers. Biggest ones ATM are prolly (not sure, but my nearest guess) Skyrim, COD, FF:XV, Overwatch, Dishonoured 2, and DOOM.
So either there's something odd about Steam statistics, or Linux is used more for everything else but gaming.
Linux may be more prolific among both 'casual computer users' (seniors and 'normies') and professionals; people who don't really do gaming per say.
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TheRiddick 8 Jan 2017
A lot of single Linux users out there :P.
Humans are quite promiscuous, even when in relationships. Why do you think most marriages fail? PORNHUB and related feed that desire (a bit) without the risk.
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People really need to stop even referring to the Steam Hardware Survey as any sort of statistic. It's a survey, and an optional and non-voluntary one at that, about hardware, not operating systems.
Since Pornhub is the only non-tech site listed here, that's obviously the one that most accurately reflects the general public and the one I'll be quoting in the future ;P
Since Pornhub is the only non-tech site listed here, that's obviously the one that most accurately reflects the general public and the one I'll be quoting in the future ;P
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Is ChromeOS counted as Linux? Might explain why.That's what we call "single user mode"
Finally, pornhub (NSFW obviously), a popular porn website has seen a 14% increase in traffic from Linux in the space of a year.
A lot of single Linux users out there :P.
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So either there's something odd about Steam statistics, or Linux is used more for everything else but gaming.
The Steam survey is indeed inaccurate. But I also suspect the user base is very different and less inclined to game on their machines. You have a very high proportion of very technical users - IT professionals, researchers and so on - and if they game at all they're more likely to do so on a separate home machine; or doing console or mobile gaming.
Last edited by Janne on 8 Jan 2017 at 4:24 am UTC
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[email protected] 8 Jan 2017
So either there's something odd about Steam statistics, or Linux is used more for everything else but gaming.
The Steam survey is indeed inaccurate. But I also suspect the user base is very different and less inclined to game on their machines. You have a very high proportion of very technical users - IT professionals, researchers and so on - and if they game at all they're more likely to do so on a separate home machine; or doing console or mobile gaming.
Myth.
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Steam survey has been proven to be inaccurate.What's more Steam survey can occur on Wine and count you as Windows user (while you actually use Linux OS, but Steam has no information about it because Wine "emulates" Windows under the hood).
It has never popped for me and a user on reddit recently reported that it picked up his OpenGL version wrongly (ver 3.0 instead of 4.3) and it even got his disk statistics completely wrong.
The only thing it's good for is for Meraco to quote.
So if there would be 5% of Linux gamers but half of it would play for example DOOM on Wine and each user on Steam would see a survey at the same time, we would be 2.5%. That's something that is worth to keep in mind while talking about Steam survey.
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Hurray that is Awesome. Also Pornhub is arguably the best source for such Statistics :D
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i think we are growing in steam also, just slower than other OS's, steam userbase is rapidly growing specially the Asian side and this side of the planet sadly doesnt use linux that much afaik. That might explain why we dont see increase in precentage in steamHWSurvey. Also it seems distro hoppers or the ones who sometimes run steam through wine get the survey prompt more often.
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I have a friend that use a windows machine for his games and a linux machine only for porn because of the malwares and virus from the porn websites :D
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I would say Steam is pretty accurate also. As mentioned, Steam is growing and quite quickly in certain markets which is likely dwarfing Linux growth.
Remember it's a ratio, so a lower % doesn't mean the overall number is lower. Considering how it has been holding with Steam's growing userbase it means our overall number is likely a lot higher than 2 years ago.
Edit: Spelling error.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 9 Jan 2017 at 10:55 am UTC
Remember it's a ratio, so a lower % doesn't mean the overall number is lower. Considering how it has been holding with Steam's growing userbase it means our overall number is likely a lot higher than 2 years ago.
Edit: Spelling error.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 9 Jan 2017 at 10:55 am UTC
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whitewolfguy 8 Jan 2017
Learning to use Linux was the best decision I have ever made and wish that I had tried it years ago. I would never go back to windows now and this is all thanks to windows 10 giving me the push to try Linux.
I do believe that by the end of 2017 that we may just reach a 5% marketshare figure, Hopefully.
5% on which stat website? Except for W3Schools, 5% looks a bit out of range to me. I would be very happy with 3% on Netmarketshare end 2017.
It is always good to see new users coming to Linux.
All these data show that 2016 use of Linux has grown, perhaps not as much as we would like, but it seems that Linux usage has never been so great as now.
Really 5% seems a bit distant, if by the end of 2017 we can reach 3% in Netmarketshare and finally pass 1% in Steam, it will be a considerable advance.
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Lots of guys who figured out that if they dual boot, they can use Linux for porn, and there will be no evidence of the porn on their main OS
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Lots of guys who figured out that if they dual boot, they can use Linux for porn, and there will be no evidence of the porn on their main OSHonestly? That's fine by me. At some point they will figure out that such an OS is safe and much easier to use than some of people may think, then they can actually spend more and more time on Linux. And in the end they may decide that they will abandon Windows and focus on Linux.
Of course most of them may end in what you described, but still - it's good for us if people are getting familiar with different distributions and make their own opinions about Linux.
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I wonder, if Linux gets too popular, won't that mean we need to watch out for viruses targeting Linux more?
Doesn't the IOT botnet that took out several ISPs show that out of date Linux installs might be as vulnerable as unpatched windows machines?
Last edited by AlveKatt on 8 Jan 2017 at 4:15 pm UTC
Doesn't the IOT botnet that took out several ISPs show that out of date Linux installs might be as vulnerable as unpatched windows machines?
Last edited by AlveKatt on 8 Jan 2017 at 4:15 pm UTC
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Perhaps nobody is using wine where those 2-3% stats are collected. Wine is bad for us in every area. Thinking it gives us more games is a dangerous illusion. It gives us more devs and publishers who count us as customers without the need to actually make games for GNU/Linux.
i think you are overreacting a bit. no way there's so many wine users. Also we cant blame wine for this, its amazing program that allows to make the switch from windows much smoother for many people.
steam has lower precentage because linux gaming is still not as popular as general linux usage. Due to limited amount of games and performance problems. And linux users in steam are still growing, just much less than Windows numbers.
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So . . . to point out the simple and obvious, among all those sites the lowest figure is over 2%.Perhaps nobody is using wine where those 2-3% stats are collected. Wine is bad for us in every area. Thinking it gives us more games is a dangerous illusion. It gives us more devs and publishers who count us as customers without the need to actually make games for GNU/Linux.
We have 2.2%, 3.8%, 5.6%, 3%. All in all, the 1% figure can maybe be put to bed.
So either there's something odd about Steam statistics, or Linux is used more for everything else but gaming.
When it comes to playing new games, sure. You're lucky if you're able to play a DirectX 11 game using wine, since the DirectX 11 implementation is not even close to being complete.
However, I have to disagree when it comes to older games. If it's obvious that a game will never be ported to Linux, then there's only one way to play it.
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