Looking at multiple places, it appears like the Linux desktop has been on something of a roll lately with the market share starting to trend upwards. As always with any kind of statistics gathering, you need a pinch of salt.
On the NetMarketShare website, the Linux share as we reported last month suddenly had an upwards surge from 1.36% to 2.87%. You could easily write it off once but here we are again and the Linux share has risen up to 3.17%. Even on their stats, it rising twice in a row is quite rare and never usually this much either. Looking into their stats further, it appears Ubuntu is the clear winner and what's pushing it going from 0.27% in March up to 2.11% in May.
It's somewhat backed up by Steam's statistics too, when you look at their monthly hardware survey. The Linux user share on there has risen now three months in a row which we keep an eye on with our Steam Tracker, and the trend there is pretty darn clear. Currently Linux is sat on 0.91% according to Valve's Steam survey.
We can speculate as much as we like as to why but we may never really know what's going on. More people at home, more people using Linux in the home than the old Windows machines at the office? Could be any mixture of things but it's still interesting to see.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
It depends on the browser used and from which sources it was installed.User agent reports that information:
https://www.whatismybrowser.com/detect/what-is-my-user-agent
I don't see anything about the distro in mine:
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:78.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/78.0
So I'd consider it a very unreliable method for that.
With Google Chrome I get this agent string with the link:
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/83.0.4103.61 Safari/537.36With Chromium:
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Ubuntu Chromium/81.0.4044.138 Chrome/81.0.4044.138 Safari/537.36With Firefox it looks like this:
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Ubuntu; Linux x86_64; rv:76.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/76.0I installed Firefox and Chromium from the Linux Mint (Ubuntu) package sources. The Google Chrome Browser manually.
Last edited by KuJo on 2 June 2020 at 10:09 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
oldrocker99 Jun 2, 2020
It is quite true that ChromeOS has captured a significant number of former Windows users, and ChromeOS is a Debian system carved down to what will allow a browser to run, so they are running Linux...:|
0 Likes
ChromeOS is a Debian system carved down to what will allow a browser to run
ChromeOS is based on Gentoo.
2 Likes, Who?
I remember that article. It's not a surprising policy decision, but seems like there hasn't been a peep on the interwebs about it since, so I dunno how much is actually happening.Beijing has ordered all government offices and public institutions to remove foreign computer equipment and software within three years, in a potential blow to the likes of HP, Dell and Microsoft.
Report from the Financial Times.
They have their own distros in Kylin and Deepin already. Whether that will translate to more people using Linux in their leisure time it's too early to say (or even if they'll manage to achieve it for government computers) but people wanting to use the same system at home that they were used to at work was a part of Microsoft's desktop dominance back in the day.
Edited to add: On the other hand, the new GoL article about LeNovo adding Ubuntu and RHEL to a bunch of workstations . . . I wonder if that's related?
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 2 June 2020 at 10:54 pm UTC
0 Likes
So I believe the Linux desktop future is gunning for the makers, enthusiasts, gamers, and tinkerers who like to explore who have always been fueling Linux. I'm still surprised how many people who fit that description haven't tried Linux yet, and of those I've seen who switch to Linux and keep it long term tend to be from that group.Just for the record, I would like to note that I am a counterexample. I'm an artsie and at most a casual gamer, and to the extent I am a gamer it's mostly strategy, no twitch. I'm neither a tinkerer nor a maker; I love that stuff in theory but never seem to get around to it in practice. And yet I've been on Linux most of the time since early Mandrake days.
I also don't see that there's a massive overlap between gamers and those other categories you list.
0 Likes
It depends on the browser used and from which sources it was installed.
Which means this method is pretty useless if not even misleading for analyzing distros data.
Last edited by Shmerl on 2 June 2020 at 11:04 pm UTC
0 Likes
Edited to add: On the other hand, the new GoL article about LeNovo adding Ubuntu and RHEL to a bunch of workstations . . . I wonder if that's related?
It certainly seems feasible: if you're going to make your hardware work with Linux anyway for the domestic market, why not try to leverage that work into a wider market? Or they could just be competing with Dell, or it could be an independent move to start offering Linux.
0 Likes
It's because Bill Gates invented the coronavirus, and because Windows comes with 5G preinstalled.
You never know when the next Windows update comes and it installs a microchip in you!
Wake up sheeple!
Microsoft's in cahoots with the CCP? So that's why I should wear a tin-foil hat when using a Windows system.
1 Likes, Who?
Well, this week I finally got a steam survey. The last time I got one, I was still on Windows. So now finally, since November 2018, I am also counted as a Linux user.I recently logged into Steam on two PCs. Both Linux, and I got the survey on both of them. Either on same day or a day apart, I don't remember.
Valve really should just sent out a survey for once to all active users. That way we get a proper look.
0 Likes
So I believe the Linux desktop future is gunning for the makers, enthusiasts, gamers, and tinkerers who like to explore who have always been fueling Linux. I'm still surprised how many people who fit that description haven't tried Linux yet, and of those I've seen who switch to Linux and keep it long term tend to be from that group.Just for the record, I would like to note that I am a counterexample. I'm an artsie and at most a casual gamer, and to the extent I am a gamer it's mostly strategy, no twitch. I'm neither a tinkerer nor a maker; I love that stuff in theory but never seem to get around to it in practice. And yet I've been on Linux most of the time since early Mandrake days.
I also don't see that there's a massive overlap between gamers and those other categories you list.
Yeah I don't fit into that either. I've been using it since the mandrake days in '94. I've used it this long because I like how open it is. My parents are not very technical and have used it for 15 years without a single issue.
Most people that I know that fit into the mold you describe above don't have any interest in Linux. They just want the most software available to them.
Last edited by KohlyKohl on 3 June 2020 at 12:55 am UTC
0 Likes
Well, this week I finally got a steam survey. The last time I got one, I was still on Windows. So now finally, since November 2018, I am also counted as a Linux user.I recently logged into Steam on two PCs. Both Linux, and I got the survey on both of them. Either on same day or a day apart, I don't remember.
Valve really should just sent out a survey for once to all active users. That way we get a proper look.
I get the survey on Linux all the time. I'd say once every 3-4 months. It would probably be more but I don't always open it on the first of the month.
0 Likes
oldrocker99 Jun 3, 2020
It has been at least a couple of years since I filled out a Steam survey.
0 Likes
oldrocker99 Jun 3, 2020
ChromeOS is a Debian system carved down to what will allow a browser to run
ChromeOS is based on Gentoo.
One learns something every day.
1 Likes, Who?
I'm not sure they're in cahoots, but probably some "friendly" competition in who breaks privacy more efficiently. :PIt's because Bill Gates invented the coronavirus, and because Windows comes with 5G preinstalled.
You never know when the next Windows update comes and it installs a microchip in you!
Wake up sheeple!
Microsoft's in cahoots with the CCP? So that's why I should wear a tin-foil hat when using a Windows system.
0 Likes
One thing that I have noticed in the past is that Linux on the desktop is often a product of the secondary computer. That is, people have a new machine that is Windows, but with their secondary computer, they are more likely to move to Linux because it tends to work well for cleaning up crufty Windows installs.
For a while, it seemed like the secondary computer in the house was losing popularity because of phones and tablets. However, tablets have started to fade a bit, and that combined with people being stuck at home seems to have revived the secondary computer to some extent, which in turn would push desktop usage of Linux up a bit.
Still, I've never really trusted NetMarketShare numbers because they seem to survey sites that are more likely to be visited by Windows users than users of other systems. Historically, their numbers for Linux market share were lower than other sites that tracked Web hits by operating system. Lately, though it's been hard to find any numbers that seem consistent over time.
For a while, it seemed like the secondary computer in the house was losing popularity because of phones and tablets. However, tablets have started to fade a bit, and that combined with people being stuck at home seems to have revived the secondary computer to some extent, which in turn would push desktop usage of Linux up a bit.
Still, I've never really trusted NetMarketShare numbers because they seem to survey sites that are more likely to be visited by Windows users than users of other systems. Historically, their numbers for Linux market share were lower than other sites that tracked Web hits by operating system. Lately, though it's been hard to find any numbers that seem consistent over time.
1 Likes, Who?
orochi_kyo Jun 3, 2020
Finally, good news in the midst of this madness that is happening in gaming since two years ago.
0 Likes
I get the survey on Linux all the time. I'd say once every 3-4 months.
Do you reinstall or distro hop a lot? My understanding is that Steam is only supposed to ask at most once a year.
0 Likes
gradyvuckovic Jun 3, 2020
The thing which gives me hope every time I see Linux marketshare go up, is the thought that more marketshare makes further growth even easier.
It's hard to gain marketshare when your platform has no organic third party support. But if you can achieve it, and bring users to your platform, then organic third party support will always follow. Developers and manufacturers of software and hardware always follow users. So if we get more users, we get more support.
At 0.91%, we're not exactly commanding a noticeable portion of the marketshare yet. But every little bit of growth means a bit more organic third party support. Which only makes it easier for more users to make the switch to Linux, as more of the stuff they want is already here.
It's really a feedback loop in both ways. No users means no developers. No developers means no users. The chicken and egg problem that has haunted Linux for years. But it goes the other way too, more users means more developers. More developers means more users.
I really feel like Wine/Proton has short circuited the chicken and egg problem. Which is the second thing which gives me hope. Proton is really only partially complete in a sense, it's missing what I consider to be more or less 'the final piece of the puzzle', ie; anticheat support.
It feels like we're getting closer to the point where something is going to happen on that front. When it does, that's going to make even more games playable on Linux that aren't currently. Which will just bring more users to Linux, even faster.
At some threshold, between where Linux is now, and where MacOS is today, is the level of threshold which makes a company decide to support an OS. Origin has a Windows and MacOS client, but no Linux. Same with Battle.net. Same with EGS. Same with GOG.
We're not far from that threshold, if we can keep getting steady rises, plus anticheat support, we could reach that threshold for at least one of those platforms, which will see even more gamers come to Linux as a result.
We just gotta keep pushing, keep improving the experience of gaming on Linux in every way possible and keep our eyes on whatever roadblocks exist that are keeping Windows gamers from making the switch, while ensuring those who do stick around. As long as we have a better retention rate than Windows, we'll keep gaining ground.
It's hard to gain marketshare when your platform has no organic third party support. But if you can achieve it, and bring users to your platform, then organic third party support will always follow. Developers and manufacturers of software and hardware always follow users. So if we get more users, we get more support.
At 0.91%, we're not exactly commanding a noticeable portion of the marketshare yet. But every little bit of growth means a bit more organic third party support. Which only makes it easier for more users to make the switch to Linux, as more of the stuff they want is already here.
It's really a feedback loop in both ways. No users means no developers. No developers means no users. The chicken and egg problem that has haunted Linux for years. But it goes the other way too, more users means more developers. More developers means more users.
I really feel like Wine/Proton has short circuited the chicken and egg problem. Which is the second thing which gives me hope. Proton is really only partially complete in a sense, it's missing what I consider to be more or less 'the final piece of the puzzle', ie; anticheat support.
It feels like we're getting closer to the point where something is going to happen on that front. When it does, that's going to make even more games playable on Linux that aren't currently. Which will just bring more users to Linux, even faster.
At some threshold, between where Linux is now, and where MacOS is today, is the level of threshold which makes a company decide to support an OS. Origin has a Windows and MacOS client, but no Linux. Same with Battle.net. Same with EGS. Same with GOG.
We're not far from that threshold, if we can keep getting steady rises, plus anticheat support, we could reach that threshold for at least one of those platforms, which will see even more gamers come to Linux as a result.
We just gotta keep pushing, keep improving the experience of gaming on Linux in every way possible and keep our eyes on whatever roadblocks exist that are keeping Windows gamers from making the switch, while ensuring those who do stick around. As long as we have a better retention rate than Windows, we'll keep gaining ground.
2 Likes, Who?
Back around 2000-2005 we had several companies (Like Stichting Internet Reclame) in the Netherlands that denied the existence of people using Linux and firefox. None of their metrics showed the existence of these visitors.
They failed to mention that the way they measured was by installing snooping software on the windows systems of the volunteers. The bogus results of Stichting Internet Reclame and other companies destroyed the self hosting of advertisement servers and software, because they showed different results. This eventually has lead in the Netherlands to the intrusive ad networks we see today. Mass spread of virusses thanks to these
As a matter of fact: I am battling one right now, as a client even, because just serving a pixel to give feedback the ad has worked, actually redirects them to parties I've never heart of.
The original was a javascript that they called pixel. It basically downloads other javascripts from unknown sites, and runs that. On a simple GDPR compliant page, the page went to 60% marketing network and gross violation of GDPR, and to have an add run on their network is very expensive.
How did I get here ranting like that?
Oh yeah: I don't trust stats like that.
I never did. But at least you can twist the stats of NetmarketShare to something that supports what I want to see:
https://tinyurl.com/tv-operating-systems
There are apparently only 2 operating systems for TV's: Gnu/Linux and Linux/Android.
They failed to mention that the way they measured was by installing snooping software on the windows systems of the volunteers. The bogus results of Stichting Internet Reclame and other companies destroyed the self hosting of advertisement servers and software, because they showed different results. This eventually has lead in the Netherlands to the intrusive ad networks we see today. Mass spread of virusses thanks to these
As a matter of fact: I am battling one right now, as a client even, because just serving a pixel to give feedback the ad has worked, actually redirects them to parties I've never heart of.
The original was a javascript that they called pixel. It basically downloads other javascripts from unknown sites, and runs that. On a simple GDPR compliant page, the page went to 60% marketing network and gross violation of GDPR, and to have an add run on their network is very expensive.
How did I get here ranting like that?
Oh yeah: I don't trust stats like that.
I never did. But at least you can twist the stats of NetmarketShare to something that supports what I want to see:
https://tinyurl.com/tv-operating-systems
There are apparently only 2 operating systems for TV's: Gnu/Linux and Linux/Android.
0 Likes
Craggles086 Jun 3, 2020
So my attempts to use the NetMarketShare yield some interesting results
If I use the dates from 2016-5 to 2018-4 then I get a total linux share of 2.16 %
But if I use the dates 2018-6 to 2020-5 then I get a total linux share of 2.09 %
So this means linux share is increasing ??
If I use the dates from 2016-5 to 2018-4 then I get a total linux share of 2.16 %
But if I use the dates 2018-6 to 2020-5 then I get a total linux share of 2.09 %
So this means linux share is increasing ??
0 Likes
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me