It was on this day 30 years ago that a younger Linus Torvalds announced a free operating system to the comp.os.minix group and from there it exploded across servers, desktops and plenty more.
Now one of the most popular operating systems in the world, you can find it nearly everywhere you look including 100% of the top 500 supercomputers. There's a Linux distribution for everything, and Linux is what will also be powering the upcoming Steam Deck with Valve using SteamOS that's based on Arch Linux. What Torvalds said "won't be big and professional like gnu" has changed the world.
We might not have reached the "year of the Linux desktop", which is a running joke, but there's no denying the great strides the Linux desktop has made over the last few years thanks to many companies and individual contributors. The desktop share is different depending on where you look with StatCounter giving it 2.38% while NetMarketShare put it at 1.79% - both higher if you decide to include ChromeOS which is Linux-based.
The Linux desktop is even now a truly viable gaming platform - something many thought would probably never happen. Thanks to various major game engines and toolkits supporting Linux, drivers constantly improving, lots of native Linux games, Steam Play Proton and more. According to the latest figures from Valve, Linux is sitting at 1% right now of Steam users polled. Perhaps the Steam Deck will bump that up, depending on how Valve include it in their survey.
Happy Birthday, Linux. Here's to another 30 and beyond.
What does Linux mean to you? Let us know in the comments.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Philadelphus Aug 26, 2021
After growing up exclusively with Windows (never even used a Mac), I discovered when I started my astronomy degree that no one in astronomy uses Windows (it's all Linux or macOS). I remember being a bit weirded out and repulsed when I first installed Ubuntu and tried to use it back in 2010 (I've just discovered I even wrote a very angry blog post about it 
). However, through exposure to it at work and the help of a very knowledgeable good friend, by 2014 when I built my first gaming desktop I put Linux Mint Debian Edition on it and haven't looked back since. Other than a switch to Debian and a graphics card upgrade from my brother I'm still typing on that very desktop (ok, I also had to replace a RAM module that failed), though I'm hoping to finally do some major upgrades next year. I also just discovered that I wrote a blog post five years ago for Linux's 25th birthday complaining about using Windows 8 at work (which I genuinely do not remember using at this point), so how the tables have turned!
(Look forward to my upcoming blog post, "MacOS, how do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways…"
)
Last edited by Philadelphus on 26 August 2021 at 12:49 pm UTC
). However, through exposure to it at work and the help of a very knowledgeable good friend, by 2014 when I built my first gaming desktop I put Linux Mint Debian Edition on it and haven't looked back since. Other than a switch to Debian and a graphics card upgrade from my brother I'm still typing on that very desktop (ok, I also had to replace a RAM module that failed), though I'm hoping to finally do some major upgrades next year. I also just discovered that I wrote a blog post five years ago for Linux's 25th birthday complaining about using Windows 8 at work (which I genuinely do not remember using at this point), so how the tables have turned!(Look forward to my upcoming blog post, "MacOS, how do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways…"
)Last edited by Philadelphus on 26 August 2021 at 12:49 pm UTC
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Quoting: PhiladelphusAfter growing up exclusively with Windows (never even used a Mac), I discovered when I started my astronomy degree that no one in astronomy uses Windows (it's all Linux or macOS). I remember being a bit weirded out and repulsed when I first installed Ubuntu and tried to use it back in 2010 (I've just discovered I even wrote a very angry blog post about it
(Look forward to my upcoming blog post, "MacOS, how do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways…"
Thanks for sharing! Did you ever write up what made you change your mind this much? :)
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Quoting: PhiladelphusAfter growing up exclusively with Windows (never even used a Mac), I discovered when I started my astronomy degree that no one in astronomy uses Windows (it's all Linux or macOS). I remember being a bit weirded out and repulsed when I first installed Ubuntu and tried to use it back in 2010 (I've just discovered I even wrote a very angry blog post about it
(Look forward to my upcoming blog post, "MacOS, how do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways…"
Well, that first blog post didn't age well! But back in 2010, Linux was a very different beast. It was around then that I started dual-booting though, having only run Linux on a spare laptop until then, from around 2005. But it took me another 3 and a half years before I felt that Linux (Ubuntu back then) had matured to the point that I could make the jump full time.
Then Steam launched, and I just bit the bullet. Haven't looked back, nor will I ever.
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i have been using it for over 2 decades and love it more everyday. Also, Linux gaming in 10 more years... i am curious!
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wvstolzing Aug 26, 2021
I'll never forget my first 'experience' (?!) with Linux. I must have been 1993 (or early 1994) at the latest. I had a friend whose father was a math professor; at his home office he had a nice 486 with a DOS partition, as well as a Linux partition. On this PC he'd let us play games (mostly Civilization).
One day we somehow borked the DOS installation (it must have been a stupid minor mistake like deleting CONFIG.SYS while trying to adjust SoundBlaster IRQ values or something like that). I convinced my friend that if we formatted the harddrive, and reinstalled DOS, everything would be fine.
... and that was the end of the poor guy's dual-boot setup.
One day we somehow borked the DOS installation (it must have been a stupid minor mistake like deleting CONFIG.SYS while trying to adjust SoundBlaster IRQ values or something like that). I convinced my friend that if we formatted the harddrive, and reinstalled DOS, everything would be fine.
... and that was the end of the poor guy's dual-boot setup.
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Arehandoro Aug 26, 2021
Reminder to myself; Visit Finland and discover the land of our forefather 😅
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slaapliedje Aug 26, 2021
Quoting: Purple Library GuyWhenever I plug in a USB at work, it tells me there's something wrong with the USB and I need to fix it. Then it works fine. I made the mistake of letting Windows try to fix it once, thinking maybe there was actually something wrong. It ratfucked my USB. These days at work I'm getting multiple popups per day telling me I'm supposed to be updating software. I'm not supposed to be updating software, the IT people update the software. But evidently they are not able to get Windows (or maybe its closed source software ecosystem) to shut up, because you don't control Windows, Microsoft does. So many annoying little things, mostly stemming from that basic fact: Microsoft controls Windows, and they use it for their ends, to meet their needs, not yours.OMG, this! Though I haven't had it ratfuck my USB drives yet, it does always insist something is wrong with them...
Oh and our IT knows they're being annoying, because the majority of the people I work with on my side of things use Macs. I can't stand them, mainly because they try so hard to be a good Linux Desktop, but insist on being an Apple one... So I ended up with a Windows laptop, and when there is an update pending, they start with an hourly 'your computer needs to be restarted to update' and then gets nastier as it goes and tells you if there are 20 notifications, they'll just reboot. Thing is, in my job, there are times when I'm working a full 24 hours straight trying to get things done... if Windows ever rebooted in the middle of that, that Dell is going to be defenestrated!
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slaapliedje Aug 26, 2021
Quoting: ArehandoroReminder to myself; Visit Finland and discover the land of our forefather 😅
Quoting: wvstolzingI'll never forget my first 'experience' (?!) with Linux. I must have been 1993 (or early 1994) at the latest. I had a friend whose father was a math professor; at his home office he had a nice 486 with a DOS partition, as well as a Linux partition. On this PC he'd let us play games (mostly Civilization).I saw Enlightenment DR13 on the web and wanted a prettier desktop, that started my road down the Linux path.
One day we somehow borked the DOS installation (it must have been a stupid minor mistake like deleting CONFIG.SYS while trying to adjust SoundBlaster IRQ values or something like that). I convinced my friend that if we formatted the harddrive, and reinstalled DOS, everything would be fine.
... and that was the end of the poor guy's dual-boot setup.
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Quoting: slaapliedjeI saw Enlightenment DR13 on the web and wanted a prettier desktop, that started my road down the Linux path.
"up" is the word you've been searching for! ;)
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furaxhornyx Aug 26, 2021
For me, Linux is now finally a sane alternative to Windows, since the end of Windows 7 support, and despite all its remaining defaults (GPU drivers, dual monitor support, gaming support, music production, random peripherals not recognized properly...).
I remember the first time we tried Redhat 3.2 on a friend's computer, who just got it on a magazine, and as it was supposed to be "incredibly stable" compared to Windows... and how we managed to freeze the whole system in 3 minutes, simply by... inserting an audio CD (to be sure, we even rebooted and reproduced it ). We had a good laugh, and put the CD back in the magazine...
Since then, I tried several times to give Linux a chance to convince me: Mandrake (later renamed to Mandriva), Suse, Debian, Ubuntu, Puppy,... each time, the result was the same: nothing works, you're supposed to type commands like on the Amstrad from my childhood, and hope the documentation vaguely found on the internet is not obsolete...
But, in september 2019, I was looking again for a Linux distro, to be a replacement for Windows 7. I tried several, and found that Linux Mint was actually useable out-of-the-box (and with a nice DE too: Cinnamon). Then, I found out about Manjaro, which has a Cinnamon edition, and also, the AUR, which is probably one of the best selling point from a Windows user point of view: no need to manually (try to, ahem) compile anything, it's all done under the hood.
And that's what made me switch. And seeing like 40% of my games in Steam were Linux native (and most of the one I was playing at the time: Dead Cells, Wizard of Legend, Slay the Spire,...) made me stay
I read it, and I found a lot of similarities with my past experiences with Linux, so it's not only you
While I agree that DaVinci Resolve is a great software (I am not a video editor though), I guess it is not enough to make a lot of people make the switch.
Also, when it comes to music production, Linux is still very far from being a viable alternative ; even if I hope that Bitwig releasing their DAW for Linux will help change this in the future.
I remember the first time we tried Redhat 3.2 on a friend's computer, who just got it on a magazine, and as it was supposed to be "incredibly stable" compared to Windows... and how we managed to freeze the whole system in 3 minutes, simply by... inserting an audio CD (to be sure, we even rebooted and reproduced it
). We had a good laugh, and put the CD back in the magazine...Since then, I tried several times to give Linux a chance to convince me: Mandrake (later renamed to Mandriva), Suse, Debian, Ubuntu, Puppy,... each time, the result was the same: nothing works, you're supposed to type commands like on the Amstrad from my childhood, and hope the documentation vaguely found on the internet is not obsolete...
But, in september 2019, I was looking again for a Linux distro, to be a replacement for Windows 7. I tried several, and found that Linux Mint was actually useable out-of-the-box (and with a nice DE too: Cinnamon). Then, I found out about Manjaro, which has a Cinnamon edition, and also, the AUR, which is probably one of the best selling point from a Windows user point of view: no need to manually (try to, ahem
) compile anything, it's all done under the hood.And that's what made me switch. And seeing like 40% of my games in Steam were Linux native (and most of the one I was playing at the time: Dead Cells, Wizard of Legend, Slay the Spire,...) made me stay
Quoting: Philadelphus[...](I've just discovered I even wrote a very angry blog post about it
I read it, and I found a lot of similarities with my past experiences with Linux, so it's not only you
Quoting: AussieEevee[...]
ETA: Outside of gaming, I think Linux is perfect. You can do virtually anything you can imagine. While it is true that Adobe products present an issue, there are other powerful alternatives like Davinci Resolve.
While I agree that DaVinci Resolve is a great software (I am not a video editor though), I guess it is not enough to make a lot of people make the switch.
Also, when it comes to music production, Linux is still very far from being a viable alternative ; even if I hope that Bitwig releasing their DAW for Linux will help change this in the future.
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