It was me checking out all the distros
this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I just installed Linux on a six-year-old budget laptop this morning. My first time using Linux. What was a uselessly slow machine is now just humming along.
I'm doing my part!
Welcome to the linux world! We wish you software freedom and hardware longevity.
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Okay, I guess I'll say it. Year of Linux Desktop!
Next year is the year of IPv6!
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When I was part of the KDE marketing working group, we always talked about 5% being the magic number. If we hit that, then the avalanche of ported and supported third party software starts. It's a weird chicken and egg thing. Looks like we're close!
For me the turning point was when a failed Windows forced upgrade ended up deleting me important files. I had backups, but I lost days of work because Microsoft felt so insecure in the face of piracy that they had to upgrade my computer despite me constantly telling them not to do so.
That was around 10 years ago. I went through various KDE distros; in the end I settled for Kubuntu.
The recent developments in KDE plasma are excellent. I haven't had to open a command prompt in years. I hadn't had a tech problem until this year when my tmp folder got full.
I haven't had to open a command prompt in years
Awesome!
I'm from the other side, though. I'm a developer and systems administrator on Kubuntu and I live by the command line. I use yakuake, which is totally awesome, and have about 50 or so shells open pretty much permanently, all nicely tucked away in tabs and sub sections in a programmable drop down that automatically starts all those command line shells when my computer boots. It's pure awesomeness, Linus os pure awesomeness!
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This is very good. The higher those numbers go, the more pressure there will be for better official support for both HW and SW.
FOSS is fantastic. But lack of options (FOSS or paid) for a few of my use cases keeps me stapled to Windows and WSL. Unfortunately. I'm hoping the momentum shifts.
FOSS or paid
I hope you know the difference between Free(Libre) and Free(gratis)
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I suspect that it's not Linux that is on the rise, but overall PC market that is shrinking. It's been a trend for quite a while for non-linux people to dump the PC entirely in favor of using just phone.
The desktop/mobile ratio chart aligns with this
https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet
And yet here I am looking to expanding my devices with a replacement server (linux) and a NUC (linux).
Finally ditched Windows on the desktop forever, about 7 months ago.
I agree with you on mobile. I my country many ppl ditched laptops and desktops for their phones.
Although I have a hard time understanding how they can actually get some work done on the phone, if they do any work from home that requires a computer. Well those ppl probably have an old laptop laying around.
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I remember looking at pc sales data, and they have been shrinking in the last decade, with the curve flattening until the pandemic, when sales grew substantially, almost to the 2000s level. Now it's shrinking back slowly. I'm not sure if people are abandoning desktops in favor of phones as much as we think. desktops are durable and we tend to have only one, while mobile devices are gaining different forms, and people are getting more of them. Perhaps the desktop market has not much more room to grow while mobile devices are still booming.
But that's just one possible explanation, I might be wrong. I was going to post the data, but statista requires login to see it.
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My journey to Linux pretty much started with the reddit thing. I moved to Lemmy and started slowly eliminating corporations out of my life.
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On my laptop, I've switched to Linux since, despite being built in 2017, doesn't meet Win 11's min requirements. This is horseshit, I don't care how MS explains it or justifies it, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm sure during development, they realized a 20 year old computer could run Win 11 and decided to make up requirements to force people into buying new PCs.
Anyway, I'm using KDE Neon and I'm loving its ease of use and simplicity. I have barely needed to dive into the terminal to fix anything and KDE Plasma feels very polished and user friendly. To me, it feels like the new "normie-friendly" Linux. And without the horseshit telemetry and Microsoft spying, it's like a brand new PC.
I'm a sysadmin and we are in the very early stages of rolling out windows 11 to our users. Windows is windows, but I just can't help but have observations that windows 11 looks like KDE did maybe 10 years ago? It's like a badly themed linux distro from 2015..
It is arbitrary: my HP Zbook initially offered W11 upgrade, but we use corporate stuff and our software wasn't certified on W11 yet so I held off. Months later we get a notice that the Zbook no longer meets requirements for W11 LOL
Steam Decks?
Would that show up in browser stats though?
Steam Deck is neat and all but I've never thought of it as anybody's main browsing device.
I used to say the same thing about mobile phones, now look, LOOK HOW WRONG I WAS
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What a great news.
it would be very interesting also the kids had some aknowledge on school about linux, besides windows. Would be open mind to get new apprentices. Besides that, for the normal human being/worker, who only uses PC for internet and office, linux can be taken into account, since it is open source.
I know linux is harder to learn than windows for an average joe, but I guess teaching kids with two OS (windows and linux) give to them more capacity too choose and give them more software/hardware skills
(Im not using linux rn just because imo windows is more stable to edit videos, but in the future, is probably to return to the pinguin)
(Sry about my bad english)
No need to apologize for your English ability.
I have been trying to start a community here where people can ask English questions.
I can see a few mistakes with your grammar and I would be happy to help or answer any questions you may have.
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Nice, at this pace we'll reach 50% in less than 50 years!
I know it's a joke, but if linux keeps growing steadly, without saturating, it can reach a point in which it breaks the "I don't use it because no one else does/ I don't use it because my software isn't supported" barrier and start to grow exponentially.
I'm one of the converts. Didn't like Windows 11 at all, decided to try Ubuntu/Zorin before going back to 10 and ended up staying. I've tried various distros many times over the past ~15 years but it never felt "ready" to me until now.
The last few years have had great improvements. For any average user (like a kid or adult that just browses web, streams video, zoom calls, etc) there is no reason a Linux desktop can't be their main system.
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Wowzer, ok, that's seriously impressive though, like in 2022 I feel we were stuck at 2-2.5% and in 2023 we passed 3% for the first time and now we're at almost 4????? That's like DOUBLING the market share in a year
This is the year I'm porting my family to Linux. Starting this summer!
Windows 11 has irked me on my main laptop. I still use it due to various applications (not just games) that require Windows, but the slowness of the OS and the tracking drive me away from it. I installed Linux on another drive on the laptop.
Additionally, I purchased a desktop from my friend, and completely wiped Windows from it to install Linux (KDE Neon). I realized there is nothing that I'd want from that desktop, possibly aside from a couple of games my more powerful laptop can run, that Linux cannot run.
Just made the switch at the end of December alongside making my new PC. Feels very refreshing to actually be in control of my own computer. I’ve barely run into any issues gaming either, which is a welcome surprise - Proton remains one of the best things Valve has ever done.
I use Linux (Arch actually) as my daily driver - I'm the MD of a small IT business in the UK. I have at least one employee who is asking me to create a Linux standard deployment to replace Windows because they don't like it anymore - W11 is quite divisive.
For a corp laptop/desktop you might need Exchange email - so that might be Evolution with EWS. You'll want "drive letters" - Samba, Winbind and perhaps autofs. You'll need an office suite - Libre Office works fine. There's this too: https://cid-doc.github.io/ for more MS integration - if that's your bag.
I often see people getting whizzed up about whether LO can compete with MSO. I wrote a finite (yes, finite) capacity scheduler for a factory in MS Excel, back in 1995/6 - it involved a lot of VBA and a mass of checksums etc. I used to teach word processing and DTP (Quark, Word, Ventura and others). LO cuts it. It gets on my nerves when I'm told that LO isn't capable by someone who is incapable of fixing a widow or orphan or for whom leading and kerning are incomprehensible.
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if we add chromeOS to it which is also linux we have more than 5 percent. The future is ours.
It's Linux, but worse
Meanwhile in India: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/india (14.51%)
indias growth is so important, it's such a dense country so growth will be rapidly exponential unlike 95℅ of other countries. it's the perfect mixing pot of technologically literate, dense, money conscious, and distrustful of western influence for linux to thrive in. once india is dominated by linux, it will expand outwards so fast.
Seriously, I'm impressed on just how much influence Linux has in India, not only as an OS, but as a community. I'm in charge of some of the Fedora social media accounts and it really impressed me at first how India is consistently one the top 3 countries our followers are from in all of them.
I am not saying “This is the Year of the Linux Desktop”. That said, things languished below 2% for decades and now it has doubled in just over a year. With the state of Linux Gaming, I could see that happening again.
Also, if ChromeOS continues to converge, you could consider it a Linux distro at some point and it also has about 4% share.
Linux could exceed 10% share this year and be a clear second after Windows.
That leaves me wondering, what percentage do we have to hit before it really is “The Year of the Linux Desktop”. I have never had to wonder that before ( I mean, it obviously was not 3% ). Having to ask is a milestone in itself.
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At least two dozens of us
Remember to include the android distro
I wouldn't call that "desktop" Linux.
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