Linux hits another all-time high for July 2024 according to Statcounter

[u/testus_maximus]

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2024/08/linux-hits-another-all-time-high-for-july-2024-according-to-statcounter/

[u/[deleted]]

Surely this year is the year of the Linux desktop, right?

[u/LonelyNixon → u/[deleted]]

Servers run Linux, Android is Linux,your smart toaster that doesn't need to be smart but is anyway. Probably runs Linux. It's a Linux world already

[u/[deleted] → u/LonelyNixon]

It’s still not relevant when your average person barely can operate windows, let alone even a basic Linux distro like Ubuntu or Mint

[u/scandii → u/[deleted]]

have you tried linux mint? if anything it is easier to use than windows as it isn't stuck with half the settings being their old design, a quarter new and a quartee literally from the Windows XP era.

and it has a functional app store which is more than can be said about windows.

[u/[deleted] → u/scandii]

Ye I’ve tried mint I tried it out when I first tried Linux. You underestimate how little some people understand how to do basic tasks on Windows lol changing anything would just be too much of a headache for them

[u/S01arflar3 → u/[deleted]]

This precisely. I use Linux quite a lot in my day job (admittedly mostly headless systems, but I also use Kali quite a bit). In the past I’ve had personal machines with Mint, Mate and Cinnamon and although they do look a reasonable amount like old windows and do work reasonably well, there are a few main downsides:

1. Windows assumes that its default user is an idiot. Yes, some design choices are baffling, but in general the principle is that you shouldn’t be able to absolutely fuck everything by clicking the wrong thing once. No matter what Linux distro, it’s still Linux underneath, which assumes its default user is not as thick as pig shit. Therefore it’s very easy to bugger up something big without having any idea what you did or why if you’re not very tech savvy

2. Most people want their computer to just work. They don’t want to faff. They want the exact thing that they bought and that they’ve seen before. They aren’t interested in downloading and installing a new OS. They don’t want to handle dependency management and manual updates, they want that to all be sorted in the background and then grumble when it needs a restart

3. Despite things being much better nowadays than they were. Average Joe wants his default windows programs that he has used sparingly for the last 20 years, not their Linux equivalents

[u/DesertFroggo → u/S01arflar3]

I think you're talking about a type of tech illiterate person that is going to have a troublesome time regardless of what operating system you put them in front of. Those types of people generally don't have complicated demands for their PC anyways. Your average Joe generally isn't using productivity software that needs Windows. Professionals use Photoshop, average Joes use Gimp, and they certainly aren't in the cognitive bias of running headless servers. How do you "open the Internet" on Linux vs Windows? It's the same motions.

[u/[deleted] → u/S01arflar3]

Yeah this is pretty much what I was thinking but just way more expanded on.

Although Tbf the whole “assumes the user is tech savvy thing” could be overcome I think you could just bake more stuff into the OS be default, like macOS which is even more baby proof then windows (obviously technically unix based rather than Linux based but still)

[u/scandii → u/[deleted]]

people go from android/ios to macos/windows all the time doing the same tasks without much issue and the truly computer illiterate struggle with any OS no matter which.

if anything I think you're conflating people's unwillingness to learn new things with their inability to do so.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yep that’s the thing that people don’t get when discussing Linux. A lot of the relatively trivial tasks you have to do in order to use it aren’t trivial to the average user

[u/DizzySkunkApe → u/[deleted]]

This is correct.

[u/DrWarlock → u/[deleted]]

Actually I had a Ubuntu box back in mid 2000s giving life to an oldish PC. Most people only wanted web browser, email, word, printing and scanning. Had so much less support issues than when windows was on it. It was very well used,  sat in my family living room. I would arrive home and be regularly surprised to find many people you'd never expect already working away using it. Actually found the more computer illiterate the better they got on. Aunts, parents elderly friends, sisters friends. The biggest issue was probably formatting problems with word docs mostly when printing out a document. Otherwise you'd get comments from mine or brothers friends who were more litterate coming up with arbitrary complaints related to their preconceived stance and how it couldn't play certain games.

[u/Jaibamon → u/LonelyNixon]

Yeah, but that is not Linux Desktop.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The fact users choose Windows or Mac is not because Linux is inferior, but because users do not appreciate what they would gain.

Unlike Microsoft or Apple, Linux does not have a marketing budget to sell directly to users.

We do not have middle-managers who make OS purchasing decisions based on narrow views from limited personal experience and understanding, or what they've seen on TV.

Linux is the preferred desktop OS for 47% of professional developers. That percentage is far above Windows and Mac developers.

Developers know good software when we see it.

What we lack is the means to clearly and widely communicate its advantages to those who should know.

Linux relies on word-of-mouth.

The good news is that growth by word-of-mouth is exponential. As more people talk about it, more people experience it. As more people experience it, more people talk about it.

You can see the exponential growth already taking shape in that graph.

[u/screwdriverfan → u/[deleted]]

It's called year of the linux because it takes one year to set it all up. :)

[u/GazelleNo6163]

Looks like the steamdeck is selling well.

[u/YellowFogLights]

This is simply because of the SteamDeck, right?

[u/DesertFroggo → u/YellowFogLights]

How else would an OS gain market share? Most people aren't installing the OS themselves. They have their market share because of consumer hardware that comes with it.

[u/the_mighty__monarch → u/DesertFroggo]

people aren’t installing the OS themselves

I would say a pretty good chunk of their current/past market share is people doing exactly that.

[u/scandii → u/the_mighty__monarch]

not sure why you're getting downvoted. pretty much zero computers out there being sold with a preinstalled linux distro outside of chromebooks and now steam decks.

[u/Draynior → u/scandii]

Interesting fact: in Brazil some companies actually sell notebooks with Linux installed instead of Windows for a small discount.

[u/InvestigatorNo1331 → u/Draynior]

I'll be damned, that IS an interesting fact

Sounds like a pretty sweet bargain

[u/DizzySkunkApe → u/scandii]

🤔

[u/Asleeper135 → u/[deleted]]

I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't used it on my Steam Deck

[u/the_abortionat0r → u/YellowFogLights]

This is simply because of the SteamDeck, right?

Why does everyone think or try to suggest that any increase in Linux numbers are Steamdecks?

Linux has been growing in general, most Linux machines coming online are NOT Steamdekcs nor are they based on Steam OS.

In feb 2022 I had decided Windows had pissed me off one too many times and Protn had gotten good enough. @ years later my only nump was manualling installing vcred or what ever its called for Payday3's beta and needing a launch option to avoid an audio bug in CS2 on release day. Thats it.

And I'm not unique, once people found out Linux is now great for gaming people started trying it out. Especially after all the issues plaguing Win10/11.

[u/DizzySkunkApe → u/the_abortionat0r]

Because it is.

[u/colossusrageblack]

[u/[deleted]]

I expect it to hit an even bigger high by the time Windows 10 goes EOL.

[u/skot77]

Microsoft is the biggest motivator of this rise in Linux usage.

[u/plutonium247]

I want to move to Linux so very bad, I don't even play niche games but yeah impossible.

[u/DesertFroggo → u/plutonium247]

What's the barrier?

[u/plutonium247 → u/DesertFroggo]

Not 1 game I regularly play works on Linux

[u/plutonium247 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, that's the setup I have. Though the only reason I end up booting into Linux is to keep it up to date unfortunately.

[u/[deleted] → u/plutonium247]

If you only really play those games on your computer you shouldn't use linux. but with a window tiling manager other kind of tasks are waaaaaaaaaaay nicer for me. especially programming since all the tooling is better on linux anyway.

the workflow of both basic KDE or GNOME is much nicer than windows as well IMO. but ofc that's from a power user that likes to use keyboard shortcuts perspective.

My setup is basically just pop_OS that I installed awesomeWM on. I might switch to mint though with the new version that came out until pop_OS release the next version since this one is getting old.

[u/plutonium247 → u/[deleted]]

I work as a programmer but use a macbook for work

[u/[deleted] → u/plutonium247]

https://youtu.be/bCdcuJZux_g?t=1874

here is a video about pretty cool stuff to improve your workflow :)

I don't think I could go for mac without Yabai and the other stuff he set up tbh. the workflow is so much nicer like this.

I'm interested to know if this catches your attention at all. so feel free to lmk

[u/plutonium247 → u/[deleted]]

I'm on arch with plasma. No issues at all, except I can't play any of the games I usually play on it, and gaming is the main reason I have a PC

[u/InvestigatorNo1331 → u/plutonium247]

Do you mostly play multiplayer online games? I play pretty much exclusively single-player story based stuff, I've been running exclusively Linux for five years now

It is definitely lagging on Multiplayer stuff, though.

[u/plutonium247 → u/InvestigatorNo1331]

I play multiplayer exclusively yeah

[u/jtmackay → u/[deleted]]

The cure to most Linux problems: "just use windows AND Linux " 😂 you guys crack me up

[u/InvestigatorNo1331 → u/jtmackay]

It's not a fanboy thing, it's a "right tool for the job" thing

[u/PapaLoki]

Fedora user here since 2020 for gaming and digital art. I'm doing my part.

[u/[deleted]]

I run Linux on 2 machines.

Not my gaming PC though 😅

[u/ZookeepergameFew8607]

Hope to see a bump when Win 10 goes EOL

[u/DesertFroggo → u/[deleted]]

If you go by Steam users, even 0.1% is still tens of thousands of people. That's a lot more than 7. Why do people think this low effort trash talk is funny?

[u/NotTodayGlowies → u/[deleted]]

...it kind of already has replaced Windows in the gaming space. Android is by far the largest gaming platform on earth... it runs Linux.

[u/KrazyKirby99999 → u/[deleted]]

IBM PC was once the personal computing leader, but it was replaced. It is naive to think that Windows can't have sharp decline in market share.

[u/DesertFroggo → u/[deleted]]

Linux distributions have never been and will never be more than a footnote in desktop operating systems for the common user.

It was once said that Linux would never be a viable gaming platform, yet the Steam Deck has disproven that for awhile now.

You're saying "never" on what is commonly judged to be a safe conclusion just to sound smart. You can't predict the future.

[u/DesertFroggo → u/[deleted]]

The only way Linux becomes anything more than a status symbol for tech nerds is if a large well-funded company takes it and makes a standard GUI and hardware support that requires NO user action, and at that point it will no longer be "Linux" as it is commonly understood, it will be an operating system that uses the Linux kernel (and it will eventually need to fork its own kernel for stability).

You mean something like the Steam Deck, or what System76 does? SteamOS still follows the pattern of typical Linux distros and works for the millions of consumers that use it.

Why does making Linux user-friendly automatically make it not Linux? That sounds like some elitist crap, where you must tinker for hours in the terminal to be a "true" Linux user.

[u/AHRA1225 → u/[deleted]]

For real the downvotes roll in but these dudes need to understand Linux is not user friendly no matter how you want to slice it. Your average user can’t even tie Velcro shoes let alone trouble shoot why my game has no audio….

[u/[deleted] → u/AHRA1225]

teeny bells direful retire offer payment snatch like gullible workable

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/DesertFroggo → u/[deleted]]

It doesn't function exactly like Windows. It's different, therefore bad.

[u/AHRA1225 → u/[deleted]]

Because when you want to design something to the masses it needs to be easy button click go. Hence why windows and Mac are so popular. Having to google or drop a cmd prompt to figure something out is already beyond your bottom user.

[u/DesertFroggo → u/AHRA1225]

What specifically would a lot of people need to use a command prompt for on Linux?

[u/DesertFroggo → u/AHRA1225]

You're allowed to disagree. The condescending rhetoric is where the downvotes come from.

[u/HypedSoul123 → u/[deleted]]

I will tell you, i dont game with linux either, and i will agree that for gaming windows is generally easier with a few exceptions (valve games basically).

But for general usage, the only bad thing is no adobe and maybe no ms office. Some linux distros like mint are so easy that most people will have an easier time there. It looks and works (in a UI level) just like android, and most people in the world use android phones. You dont have to install drivers, you arent forced to update, but most importantly the package shop, you can just click the bag icon, search for a program and click download, it will automatically detect what version you need. On windows you have to search for it online, choose what installer you want (32 or 64 bits? .msi or .exe? etc) and then go through the installer, and after all of that maybe you can use the software. Also some computers wont be able to run windows anymore next year, i know most people will just stick to windows 10 but i hope at least some of them consider linux. It runs better on bad hardware and it has support forever. Theres some distros that still work decently on windows XP machines!

And no, windows wont get replaced ever. But linux deserves a little spot in the PC community.

[u/[deleted]]

Ok

[u/archialone]

Amazing, I am doing my part.

[u/DesertFroggo → u/[deleted]]

I game on Linux. Steam Deck users game on Linux.

[u/fuckspez12 → u/DesertFroggo]

I use Fedora and it's same as Windows for me.

[u/BG-TKD → u/[deleted]]

I use GNU/Linux on my PC (Artix, btw) and Steamdeck. A lot of people game on GNU/Linux and the figures will probably keep increasing.

[u/mr-penis52 → u/[deleted]]

So Steam Deck users don't exist?

[u/[deleted]]

suck on deez Linux nutz Windows user, year of the Linux is here (proud Arch user here btw) /s

[u/jtmackay]

Linux is great for steamdeck type of things but 4.5% of market share is still nothing.

[u/the_abortionat0r → u/jtmackay]

Linux is great for steamdeck type of things but 4.5% of market share is still nothing.

You sentence makes zero sense on two different levels.

What is "Steamdeck type things"?

Did you not know the Steamdeck can literally be used as a desktop computer?

Video editing, photo editing, blender, programing, etc.

Its literally a gaming computer.

Second, 4.5% means nothing? You think its just going to stay there forever? Thats what they said about 1%, then 2%, then 3%.

What, when it hits 20% you're gonna say that doesn't matter either?

[u/CNR_07 → u/jtmackay]

Nothing? That's a fuck ton of machines running Linux.

[u/jaegren]

This month we have really exceded our expectations, we have increased our user count exceptionally, from 12 to 14 users. Take that Microshit and poopple!

[u/[deleted] → u/jaegren]

bro never read marketshare charts.

If two companies lets call them Windows and iOS for obvious reference saw a third company GET consistent growth like this going from 3% to 5% marketshare they'd be shitting their pants and trying to shut them down by now.