Linux Desktop Market share reaches 3.08%

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I expected the Linux desktop market share to be a bit higher since Windows 11 can't run on low spec hardware (and it's trash).

That will see more increases over time, especially as Windows 10 EOL approaches.

I predict that so many people will run 10 past EOL that Microsoft will be forced to extend it like they did for XP and 7.

Oh it's going to be bad. Really bad. Microsoft said over a billion people were using Windows 10 & 11, but the vast majority of those were on machines that already ran Windows 7/8.1 just fine (and may have been upgraded forcefully).

They tried once to limit hardware compatibility as Intel was switching over to 10th gen by giving people a cut-off point where new versions of Windows 10 would not work on hardware older than Intel 8th gen, but it was so poorly received that they walked it back (and did it with Windows 11 instead).

An actual EOL is going to be very tough to pull off because everyone expects their computers to last more than three years now.

XP released in 2001, only stopped getting support in 2014, and got an emergency security patch as recently as 2019. Expecting computers to last more than 3 years isn't new.

I think most people who are already using windows will just stay on 10 for as long as possible rather than switching. I had a friend still using windows 7 by the time 11 rolled around. But once 10 hits EOL maybe the momentum will convince more of those to switch to a Linux distro

It's higher in countries that are poorer and run old hardware. For example Linux has more than 10% market share in India.

Ummm I gave up on Linux desktop being a mainstream thing about... 6 years ago. But Linux as a desktop needs to exist anyway, there's enough usage.

Because I primarily use a laptop, Linux desktop is a no no for me. I spent years trying to get my trackpad to behave as beautifully as it does with MacOS and could never get it.

That alone is enough to drive me off Linux Desktop ... For now.

I'm rooting for it though

I gave up after my third gig where I could use Linux to work... but had to be my own it support, and make all the corporate tooling work on top of it. This job am now using the provided macbook... I do hate the weird non-Linux gawk, sed, curl, etc, and brew is very underwhelming, but I stopped having to spend days making random corporate spyware work because compliance, and then have to recover lost time in actual work.

This was a rant-y way of saying I agree xD

Unfortunately, it seems like the main thing going on in that graph is the rise and fall of "Unknown".

Looks like something to do with Windows, so probably incorrect reporting of Windows 11 for a couple months or something.

I think it's interesting that macOS is getting so popular. I'm guessing people got excited about the M1/M2 Macs and that's starting to add up to interesting numbers.

But the pickup in macOS numbers in 2023? Intersection between the M-chip branding/hype and people needing to buy new laptops?

Yup, that's what I'm guessing. Now that there's a second gen, people are also probably willing to take a risk on it. People hear that it's faster than Intel chips, and they're seeing that Apple is continuing to develop it, so they're likely interested in trying it out.

I think it'll have a pretty hard cap though because macOS isn't very compatible for gaming, but I guess we'll see if double digit market share is enough to interest the gaming industry to target it.

Yea. My impression though is that they’ve made their first move toward supporting games in their latest announcements. Some tooling for converting the code base to work with the M-chips and even running a chip emulator shim if you want despite the performance drop. Saw some video of someone playing a game at ok frame rates with it, so they could be serious about finally getting gaming happening to some extent.

I'm interested to see if Apple continues to work on game support, or if they just leave it as is. The current support is a start, but Apple has historically not cared about games, and that perception will take a lot of effort to reverse.

It could be people masking their agent string, which probably has a high Linux userbase.

Don't mind of your neighbors. Rejoice of what's being accomplished

Well, my point was that I'm not sure this is an entirely credible source.

Gave up my windows boot and only use Linux since recently. I kept using Windows for gaming (although it means I used it 99% of the time as a result). But retried linux gaming with Proton and everything runs smoothly enough for me. From big games like SF6 to native games like POE, it's such a pleasure to see that everything "just works" most of the time. I kept my W10 dual boot in case some specific game just cannot be handled by Linux.

With the switch to Lemmy and now a full switch to Linux, I'm glad I threw away all these adwares :-)

For games in Linux there is wine. same for some programs. I nuked windows from my PCs long ago, its secluded on a VM just in case.

I stopped checking protondb or winehq when buying a game. Games just work on Linux these days, and I assume by default that they will.

Exactly what I have done too.

Switched to Lemmy and to Linux Desktop.

Dual booting Windows 10 probably until it stops receiving security updates, then all in on Linux.

It sounds to me like a little excuse not going in all the way now. Hey, no offense here.

I also have a Windows partition, I exclusively use it for the AntiCheat games I already own. I now check in advance if it's supported and otherwise just skip that game.

I'm still in the Early days of Linux and I had trouble twice with other distros before.

I think third time is the charm. Still I have been bitten before so I'm holding on to Windows for a while just to play it safe.

I am daily driving Linux though, I hardly use windows. But I need a working computer so I can always fall back to Windows if all else fails.

2023 year of Linux HERE WE GO!

Og, this is it, finally! Let's teach those windows goons a lesson! #Linux2023

/s

Could it dramatically rise after 2025 when Windows 10 reaches EOL?

There are millions and millions of very powerful computers unable to run windows 11 because the Microsoft marketing department decided so

I honestly think it's more likely they will continue to run Win 10, but without updates.

Not likely. There has been plenty of opportunities, Windows Xp, Windows 7, etc - there was no dramatic rise.

I don't remember there being a similar CPU generation cutoff before. Your 7th gen intel laptop cannot install windows 11. So Linux is your only choice.

Yes but most of the people don't care, out there are still people running windows xp and 7 without thinking twice about it

I expect there are very few people running 7, and waaaay less running xp. I think most people have upgraded to 10 or 11 by now.

Windows 7 had 10.25% desktop market share on November 2022

Yes but almost any old PC made in the last two decades can be upgraded to windows 10. Even an athlon64 from 2003, can run it, if it has enough RAM. The same can't be said for windows 11, which accepts only the newest processors

I run Linux on all home computers, MacOS on work devices.. if AMD's 8x40 APU turns out about as good as it's rumoured to be (efficiency-wise) I'll probably try to get my company to get me a Framework laptop with that and then all will be well.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure Steam Deck is having an effect here. Not only do they seem to sell well on their own but people may get ideas when they see Linux-based device running games decently..

Yeah but half of that is a few nerds inflating the numbers with 10 thinkpads each running different linux distros

Chrome OS bigger than Linux? Interesting…

Schools are a HUGE user of Chromebooks. Most highschools in the US lend each of their students a Chromebook to use, and that alone accounts for a huge userbase.

Yes. It comes pre installed in the chromo books and also Chrome OS is literally Linux too.

Not possible since ChromeOS is a subset of Linux.

Sure, in the same way Android is a subset of Linux. Their appeal and use-cases are completely different, and in no way are GNU/Linux and ChromeOS practically interchangeable.

That's like saying ketchup is a fruit because it's made with tomatoes.

And that's why I can tell my doctor I've been eating more fruit.

3.08 what? I think you forgot a unit there.

Celsius, my bad.

My last Ubuntu install got destroyed by some package update and I was unable to fix it after hours and hours of futsing within it (I think it was related to graphics drivers, but I can't say 100%). This made me put it aside again since I just don't have time to deal with it and really just wanted something simple and reliable on my laptop. It's annoying because, aside from some games, I can already pretty much do anything I need to do on Linux just fine, but I won't risk issues like that taking down my whole setup.

PCs are getting common devices in all houses: you start cracking software, then you buy a couple of them, in the end you look for opensource versions. That's how it often goes. The same applies to operating systems

I tend to not believe these numbers: Do you really think 1 in every 33 people you know use Linux? I think this number is wishful thinking.

One in 33 is like one nerd in every school class. Sounds plausible to me.