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Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

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Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#171

Post by fomine3 »

vasco wrote: post #160
bruce511 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure it stings a lot! Windows Server is expensive, and a huge money earner for MS. They currently have around 20% market share (as Internet servers - much higher inside business LANs), which is a very nice chunk. And I'm sure encourages them to keep working on it. Frankly the tooling for MS server keeps it in the hunt - they really understand the concept of making things easier to use.

> They currently have around 20% market share (as Internet servers - Extremely big doubts about this. How would anyone even know? All the hyperscale datacenters built by FAANG must be 99.9% Linux, and those DCs alone would probably be enough to make 20% impossible to hit for windows.

Nit: many edge servers by N is FreeBSD at least.

Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#172

Post by vba616 »

bruce511 wrote: post #68
DiabloD3 wrote: post #49

I wonder why they keep making these articles. Linux is on more computers both today and all of the computers ever made put together than any other OS. It is on virtually all servers on the Internet, the majority OS on phones, its in many TVs and STBs and streaming sticks, its one of the few OSes ever in space, its one of the few OSes ever on Mars, and it is also the OS behind ChromeOS (which that article mistakenly b…

And yet not having a presence on the desktop stings a bit doesn't it :). You can conquer the world, dominate every space and yet there's thus little voice inside saying "but you're not good enough. See over there, in that one space, you're a weakling. " Welcome to the human condition.

Windows is the modern VT100. It's simply a category error to compare its market share to Linux these days.

Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#173

Post by Dylan16807 »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #161
sumuyuda wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can actually switch to desktop mode, which is a full KDE environment, so it is a Linux desktop PC.

A desktop PC is not a type of operating system. It’s a type of computer designed for a specific use case, distinct from servers, mobile devices, handheld gaming devices or gaming consoles. A windows server or Linux server with KDE/gnome is not a desktop. A mobile phone isn’t a desktop, and it wouldn’t become a desktop even if you installed a plain Linux distro with KDE on it. A PlayStation, switch or Xbox isn’t a des…

It really sounds like you don't understand how the OS is set up on the steam deck. It's a normal desktop environment with a customized version of steam installed.

If laptops get to be included (which they usually are), then steamdeck gets to be included.

It doesn't replicate "some subset" of the desktop experience. It does everything a small tower can, plus things it can't do.

Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#174

Post by midoridensha »

thanatos519 wrote: post #81
jacknews wrote: post #45

The problem is the desktop situation is such a mess. Do you go with a gtk or qt desktop and which one? And then X11 which is ancient and creaky, or wayland which is fatally nerfed in design (if not it's entire development philosophy) even when it does do what you need which is far from always? OTOH windows is becoming adware/spyware and macos is becoming big brother lockdown-wear, so maybe it is time for linux to shi…

Last time I checked, I could run Qt apps on my MATE desktop and Gtk+ apps on my KDE desktop. I prefer X11 because it's mature and works perfectly for me. I might try Wayland sometime, but it had better support all of the weird things I do with X11. More to the point, the choice is a feature, and it comes with a bit of chaos. Would you rather live in an effectively single-party state like Singapore where everything is…

>Would you rather live in an effectively single-party state like Singapore where everything is shiny but you get caned for spitting gum on the street (MacOS)

This sounds like a good place to live for me, because I don't spit gum on streets and wouldn't want to live around people who do. What kind of disgusting person would do such a thing? And who chews gum these days?

Personally, I think this is a terrible analogy.

As an outsider, the Netherlands seems a lot more stable than many other democracies, including Germany and the US.

Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#175

Post by harry8 »

ChatGTP wrote: post #97
harry8 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Personally Fedora or NixOS are just so superior I don't know why anyone bothers with anything else. Could be. I should try NixOS or fedora again but seriously don't overstate it. Cannonical are not my fav company. Installing an LTS ubu works fine, it has annoyances (maybe nixos and fedora are better?) but it's still so incredibly far ahead of windows or macos it's not even close for me. Sure, I'm used to linux on my…

Sorry I meant any other distro.

With respect I was trying to point out quietly that I've heard that kind of distro-jingoism for 20 years and the failure to appreciate another person's distro of choice to the point where you think nobody should ever be using it is just a bit silly. The distro I use is fine, if yours is even better, great!

Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#176

Post by deaddodo »

klabb3 wrote: post #159
deaddodo wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a bit of a mistatement/overstatement. That's like saying the Windows XP thin-client at Barnes and Noble runs the, mostly Linux/Unix, backend. For US nuclear subs: All of the core components and electronics use a custom RTOS; older ones built in Ada, newer ones built in C++. The "control computers" (the computers that humans interface with to tell core components what to do) aren't running anything like Ubuntu…

> (the computers that humans interface with to tell core components what to do) aren't running anything like Ubuntu or Fedora, but instead run a heavily ruggedized and customized Linux system based on the Titanium suite from Star Lab. That’s not to be minimized. Sounds like very much on the critical path, and definitely not some shitty infotainment sidecar. If that crashed, you couldn’t control core functions of the…

> That’s not to be minimized. Sounds like very much on the critical path, and definitely not some shitty infotainment sidecar. If that crashed, you couldn’t control core functions of the sub? Are there overrides?

Sure, it's an important component of the entire system. Much as a steering wheel is an important component of a car, it still doesn't "run" the car. You need to interface, yes obviously; but if the machine crashes the sub operates merrily along like usual and any of the other control computers can continue to give it commands.

As to overrides, if you lost every single control computer and the direct interfaces (the analog control boards you see in crucial areas of naval vessels) then the overall system has a fallback procedure. It's not documented or public knowledge, but assumedly it would surface and activate an emergency beacon as the vessel is crippled (and likely damaged) at that point.

Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#177

Post by borski »

bruce511 wrote: post #58
laserbeam wrote: post #34

Every once in a while I'm tempted to switch back to Linux (I used to have that as my desktop between 10 and 15 years ago), but then I remember: - My DJ software (which I pay for) is not supported at all on Linux (likewise true for most common music production software). - The Affinity suite (which I paid for) is not supported on Linux. - The best debugger I can find (remedybg, which I paid for) doesn't work there. -…

Operating systems have a really high degree of lock-in. Such that while you -can- change OS, there's simply no incentive to do so. That's why you're still running the same OS you always have. [1] You accumulate software yes, but you also accumulate habits and knowledge. Changing OS means discarding all the accumulated knowledge, which 0% of "normal users" want to do. Throw in the change in software, ending up with at…

I’m not so sure. Everyone used to have a Dell/Sony/IBM running Windows. A decade later everyone has a MacBook.

It just has to be much much better.

Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#178

Post by mtizim »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #94
qwytw wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is more to an 'OS' than the kernel. SteamDecks are indistinguishable from PCs, since they run more or less exactly the same software as a Linux desktop/laptop would.

It’s still not a desktop PC. You’ll notice that iOS, Android and iPadOS aren’t included in the list either, even though the devices that run those operating systems can also replicate some subset of the desktop pc experience (and much more comprehensively than the steam deck can). At best it would be a general purpose mobile device, but even that is rather contrived. How many users do you imagine are using a steam de…

Your guess is very wrong. I've been using my deck as a laptop occasionally, and I've seen a lot of posts on a sub on the recently deceased site of people using it as such. And why not? It's basically a touchscreen laptop without a keyboard and with a small screen.

Also, the deck does not replicate a subset of the desktop experience, it just contains a desktop experience. Unless the KDE desktop is not a desktop now. If that's the case - it runs windows.

Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#179

Post by klabb3 »

thanatos519 wrote: post #81
jacknews wrote: post #45

The problem is the desktop situation is such a mess. Do you go with a gtk or qt desktop and which one? And then X11 which is ancient and creaky, or wayland which is fatally nerfed in design (if not it's entire development philosophy) even when it does do what you need which is far from always? OTOH windows is becoming adware/spyware and macos is becoming big brother lockdown-wear, so maybe it is time for linux to shi…

Last time I checked, I could run Qt apps on my MATE desktop and Gtk+ apps on my KDE desktop. I prefer X11 because it's mature and works perfectly for me. I might try Wayland sometime, but it had better support all of the weird things I do with X11. More to the point, the choice is a feature, and it comes with a bit of chaos. Would you rather live in an effectively single-party state like Singapore where everything is…

That’s a hilarious analogy. I agree with the general sentiment.

However… there is a difference between meaningful choice and choice that is simply a byproduct of grumpy disagreements from 20 years ago.

Choice has compound costs. Primarily, it creates interop issues. The best is example is, of course, software distribution (hey what ppa do I need to install node). It also creates an explosion of configuration options and points of failure.

The desktop distro maintainers should, imo, put their disagreements aside and find common ground to the most pressing issues. Perhaps funded by some billionaire or their mega-corp.

Re: Linux has achieved a 3% desktop market share

#180

Post by midoridensha »

ChatGTP wrote: post #50
jacknews wrote: post #45

The problem is the desktop situation is such a mess. Do you go with a gtk or qt desktop and which one? And then X11 which is ancient and creaky, or wayland which is fatally nerfed in design (if not it's entire development philosophy) even when it does do what you need which is far from always? OTOH windows is becoming adware/spyware and macos is becoming big brother lockdown-wear, so maybe it is time for linux to shi…

Been using for 15 years, I've never sat there and worried about gtk or qt, Maybe wayland or X11, but I've just naturally moved to wayland? Just install something like Fedora, and you won't worry about it, it will just work. I personally hate Ubuntu btw Canonical is just not for me. I have no idea how it's so popular. Personally Fedora or NixOS are just so superior I don't know why anyone bothers with anything else.

>I personally hate Ubuntu btw Canonical is just not for me. I have no idea how it's so popular. Personally Fedora or NixOS are just so superior I don't know why anyone bothers with anything else.

Ubuntu got popular years ago because they made a distro that supported everything and was really easy to install and use. Fedora has always been a pain because it doesn't support a lot of stuff out of the box (i.e. codecs): a distro that can't even play MP3s was a non-starter for many people 10-15 years ago. NixOS isn't nearly as easy to install and get started with.

Ubuntu has been coasting on its inertia for a long time though, and many other distros have caught up with it or surpassed it, such as Mint, while Ubuntu has been shooting itself in the foot with things like Snaps.

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