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Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

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Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#561

Post by Workaccount2 »

const_cast wrote: post #554
Workaccount2 wrote: post #100

Linux will be stuck in the 5% range as long as people who love Linux are the ones making Linux. You still cannot crtl+V in the terminal. No faster way to scare off users than give them a CLI heavy OS and have the trip over the very first copy+paste command they try to run (once they figure out the circa ~1982 cursor) I really cannot say enough about the total fumble of Linux distros in an age when people are more des…

The reason Linux won't take off is because Windows users have unrealistic expectations. They define "intuitive" as "works like Windows". But Windows is not intuitive - it's, possibly, the least intuitive operating system to ever exist. It's just familiar. But it's a Catch 22. If Linux is like Windows, then there's zero reason to use it. Just use Windows. But if Linux is not like Windows, then it's not familiar. The s…

MacOS, iOS, and Android are all unix like OS's that had the wherewithal to hand UX to product people and not engineers.

You end up with very popular operating systems.

Again, the thing perpetually holding desktop Linux back is that it is made by people who like Linux.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#562

Post by Workaccount2 »

Gormo wrote: post #153
Workaccount2 wrote: post #100

Linux will be stuck in the 5% range as long as people who love Linux are the ones making Linux. You still cannot crtl+V in the terminal. No faster way to scare off users than give them a CLI heavy OS and have the trip over the very first copy+paste command they try to run (once they figure out the circa ~1982 cursor) I really cannot say enough about the total fumble of Linux distros in an age when people are more des…

> Linux will be stuck in the 5% range as long as people who love Linux are the ones making Linux. Why is 5% a magic number? Why not 4% or 6% or 10%? > You still cannot crtl+V in the terminal. Try Shift+Ins. CLI and GUI conventions have always been different, and the sort of users who work in the terminal are the ones who know the difference. Overloading Ctrl+V, and breaking applications that run in the terminal, just…

The version of Linux that actually moves the needle towards widespread adoption will almost certainly be hated by Linux enthusiasts. It will be annoying and clunky with a lot of prying necessary to make it feel "right".

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#563

Post by scarface_74 »

const_cast wrote: post #557
scarface_74 wrote: post #556

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We are talking about people who want to use the web for everything and real windowing, menus etc is coming to iPads this fall 2. Bluetooth works fine. I haven’t ever needed to re-pair my Bluetooth keyboard to my Mac or iPad 3. The iPad works with any random Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Bluetooth keyboard support has been available on the iPad since 2010. Bluetooth mouse support has been available for 7 years+. If yo…

I've used an iPhone. I know, for me, bluetooth does not work fine. It drops somewhat frequently. As for keyboards and mice, sure, they work, but what's the point? If we have to attach a keyboard to an iPad and carry it around as it's own thing, then a laptop is more convenient. It has a keyboard, mouse, and screen all built in one thing. No bluetooth required, no charging required.

Are we talking about Bluetooth headsets now? I thought we were talking about keyboards and mice.

So what crappy Bluetooth headphones are you using? I haven’t had any issues with either my AirPods Pro or my cheap $60 Beats Flex.

And you can go months without recharging a keyboard or mouse. The advantage of the iPad is I don’t need a keyboard or mouse all of the time - well my wife doesn’t. It has built in cellular which is unlimited via T-mobile and when I go on an airplane, I can leave my keyboard and mouse in my bag.

And honestly, I hate working on just my laptop for any period of time and I still take my Roost laptop stand and a keyboard and mouse with me and I have an external USB powered/USB video external monitor I take with me and sometimes use my iPad as a third monitor for my laptop.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#564

Post by techjamie »

whizzter wrote: post #19
theandrewbailey wrote: post #3

I work in the refurb division of an e-waste recycling company. Due to licensing costs and our certifications, we can't sell anything with Windows. My coworkers install Ubuntu, but I install Linux Mint. We don't have any clue if people keep using Linux or install Windows, but it's cool to think we're helping to move this needle. Edit: might as well link to the merch: https://www.ebay.com/str/evolutionecycling

I think this plays a huge part, is it elders/poorer/others that receive these machines? A new machine for an enterprise or gamer will probably retain windows because it's needed but people not using their computers for more than surfing will be happy enough. On that side-note I would also not be surprised if people are leaving "computers" altogether in favor of phones, it's a capable enough computer today for most la…

> I think this plays a huge part, is it elders/poorer/others that receive these machines?

I got my hands on a Dell that was retired out of an office somewhere for $30+shipping. Add the cost of a couple HDDs, time spent removing a disc drive and installing Linux, I got myself a cheap backup server on my LAN.

They're great for machines you don't want to drop a lot on for basic utilities.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#565

Post by AuthAuth »

nomel wrote: post #525
JadoJodo wrote: post #239

I am in this category, but I'm growing increasingly frustrated with the state of the market for OS's: I've used macOS for work for many years and Arch-based derivatives for personal desktop. The challenge with that has always been gaming: Gaming on Linux _mostly_ works, but third-party launchers (e.g., Battle.net, Origin, etc.) HATE it. I also don't love the Proton shuffle (i.e., "Which version of Proton do I need to…

> I wish macOS gaming wasn't so expensive. The ever increasing number of GPUs of the world are making the cloud PC gaming services ridiculously cheap. I only pay $12 USD/month (boosteroid, gaming only). If I bought a gaming PC with similar specs, it would take over 7 years to pay it off (no use for a PC besides gaming). That would be 7 years of fixed hardware, where the cloud hardware specs keep improving with time,…

You can easily buy a gaming PC for less than $1000 that provides a better experience than cloud gaming. You also need to remember that these companies are trying to create a market for their product and right now they're happy to sell their services really cheap. Once its adopted it will be raised.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#566

Post by AuthAuth »

Workaccount2 wrote: post #100

Linux will be stuck in the 5% range as long as people who love Linux are the ones making Linux. You still cannot crtl+V in the terminal. No faster way to scare off users than give them a CLI heavy OS and have the trip over the very first copy+paste command they try to run (once they figure out the circa ~1982 cursor) I really cannot say enough about the total fumble of Linux distros in an age when people are more des…

>I really cannot say enough about the total fumble of Linux distros in an age when people are more desperate than ever to leave Windows

How is it a fumble? Linux is doing very well to scope up users from people looking to leave windows. Its not a monolithic company. There is no marketing budget only users to spread the word.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#567

Post by const_cast »

Workaccount2 wrote: post #561
const_cast wrote: post #554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason Linux won't take off is because Windows users have unrealistic expectations. They define "intuitive" as "works like Windows". But Windows is not intuitive - it's, possibly, the least intuitive operating system to ever exist. It's just familiar. But it's a Catch 22. If Linux is like Windows, then there's zero reason to use it. Just use Windows. But if Linux is not like Windows, then it's not familiar. The s…

MacOS, iOS, and Android are all unix like OS's that had the wherewithal to hand UX to product people and not engineers. You end up with very popular operating systems. Again, the thing perpetually holding desktop Linux back is that it is made by people who like Linux.

I disagree fundamentally. You're describing locked-down UNIX in name only operating systems, controlled by a single corporate entity with an iron fist.

If Linux was like that, it would have no value. Why not? Because these operating systems already exist.

Linux distros are open-source. That means it is fragmented by nature. This is unsolvable - because that is what open-source means. I can fork something, and that's that. If we say "no forking", then it's no longer open-source. This is the Catch-22.

If we want a defragmented Linux, we already have plenty of those. If we want to defragment Linux, it loses literally all of it's value.

The UX on Linux is, IMO, much more intuitive than Windows, and it's not even close. The problem is that it's not like Windows. That's why I use it. That's why everyone who uses Linux uses it. If we wanted an operating system like Windows, I would use Windows.

Downloading software straight from an app store is easier than downloading an exe online. The file browser is easier to use. Updates are easier to do, they're done system-wide. KDE is much, MUCH more cohesive than than Windows GUI. The installers are much more modern. Users are much more intuitive. Permissions are more intuitive. The file system actually makes sense. I mean, really C: drive? Back slashes? Come on now. dbus is better than COM or COM+. Editing a config file is more intuitive than regedit. The search functionality is more intuitive. And on and on.

I mean, picture a typical usecase: install a browser. On Windows, I boot up. First I see if it's already installed. I search, and I get web popups. Okay, not what I want - I don't want to read about Chrome on wikipedia. Okay, I finally get to the Chrome website. I click "Download". Edge tells me not to do this. The computer tells me it's dangerous. Edge tells me it's faster than Chrome. I ignore. I click through the installer. It's installed. Now, I might have to reboot for some reason. Edge then prevents me from making it my default browser. I do it anyway. Finally, I have Google Chrome.

On Linux. I search for Chrome in the search box. It's not installed, but there's a link to the app store. I click it, and I click install. There is no installer, it just installs it. Chrome is now installed.

Linux distros are really good, if and only if you go into them acknowledging they are their own thing, with their own methods.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#568

Post by AuthAuth »

rhabarba wrote: post #454
tock wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PewDiePie is awesome. His linux video has over 6M views. We need to make linux cool again for the general audience.

I don't know whether operating systems need to be "cool". Is Windows, the market leader, "cool"? Or rather, I don't know whether those who think PewDiePie is "cool" have the same understanding of "cool" as computer nerds do.

Because computers are cool. Its easier to point to a general operating system than to all the cool software that runs on them. When people say Linux is cool its not because of just the kernel, its everything from the culture to the software stack and ethos

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#569

Post by AuthAuth »

Shorel wrote: post #229
pessimizer wrote: post #12

Linux now has a bigger desktop marketshare than firefox. I never would have imagined history would turn out like this. Firefox had the easy job and desktop Linux had the hard one. This will lead to a virtuous circle for Linux unless someone does something; privacy issues are leading people to the OSes where you get to freely choose your level of privacy. Anybody have any more weird old unix patents to throw at them a…

> Linux now has a bigger desktop marketshare than firefox. This means many Linux users install an alternative browser, not to use Firefox. That's funny, but so true.

Browser selection is a heated topic in linux land just like text editors and window managers.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#570

Post by dole »

Klonoar wrote: post #484
bigyabai wrote: post #471

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android users are Linux users. So are Nintendo Switch users, the whole "can Linux game/be used for mobile" question is already answered.

Errr, isn’t the Switch BSD based? Or am I confusing it with the PS5?

Switch’s network stack and some drivers are FreeBSD based, but that’s about it
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