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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

#581

Post by palata »

paulcole wrote: post #219
palata wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with your points, except this: > thanks to the Steam Deck [...] but I would be reluctant to call that Linux Desktop anymore than I would call Android an uptick for Linux. The Steam Deck very much runs Linux Desktop. Android runs the Linux kernel, but everything else is different. SteamOS is a Linux distribution based on Arch. If you run your Steam Deck in "desktop mode", it is very much a Linux Desktop (with…

If your belief is that Steam Deck is Linux Desktop then you need to count Switch/PS5/Xbox as desktops as well and take those into account with the OS percentages.

I can't use a Switch as a Desktop Linux, I can use my Steam Deck as a Desktop Linux.

It's not exactly a belief, it's my experience.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#582

Post by kristianp »

c0balt wrote: post #122
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…

> You still cannot crtl+V in the terminal The more poignant issues might be that there's inconsistencies around UI here. Some terminals allow that directly (Kitty), others require Ctrl+shift+v (Gnome shell, iirc Powershell and Konsole). To be fair, the best non-windows OS likely is MacOS. It has software support for a lot of commercial prosumer stuff, e. G., Adobe, and has a convenient and stable 3rd Party offering f…

> Gnome and KDE are probably moving in the right direction here

Gnome the desktop seems to have gone to hamburger menus in the last x years. It makes sense for Chrome, but is extremely user unfriendly for a more document creation oriented application.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#583

Post by throwawaylaptop »

leptons wrote: post #514
dmd wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, this is a very affluent district. Everyone has a chromebook from school and most have a macbook from their parents. They prefer the phone. (“Big computers are more of an old person millennial thing.”)

They sound young and dumb, to the point that their opinion on this matter is irrelevant. They will figure it out eventually.

I made an account finally just because this no laptop thing was too shocking. I get kids and teens have preferences. But what in the world is going on with the parents? Who cares if Timmy wants to write his paper on a phone. You tell him to sit down at a desk, focus, and write like a normal person. You can always regress to your own quirks once youve proven yourself.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#584

Post by kristianp »

dmantis wrote: post #116
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…

You can't do ctrl-c and ctrl-v in MacOS too, that's doesn't break their marketshare.

It's command-c and command-v there. I only recently learned that command-right arrow goes to the end of line on Mac OS, making the elision of the home and end button on keyboards less egregious than on windows.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#585

Post by throwawaylaptop »

pms wrote: post #539
nerdjon wrote: post #53

I have to wonder how much of this is people switching to Linux vs the larger trend of people not having traditional computers to begin with. Outside of gamers, I don't know anyone that has a computer at home that is not their work laptop if they have one. At least in my circle everyone I know has moved to their general computing being on phones and tablets which is not captured here. So is a solid chunk of this the p…

Why is this is a top comment? Market share is a relative measure. Even if there is a drop in the number of personal computers, still it's an achievement that the drop didn't affect Linux, while it affected other platforms. > Basically if the higher percent is due to less desktops overall instead of a major uptick in Linux desktops, it is not really much to celebrate. I disagree. Imagine that Linux became the OS used…

Because it's an important distinction. If all PC sales fall to almost zero, and only the most hardcore tech nerds keep using them, and use Linux like they've been doing for two decades now, did Linux really win the battle or did the entire war evaporate and they are some long lost leftover soldier in the jungle fighting some battle no one else even is anymore.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#586

Post by throwawaylaptop »

scarface_74 wrote: post #563
const_cast wrote: post #557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 whi…

My parents apple magic mouse has trouble often enough on a 2015 iMac. I brought them a spare much newer one. Also quirky.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#587

Post by 400thecat »

Fokamul wrote: post #308
xaitv wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netherlands here. Most people I know (outside of gamers) tend to have a laptop only if they have one for work anyway, they use their phones for banking, tax, searching the correct spelling of words etc. That's in the age groups from like 30 all the way to 70. I don't think I know any non-gamer that has an actual desktop, just people with laptops. For the gamers consoles are the vast majority, of the PC gamers pretty…

Yes, top of the list, it shows :) Latops and desktops, it's a mix here. Older people had mainly desktops in the past. That's my experience, at least. Banking, yeah mainly phones because of ridiculous forced banking apps from corporate masters, like everywhere else? (certain bank even lost a lot of customers because of that) Taxes, if you are just an employee, taxes are done by your employer for you, by law. (I presum…

are you talking about Czech Republic ?

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#588

Post by throwawaylaptop »

scarface_74 wrote: post #476
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why would I recommend a Linux system? Greater control over what hardware and software you wish to run. e.g. you wouldn't have to follow Apple's decisions in making things obsolete and effectively keep old hardware running for a lot longer if you so wish. There's also a possible issue in having a U.S. based company in control of your O.S.

But most people could care less as long as they have the apps they need. They don’t want to muck around with their computers. I’ve been programming as a hobby since 1986 and professionally since 1996 and I don’t want to muck around with my computer. But the comment is about most people only caring about the browser.

I recently switched from windows to Linux Mint because I didn't want to muck around with my computer. Now it runs faster than ever, and everything I can dream up of doing I can get done. If I do have a question, AI answers it.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#589

Post by pms »

throwawaylaptop wrote: post #585
pms wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this is a top comment? Market share is a relative measure. Even if there is a drop in the number of personal computers, still it's an achievement that the drop didn't affect Linux, while it affected other platforms. > Basically if the higher percent is due to less desktops overall instead of a major uptick in Linux desktops, it is not really much to celebrate. I disagree. Imagine that Linux became the OS used…

Because it's an important distinction. If all PC sales fall to almost zero, and only the most hardcore tech nerds keep using them, and use Linux like they've been doing for two decades now, did Linux really win the battle or did the entire war evaporate and they are some long lost leftover soldier in the jungle fighting some battle no one else even is anymore.

If an OS is used, then that's because people need it, not because they're fighting some imaginary fight in the jungle. It's their preferred OS. If the number of people using computers shrinks, because non-pro users move to mobiles, while the fraction of pros using Linux increases to 95%, or even 50%, I think that's a very clear win for Linux.

The reason why MacOS grew in popularity is because it started to be used by pros, myself included, i.e., I've switched from Linux to MacOS seeing many top computer scientists using MacOS. However, after over 10 years of using MacOS, I'm actually still not sure whether it was worth it, and I'm considering to go back to Linux since a few years. The main reasons stopping me from switching is a reliable Calendar app and concerns about battery life.

Re: Linux Reaches 5% Desktop Market Share in USA

#590

Post by throwawaylaptop »

pms wrote: post #589
throwawaylaptop wrote: post #585

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's an important distinction. If all PC sales fall to almost zero, and only the most hardcore tech nerds keep using them, and use Linux like they've been doing for two decades now, did Linux really win the battle or did the entire war evaporate and they are some long lost leftover soldier in the jungle fighting some battle no one else even is anymore.

If an OS is used, then that's because people need it, not because they're fighting some imaginary fight in the jungle. It's their preferred OS. If the number of people using computers shrinks, because non-pro users move to mobiles, while the fraction of pros using Linux increases to 95%, or even 50%, I think that's a very clear win for Linux. The reason why MacOS grew in popularity is because it started to be used by…

It was just an analogy. My point is still that if you get 1 million nerds using Linux in 2006, and even if they remain 1 million as the whole market dies in 2028, that doesn't say much more about Linux than it did in 2006 when only 1% of desktop users used it.

On a side note, I'm no computer scientist (I don't even know what that means, and I'm from the SF bay area), but I used MS products since 1989. A friend gifted me a 2017 iMac Pro recently. I was impressed.. for 3 days. And then I wondered how people even work like this. Finder limitations, dock limitations, and the final nail in the coffin was no cutting files via command x. Apparently that's a thing apple people have put up with for decades? It just doesn't seem made for serious work.

It's an amazing Linux Mint machine though.

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