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GNU Hurd News 2026-Q2

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Re: GNU Hurd News 2026-Q2

#21

Post by adrian_b »

lynx97 wrote: post #4
sirsinsalot wrote: post #3

I hope Hurd has its day. Maybe in 100 years or something.

Hurd will have its day once Linux makes it on the desktop :-)

While I upvoted this, as being true for the general population, for me Linux has made it on the desktop (and laptop) much more than 2 decades ago, around 2003, when the remaining problems that had forced me to use dual-booting with Windows had been solved (i.e. when it became possible in Linux to play movies, read DVDs and use TV tuners). When that happened, I wiped out Windows from my computers.

If you have a pro to help you, already for a long time Linux has been fine on the desktop for anyone. My parents, over 80 years old, have used Linux on their PCs for many years, and they did not even know what "Linux" is. That was possible because I installed and configured for them the operating system and all the applications they needed for reading and writing documents, Internet browsing, e-mail, music listening and movie watching etc.

Windows is easy only because it comes preinstalled. I have installed Windows at work on many kinds of computers and during installation I have encountered much more problems impossible to solve for a non-expert than when installing Linux.

Re: GNU Hurd News 2026-Q2

#22

Post by pjmlp »

NoImmatureAdHom wrote: post #9
pjmlp wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Linux has made it to the desktop, packaged inside VMs served by Apple, Microsoft and Google.

It just...has made it. Plenty of power users just use it as their primary OS. I think official figures under-estimate it because many people daily-driving will spoof user agents of other OSes. And there's Android.

Ah, Android, with a userspace based on Java, Kotlin, C and C++ standard libraries, Android native APIs, without anything related to GNU/Linux, unless it is a rooted device, or one gets to package a full Linux userspace as an APK, which isn't fully compatible due to security enforcement mechanisms.

I would look into those statistics regarding desktop world wide adoption, distribution per OS.

Re: GNU Hurd News 2026-Q2

#23

Post by jhbadger »

pjmlp wrote: post #22
NoImmatureAdHom wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It just...has made it. Plenty of power users just use it as their primary OS. I think official figures under-estimate it because many people daily-driving will spoof user agents of other OSes. And there's Android.

Ah, Android, with a userspace based on Java, Kotlin, C and C++ standard libraries, Android native APIs, without anything related to GNU/Linux, unless it is a rooted device, or one gets to package a full Linux userspace as an APK, which isn't fully compatible due to security enforcement mechanisms. I would look into those statistics regarding desktop world wide adoption, distribution per OS.

Anyone who wants it can have Termux which gives you a full Linux experience under Android with GNU tools if you want it, though.

Re: GNU Hurd News 2026-Q2

#24

Post by pjmlp »

veqq wrote: post #12
lynx97 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hurd will have its day once Linux makes it on the desktop :-)

Linux hit 10% desktop usage recently

Not really, that was a fluke, still below 10%, although getting closer with 7.53%.

https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide

Re: GNU Hurd News 2026-Q2

#26

Post by pjmlp »

jhbadger wrote: post #23
pjmlp wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, Android, with a userspace based on Java, Kotlin, C and C++ standard libraries, Android native APIs, without anything related to GNU/Linux, unless it is a rooted device, or one gets to package a full Linux userspace as an APK, which isn't fully compatible due to security enforcement mechanisms. I would look into those statistics regarding desktop world wide adoption, distribution per OS.

Anyone who wants it can have Termux which gives you a full Linux experience under Android with GNU tools if you want it, though.

No it does not.

It gives a Linux experience within the security sandbox from Android, which is why there are limitations when using it on regular devices, via PlayStore.

Also it requires working around the NDK limitations on available POSIX APIs.

Re: GNU Hurd News 2026-Q2

#27

Post by floxy »

csb6 wrote: post #15

Does anyone more familiar with Hurd know how they addressed performance issues encountered by other Mach-based kernels? I remember reading that one of Mach's bottlenecks was validating that each IPC message had proper permissions/access when sending them between processes due to the large number and frequency of messages.

Is that a bottleneck anymore? Maybe something that was appreciable in 1994 isn't a big performance hit in 2026?

Re: GNU Hurd News 2026-Q2

#28

Post by nemomarx »

pjmlp wrote: post #20
metalliqaz wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not really what everyone means. However the recent success of gaming-related distros such as SteamOS and Bazzite seem to be succeeding where Usability-focused distros such as Mint, Pop!, and Zorin couldn't get deep traction

No, but that is what they will ever get from OEMs selling PCs at computer stores used by normies. Also lets not forget those distros play Windows games, because hardly any studio bothers with native Linux games.

They play both, which is much better for adoption anyway? And it's contributed substantial improvements back to wine and other projects.
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