Definitely try it, using NixOS after the “horrors” of Arch feels much more secure. Your system is basically unbreakable, not unintentionally, at least.
Well… in 2022, linux wasn’t even categorized on mobile, and was grouped into “others”. Now its marketshare is relevant enough to have its own category. It’s something.
As much as I’d like to use a Linux phone, it’s simply not feasible for almost everybody at the moment.
What do people user their phone for?
Private conversations
Banking
All kind of apps
Linux phones, at the moment, are way behind Android/iOS in terms of security and, since privacy requires security, also in privacy.
Even stock Android has so many more security features, that it’s not even close. Verified boot, exploit mitigation, (working) app sandboxing and so on. Not even speaking of specialized projects like GrapheneOS.
Even if the app ecosystem was there and the OS mature, I’d never run my banking through a Linux phone at the moment.
Probably a good chunk of it but admittedly it helped me feel confident in using Linux as my daily driver on my desktop. Nothing drives adoption like being able to play video games.
This site is using stats based on browser’s users agent string, very unreliable source of imformation today. Please stop celebrating when it have an anomaly and do it’s temporary spike up or down every couple of months.
Linux is in fact rising, like all desktop OSes besides Windows, because Windows is losing market share. But celebrating stats from this site is not worth it.
I know it’s a joke, but where did you get that number? If it’s at 3% in January and 4% in February. Either it’s a flat 1% increase/month or an increase of 33%. How else can it be interpreted?
Sure, but the question was how they got to the number. If it was a random big number, then fine, that answers my question, but I was just wondering if there was a reason behind it. Usually when people make that joke they just purposefully misinterpret the trend which is why I went for the 1% or 33%
From the dephs of my ass. But basically it’s been around 2% for decades, then it went from 3 to 4% in a matter of months, so it’s accelerating exponentially very quickly!
You can do funny things with statistics if you just use the wrong fitness function.
You can download a csv of the market share from 2009, it shows it reached 3% for the first time in jun 2023, there might be some kind of rapid growth in popularity here.
I just installed WSL so I can learn Linux before I totally get rid of windows. If anyone has any suggestions for windows users learning Linux I will read them!
You could look at dual boot instead of WSL. YouTube has some pretty decent tutorial. Just make sure you take all tutorials with a pinch of salt; don't EVER run a command without looking it up first and checking out what it does; and try to find the most recent tutorials you can.
You may also have a local Linux club that can help you get started too 🙂
I would recommend you to try out Linux in a virtual machine and play around with it. You can watch this video if you don’t know how to set this up. You can do much more with a VM than with WSL. It allows you to basically try any Linux Distribution, whereas WSL only supports a few distros. In a VM you also get a desktop environment by default, whereas WSL mostly restricts you to the terminal. Sure, you can run graphical apps in WSLg, but you still don’t have a Linux desktop. Lastly, it’s much easier to take a snapshot of a VM, and roll back in case you break something.
After you get comfortable in a VM, maybe try booting a Live USB of some Linux distribution. That way you will be able to try it out on your actual hardware.
After that, you can set up dual boot. That way, you can still keep your Windows installation, but also use Linux without any restrictions or limitations.
Hold on here how is Linux Desktop beating out chrome OS? Don’t get me wrong I am totally onboard with Linux winning over chrome OS. But I just don’t believe it.
I can got to any local store right now and buy a Chrome OS computer. I can’t say the same for Linux.
I think I saw somewhere that Windows still has scheduled bugs with high core count CPUs so you can legitimately get better performance from Linux because the scheduler has already been optimized for high core count servers
Sure but at least from my experience if the desktop hardware doesn’t support Windows we are already talking about a very obscure type of hardware that isn’t going to be mass deployed to the general public that would affect this user agent statistic.
The thing with Windows is that you are dependent on the Manufacture to make drivers for the device. Windows supports nothing out of the box. You can see this if you install Windows stock on a device with no internet. Granted that’s very uncommon but depending on the manufacture for support is a mixed bag sometimes.
Sure but that’s a really really narrow scope. Hardware is designed to work with Windows first. It’s unfortunate but it is what it is and saying hardware support is bad on windows is misleading.
I don’t know but it might be inextricably linked to Googles content servers or reliant on services in such a way that it can’t simply be stripped of the telemetry in the way VSCodium is for example.
I know technically ChromeOS is running Linux under the hood but it has been so bastardized by Google that it looses the spirit of Linux that it shouldn’t be consider the same thing. At least in my opinion.
I’m not sure about that. Android isn’t Linux for those reasons, but ChromeOS is much, much closer to a regular GNU/Linux distro. They’re even switching to Wayland from what I’ve heard. 😄
The statistics seem to be based on User Agent. A lot of people"fake" their user agent to avoid fingerprinting and other things.
I myself used to do it when I wanted to download Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft. If your UA said anything Windows you were forced to use download Microsoft USB Tool. If it said Linux you got a direct link to the ISO.
Isn’t chrome os more or less US specific? Yes, I could buy a laptop with chrome os in central Europe if I looked for it, but is it widespread? Absolutely not. I don’t know single person that have (or had) one.
Not sure, but I’ll say that if you use ChromeOS, you’re much more likely to buy special hardware (Chromebooks) to run it on. Not many people download ChromeOS to run on their pre-existing computers. But you can just slap Linux on a toaster if you really want to. Even more, Valve’s Steam Deck comes with Linux by default, and that’s basically a desktop with touch and gamepad controls in mind.
I just wish the culture around open source gave more back to the people working on the software, even if it was just businesses. I think we’d see even more delevopment and support if the one guy making a critical driver for some obscure device that only power plants use, could take a vacation or quit his day job.
People around the world depend on open source being freely available and shareable. But if you’re making millions of dollars a year, I think it’s only fair to give some money to the people making your profit possible.
Not sure, but I’ll say that if you use ChromeOS, you’re much more likely to buy special hardware (Chromebooks) to run it on. Not many people download ChromeOS to run on their pre-existing computers.
That is my point. Normal people are not downloading any OS and installing it on their computers. They are going to the local big box store or online store and buying a computer and using whatever that OS is preinstalled. In my neck of the woods those options are Windows, OSX and Chrome OS. There is no Linux computers at your local big box store. And I am sure you could find a Linux computer online if you specifically searched for it but Amazon is going to put the Linux computer on page 500 if you search for “Laptop”
Valve’s Steam Deck comes with Linux by default
Yeah the Steam Deck is the only thing the came to my mind that mainstream people would get that would have Linux pre-installed. However I can’t imagine it is the steam deck is selling anywhere near the numbers to what Chrome OS computers are selling and also these numbers are based on web browsing. Are people using their steam deck to browse the web? I have a Steam Deck and yes Gaming is amazing on it however if I am being honest the desktop experience is terrible I don’t know how they manage to make the on screen keyboard suck so bad. I would prefer browsing the web on my phone over the Steam Deck. The only way I would browse the web on the Steam Deck is if it was fully setup with a Mouse and Keyboard and External monitor.
Granted this is all just based of my single experience and small corner of the world view point. Maybe Linux is poping off in other parts of the world like in India with a huge population base.
Oh no, I got you. I was kind of looking at if from another angle.
You normally can’t buy a machine with desktop Linux pre-installed, but you can with ChromeOS. Despite that, Linux has a bigger market share. I think part of the reason why is specifically because ChromeOS is so limited and intrinsically tied to Google, that people who do things like install new OSes avoid it like the plague. Google’s push to satisfiy shareholders and build walled gardens is the reason their desktop OS isn’t being used.
I’ve installed Android in virtual machines and played with x86 builds on bare metal. I’ve installed Linux on Macbooks, desktops, servers, and handhelds. I’ve tried out BSD on network shares and other little devices. I’ve never done anything like that with ChromeOS. It holds zero appeal to me, despite being easily purchasable at a retail store.
Linux also surpassed 10% in my country, Greece (10.72%).
I prepared a couple of old laptops I had around recently, to gift to my niece and cousin, and I put Debian with XFce in both of them. Worked great. And I think that’s why Linux is big in Greece. Consider that when someone buys a car here, they use it until the end of its life. Very rarely they sell cars to get something new. The average car is 15 years old in Greece. I think that’s the deal with old laptops and computers too: people try to extend the lives of their machines.
This year I went back to 100% Linux for my computers. I’ve kept my primary PC with Windows just for games but with the advancements that Proton has made to WINE it hasn’t been necessary. The only thing I miss in being able to use Affinity Publisher and Designer on the computer and not just my tablet.
Same here. Thanks to Proton and SteamDeck, things have reached a point where I can find plenty of things to play without keeping a Windows license around.
Last time I did it was 2008 or 2009, the only game I played much was World of Warcraft and it ran great under WINE at the time. I don’t remember exactly why I switched back to windows back then but it was probably games. I know I needed it when I got my VR headset back in 2016 but it’s been a while since I sold that. I don’t know if Steam VR works on Linux or not, I want to have a headset again.
More users means there is more interest from private companies to reach these users and to port their software/products to Linux. Ie Adobe, Games, AutoCAD Suit, etc.
The BSDs don’t have the dev resources of Linux simply because Linux has a much larger install base.
Really?
I don’t think OpenBSD is as funded as Debian but it could maintain software like OpenSSH (even the portable version for Linux and Windows); LibreSSL (still not much used, but funded because of this), OpenSMTPD.
But OpenBSD can maintain its ports which in my opinion is relatively large (no update for -release, sorry :) ). And base. For so many hardware platform. Even VAX until 6.9
I’m not sure you need data to understand that if more people use a product, there’s a greater chance someone will develop FOSS for it, as FOSS developers tend to also be users.
The difference is that, with a base FOSS OS, you’re not locked in to an flavor you don’t like. Dislike the way Ubuntu is headed? Switch to Debian, Pop, or Mint and use the same exact programs you’re used to. If you dislike Windows 11, you’ve only got a few years before you’re forced to switch to it. Makes it much easier for them to force shitty decisions.
More adoption of Linux also means more incentive for FOSS projects to support it. Yes, it also means more proprietary software, but the truth is that most people don’t care what kind of software they use as long as it works for them. At least Linux can’t become beholden to the demands of that software.
People don’t like frequently dual-booting or switching operating systems. If someone needs a specific program for work, and that program only works on windows, chances are they will only use windows.
Many people have to use proprietary software at work, which means most computers for work have to run windows. If linux can get enough marketshare to get support for the necessary programs that people have to use, that will free them up to not use windows at all.
But why do we want more proprietary software running on Linux?
You’re right, there’s downsides for the FOSS community, but it’s much better for many individuals.
Usability, accessibility and privacy for a user is better when any proprietary software, that they cannot avoid, can at least run relatively sandboxed inside an OS they have control over.
Wouldn’t we be recreating the same situation that Windows has?
Good point, but thankfully, an open OS mitigates these issues a great deal.
But why do we want more proprietary software running on Linux?
Because it’s what reality looks like right now. Everything FOSS would be ideal, but it’s probably not going to happen for a looooong time. In the meantime more software is always good, and it also means more FOSS software you can choose as an alternative.
Wouldn’t we be recreating the same situation that Windows has?
No, because the base OS is still open, so you have choices that you don’t have under Windows.
Why downvote me instead of replying with a reason why I’m “wrong” or discussing further?
Tbh it sounds a bit disingenuous when you say that you don’t understand such a basic thing. It should be pretty obvious that more users means more interest from devs+companies and more support for the platform.
Proprietary software is one of the last anchors holding people to Windows or macOS.
Ideally, people would switch to FOSS alternatives on a FOSS OS, but proprietary software on top of a FOSS OS is better than FOSS software on a proprietary OS.
Also, people are going to charge for software in some form or fashion. The economic model would need to change in order to allow people to develop software without any economic motives.
You’ve never understood how support works? It doesn’t matter that it’s harder to find apps that work on Linux than windows and Mac? It matters less to me than most people but it definitely still matters
I would certainly benefit if more hardware supported Linux out-of-the-box.
Many people will benefit if that one key application they need is supported on Linux.
We all benefit from the paid developers working on Linux. The number of such people are linked to the profitability of Linux for companies which is a function of popularity.
Your point is a very important one. The numbers have to come up so that manufacturers notice. It might make the difference in a laptop designer choosing a well-Linux-supported wifi chip, instead of a shitty, closed chipset like Broadcom. When the price-per-unit difference is pennies, knowing that you’re potentially losing some thousands of customers in exchange for saving a few cents per unit can make the difference in how you choose.
It also matters in user choice in the workplace. The more normalized Linux is, the more likely there will be skills in IT support, more mass-management tools, and more willingness to allow employees to choose their OS.
But where it really matters is in standards. Diversity puts pressure on software developers to use standardized and open data exchange standards. I can’t emphasize enough how important diversity in OSes is to driving creation of, and conformance to, standards, and how much of an anathema to standards monocultures are.
Even within OSS this is true: github and git have become monocultures; they aren’t standards, they’re tools developers are forced to use if they want to interact with the wider development world in any meaningful way. They’re not bad; git became dominant largely because github used to be so fantastically better than anything else available at the time; but now, their very dominance stiffles diversity and innovation. Want to try the rather exciting pijul, the patch-based spiritual successor to darcs? Fuck you, because you won’t be able to collaborate with anyone, and you repos won’t work with any proglang module systems like cargo or Go modules, because it isn’t git[1]. Monocultures are bad, whether they’re evil corporation software, or FOSS.
Higher Linux use increases diversity, encourages data format standards, and creates a healthier ecosystem. That’s why these numbers are important.
[1] Go and Rust’s cargo support more VCSes than git, but they could easily not, and I’m sure the maintainer’s of the vcs code wish they could drop support for some of the long tails - and everything that isn’t git is on the long tail at this point. There are attempts at creating some standards around this; ActivityPub has tossed around ideas, forgefriends has been trying for a breakthrough for years - none of them address the root issue of how tools can access sourcecode efficiently in a way abstracted from the underlying vcs. Any such tool currently must have some bespoke code to speak the network language of the vcs, for every vcs. And since git is the most popular, when faced with the daunting task of supporting N vcses, when N-1 of them are in toto used by a small percent of users, it’s just easier to support only git.
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