Clickbaity title on the original article, but I think this is the most important point to consider from it:

After getting to 1% in approximately 2011, it took about a decade to double that to 2%. The jump from 2% to 3% took just over two years, and 3% to 4% took less than a year.

Get the picture? The Linux desktop is growing, and it’s growing fast.

    • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
      1·
      22 minutes ago

      It makes perfect sense, the resistance of having Windows legacy software etc becomes smaller the more of that goes out of use, the resistance of everyone only knowing Windows becomes smaller with nobody even knowing Windows, and the resistance of corporate interests becomes smaller because it’s all in the Web, and the Web has been corrupted and Chrome works on Linux.

      So. Listen to me carefully. If Linux domination happens without FreeBSD and Haiku normalization, then things are bad.

  • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
    1·
    26 minutes ago

    OK, so now it’s important to create collegial democratic project government for Linux, and freeze Linus in carbonite as a memorial. Before Linux has become too important, and before Linus lost his marbles to become a geriatric dictator.

    Actually in the age of Android I think it’s already too late, but this should be done regardless.

    • PastafARRian@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      1·
      35 minutes ago

      I wonder what percentage of people given a Kubuntu laptop, when asked what OS they’re using, would say “Windows?”. I’m going to guess 20%

  • Darren@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    13·
    9 hours ago

    Does it count that I have four computers running Linux because I can’t help myself?

  • squid64@lemmy.ca
    1·
    5 hours ago

    That’s good, I don’t care much about the OS people use but yeah as long as they use something that they like and that doesn’t exploit them that’s great.

    I use Guix System as my distro and it’s great, just goes to show the power of free software, you won’t get something like that anywhere else.

    • comfy@lemmy.ml
      1·
      2 hours ago

      I don’t care much about the OS people use

      On a surface level, same. On the other hand, I do believe that more users, if combined with certain design and documentation choices, can enable more contributions and fixes and software support, and I believe this has already been a huge factor in recent improvements to the Linux experience like Proton.

  • Sina@beehaw.org
    12·
    12 hours ago

    Statcounter considers me a Win user due to the Win user agent I’m using, this is not a rare behavior in the Linux space…

  • webghost0101@sopuli.xyz
    24·
    15 hours ago

    A king once summoned a wise man who had done him a great service and said, “Name your reward.” The wise man replied, “Your Majesty, I ask for a simple thing. Give me one percent Linux desktop market share for the first square of the chessboard, two percent for the second square, four percent for the third square, and so on, doubling the amount for each of the 64 squares.” The king, thinking this was a modest request, said, “Surely you jest! Such a small reward for such a great service? Ask for gold, land, or jewels instead.” But the wise man insisted, and the king agreed. The king ordered his treasurer to calculate the total. Starting with 1% for the first square, 2% for the second, 4% for the third, 8% for the fourth… by the time they reached the tenth square, they needed 512% of the desktop market. The treasurer, pale with realization, informed the king that by the 64th square, they would need more market share than could possibly exist in the entire universe of computing devices. The king then understood that what seemed like a humble request was actually impossible to fulfill, and he gained a new respect for the power of exponential growth.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

    • xthexder@l.sw0.com
      3·
      10 hours ago

      It already goes over 100% market share after only 8 squares. 512% seems like a weird place to stop? How can you have more than 100% market share?

        • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
          3·
          5 hours ago

          Not supposedly, but mathematically. Even if the grateful king ruled the entire planet and the great warrior willing to settle for grains the size of a single atom, the king would be unable to pay in full; the total of grains on the whole chessboard would be 2^64 grains, but there are only 2^50 atoms on Earth.

            • Tinidril@midwest.socialEnglish
              1·
              3 hours ago

              Theoretically you could make a black hole with a single grain of rice. You just have to figure out how to crush it down enough.

        • xthexder@l.sw0.com
          1·
          7 hours ago

          Yeah, I appreciate the reference, it’s just that my brain got stuck on the comparison breaking due to using percentage instead of some absolute count.

    • Cricket [he/him]@lemmy.zipOP
      16·
      14 hours ago

      They used a different data source for this one and mentioned why they preferred this one over the one from the day before.

    • squaresinger@lemmy.world
      4·
      16 hours ago

      I read a similarly sensationalist headline with 4% two months ago and 5% yesterday. What’s up with the headline makers?

      • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world
        10·
        15 hours ago

        Linux is gaining market share quickly as the Windows 10 EOL rapidly approaches. There is still a massive amount of perfectly great hardware out there that isn’t officially supported by Windows 11, and only 3 months until Windows 10 reaches EOL.

        • squaresinger@lemmy.world
          61·
          13 hours ago

          According to more realistic data, e.g. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-202406-202506 the market share has been around 4% for the last year, even slightly declining in the meantime.

          But that doesn’t make for nice, sensationalist headline stoked by wishful thinking.

          Sorry to say, Linux isn’t going mainstream anytime soon and by and large the end of Win10 just means that the comparatively small group of users still running 5+ years old hardware will just buy a new PC or keep using their outdated OS.

          In fact, if you combine the market share of outdated Windows versions (XP-8.1) you get a market share very close to the market share of Linux.

          As much as we all would love it if the Linux market share goes to 50% in fall, it’s not going to happen.

          The main issues with Linux adoption (it’s not preinstalled and most people have no idea which OS they are using and really can’t be bothered to reinstall) are just as present as they ware for the last 30 years.

        • Cricket [he/him]@lemmy.zipOPEnglish
          4·
          14 hours ago

          Agreed. I think we’re still going to see a LOT of growth in Linux market share by the end of this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 7%-8% by then.

  • Ptsf@lemmy.world
    171·
    1 day ago

    About to be 6.0000001% when my Kubuntu download finishes. I’m finally taking the dive boys, linux on main here we go.

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      5·
      15 hours ago

      FWIW, Fedora with KDE is fantastic - been using that as my distro of choice (for systems I want a UI on at least) for a few years now and I love it.

    • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
      3·
      16 hours ago

      Cool, welcome! I assume you’re aware that it won’t be all sunshine and rainbows from day 1, but give it time and leverage the community to solve any issues you run into. Effective bug reports and knowledge sharing make the experience better for everyone.

      To me it’s worth having control over my hardware, and an OS that’s designed to work for me and not some corpo against me.

    • expr@programming.dev
      12·
      1 day ago

      I think kubuntu was the very first distro I ever installed in a VM when trying out Linux 10 years ago. I’ve since moved on (an aging Arch install right now, which will eventually be replaced by a NixOS install whenever I get around to it), but just wanted to say that a whole new world lies at your footsteps, my friend. Enjoy it. It’s like discovering the wonder of computing for the first time.

    • Harvey656@lemmy.world
      8·
      1 day ago

      Nice! That’s what I use. Don’t see alot of others talk about Kubuntu. I enjoy the heck out of it. It doesn’t play games all that well, but that could also be user error as well. Still, so far it’s my favorite distro. Good luck on your journey!

    • ☂️-@lemmy.ml
      9·
      1 day ago

      welcome!

      i use ubuntu and its a good choice, but id recommend installing gnome-software and its flatpak plugin and using that instead of the slower snaps. its perfect otherwise, enjoy!

        • caseyweederman@lemmy.ca
          2·
          13 hours ago

          You still need the underlying package manager installed (it’ll prompt you to do so), and on Plasma 5.0 you also need a special integration plugin for each package manager (merged into Discover since I think Plasma 6.0).
          Discover is a joy to use.

  • neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    46·
    1 day ago

    A long time ago when Linux was around 2-3% someone said that macOS adoption by software companies happened when it got to 5% of the marketshare.

    If Linux continues down the path, we might see real support from some of the holdouts.

    Before anyone says to use an alternative, sometimes there are not workable alternatives.

    • DarkSideOfTheMoon@lemmy.world
      2·
      13 hours ago

      Linux has a problem with distribution of binaries, and companies for profit doesn’t want to share source … and packages with only binaries have some dependencies problem… although Flatpak and Snap improved this A LOT…. But then would have GLPv3 in many dependencies and you cannot ship it with a “for profit” product.

      This is the biggest hurdle for Linux “for profit” market for better apps. Also many Linux users are against the paid model, preferring open source. There is a cultural limitation to break the bubble

      I think SteamOS is helping a lot to break this … but still Linux desktop need to have a cultural change specially on license model or binary stability to be able to have a better app availability

      • LeFantome@programming.dev
        2·
        8 hours ago

        This has been a big problem historically. Agreed.

        But you cite the solution yourself. Flatpak is all you need for effective distribution of commercial apps. GPL has nothing to do with it. There are already commercial apps in FlatHub.

        What is missing is “paid” commercial apps. We have no “take my money” App Store in Linux. I think FlatHub is working on it. Honestly, I am surprised a commercial company has not launched one yet. Well, other than Steam of course.