- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.zip
- linux@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.zip
- linux@lemmy.world
Great, but I don’t think that graph is showing any particular spike, just a nice and gentle upward trend in share. The article also overlooks that there is a certain element of Windows and MacOS computers being replaced by tablets and phones, while Linux is already an enthusiast choice on the desktop, meaning it will be insulated somewhat and gain market share through attrition.
On the plus side, Steam and Proton and maturing DEs/distros and enshittification of Windows certainly make Linux a much more viable “normie” option than it’s ever been. We’re a far cry from the CD-ROM of Red Hat that came with my “Intro to Linux” book in 1999 but couldn’t use my Winmodem or printer and really preferred to run XWindows in grayscale.
Knoppix or bust
I preferred Mepis. 😊
You can check the graph for all OSes from all devices combined in statcounter, and linux is also showing a growth, so it’s a real increase in usage.
OS reveal party and it’s a penguin.
If it was simple and easy to install and play games on Linux as is on Windows, I would have switched over a decade ago.

If I could just go one day on Lemmy without hearing about Linux… nothing has turned me off Linux more than you guys not shutting up about it.
It has no marketing budget so the only way the userbase can grow is by proselytizing.
Feel free to stay on Windows or MacOS or whatever floats your boat. Won’t bother anyone.
The downvotes say otherwise. Linux bros are toxic, and can’t handle anyone who isn’t one of them
I don’t see mass amount of comments insulting you, but I do see you being unusually hostile from the get go as though wanting confrontation. So not surprising people aren’t receptive to the tone in terms of voting, but all things considered not seeing toxic discourse in response.
So I don’t know. I guess it might help to present things in a more calm manner? Unless that suggestion itself is what is considered toxic.
You’re in a community about technology, clicked on a link about Linux and are now complaining that people are talking about… Linux? And when people got annoyed when you barged into the conversation you called them toxic?
Stop trolling and scroll to the next post. It’s easy.
I don’t see anyone being toxic here except you so far. If it bothers you so much, just add “Linux” as a keyword to your block filter on whatever client you use to access Lemmy. Easy fix
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If you migrate to it, I promise we’ll shut up.
Liar! Lol
You might be happier elsewhere.
The online equivalent to “go back to your country”
You’re getting angry about people talking about technology in a technology community, leading people to ask why you’re here if you hate technology being spoken about.
That’s obviously not equivalent to racism or xenophobia.
You’re yearning so hard to be a victim. It’s pathetic.
You’re in Technology@lemmy.world and we’re talking about… technology. Seems fitting.
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You were never interested in the first place and are just looking for a way to appear above the discourse. Tool.

It would probably be more if there weren’t so many Linux gatekeepers that tell people to “go back to Windows/Apple” when they ask a questions.
Did this happen to you in particular? Most tech oriented people (and Linux users by extensions) are generally chill
I have not found that to be the case.
Try and tell them that your average user cannot, or will not, use the command line , and you’ll both get called morons.
Well you both would be making assumptions about people wouldnt you?
Okay but I’ve been using Linux for several years and I’ve never had to use the command line. I have used it a couple times, but it was by choice, not necessity.
You do not have to use the command line to use most Linux distros. I think it’s a good idea to learn, but it’s no longer a necessity.
Who is this mythical average user I keep hearing about?
I’ve never had a problem forcing people at work - even those with very limited IT knowledge - to run things from cli in windows.
For years in one place I worked the IT support first line solution was to tell all users to force a gp update from the windows cli. They’d point to a nice little how to guide with screenshots and everything. I don’t know if any of the thousands of people working there were the all important average user either though, probably not.
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Yep, there it is.
That did not take long at all
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Windows 11 is nowhere near as terrible as people here make it out to be.
Try to run it on 4/8 gb RAM (officially supported configuration and many brand new laptops still are sold with 8gb soldered) and experience how worse is compared to w10
Its not terrible, objectively speaking, but as someone who uses it for work - I don’t care to use it at home at all. The only Windows instances at home are VMs running W10 LTSC, and they are strictly for specialty software (vehicle diagnostics stuff) or legal reasons (my lawyer requires Adobe Acrobat for PDFs). I have zero physical Windows machines otherwise.
Haha, Don’t offer people windows 11 , even in jest. It’s clearly the opposite of “being excellent” to them ( rule 3).
Gotta love mods.
The folks who show up looking to genuinely learn something, who have a goal to accomplish, I’ll gladly help them out. I’ll go learn something I don’t know yet so I can teach it to them. Willingness to learn is the most respectable thing I can think of. All that “EAUGH Linux isn’t user friendly enough” shit is unwillingness to learn. “Why doesn’t this perfectly conform to my bad habits?” Because you haven’t died in a fire yet. Common mistake for people like you.
No its just a common trend I see when I look for answers to questions I have about aspects of Linux. I work in tech and know lots of tech people. Chill is one of the few terms I would use for them hahaha.
It all depends on the context to be honest. I’ve found that tech people, outside of professional contexts, are generally a lot more helpful. Things are different at work.
I’ve only ever found the Linux community helpful. I’m not saying there aren’t dicks out there (I saw the one in this thread even) but for the most part people are more than willing to help out.
Oh they’re out there. Usually the neckbeards who treat new users like they’re stupid if they can’t do a bash script right off the bat.
I chalk it up to idiots that recommend Arch to new users, then they’re so confused they ask questions that most Arch users would think are silly, then everyone gets pissed off.
Yes.
Also: theyrethesamepicture.jpg
1000% they are out there. Thank fucking Satan they don’t dominate certain spaces the way they used to! I always kept a lot of tech at arm’s length because I wasn’t capable of having a knock down drag out fight every time I formed even the mildest of opinion on a feature or something.
I’m sorry to put this so bluntly, but technical people are some of the dumbest human beings on planet earth.
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God damn I love it :) I’ve been messing with Linux for 20 years now and there are some patterns that never seem to change.
In almost every thread about Linux there will usually be:
1 person bragging about 'Using Arch" btw (before that it was LFS or Slackware)
1 or 2 people saying this will be “The Year of the Linux Desktop”
2 or 3 people joking about it being “The Year of the Linux Desktop”
10 - 15 people explaining why it wont be or shouldn’t ever be “The Year of the Linux Desktop”
3 or 4 people complaining about how rude the Linux community is.
10-20 people saying that isn’t their experience and/or they always try to help people when they can.
1 or 2 people actually being rude (who are usually downvoted).
2 or 3 people saying how Windows/Mac OS is better in certain ways.
4 or 5 people complaining about one specific thing that doesn’t quite work for them in Linux, or one specific Windows/Mac only program they must use for work.
8- 10 people giving them suggestions about how to solve their issue or work around it.
Personally I love the Linux community. The people are mostly great, friendly, able to think outside the box, and willing to help others. I try to emulate that whenever possible. Sure you are going to get rude people in every scene, I just ignore them.
I doubt this is the case. Number is likely biased by SteanDecks and AI crawlers/Agents. It would be nice however.
Steamdecks are still linux, I dont think they should be discounted.
Sure, but not a desktop.
You know they’re dockable, like a laptop, right?
Sure.
I use mine as a general purpose computer about as often as a gaming machine. I also use my desktop as a gaming machine about as frequently.
How is it not a desktop? My steamdeck is as much of a desktop as my laptop.
AI crawler and other bots do not advertise as Linux if you want to look like normal traffic you advertise as windows or apple user
I couldn’t find it is in the article, is this new purchases, or how is this measured. If a computer ships with windows and I install mint on it, how do they know where that tally goes?
My first guess is the author is aggregating the numbers from either the distros download data directly or they are getting the numbers from some place like Distro Watch. You can even get a crude sense of the increase in new users if you hang out in a distro help forum. I check the r/Fedora sub on reddit a few times a week, (I run Fedora 42 BTW), and there has been enough of an increase in new users posting “OMG, I just ditched Windows and look at my shiny new Gnome/KDE desktop!” to be annoying to some people. It can be hard to find those posts from people looking for help with a problem sometimes.
What no one can say is just how long those shiny new users will stick with Linux or run back to Windows at a later date. My gut feeling is, if half of this new 5% sticks it’s a major, major victory for all the distros.
A lot of it kicks back to companies as well. If every time someone interviews for a new job they are telling users they need to run their programs or even just the application for the interview from a Windows machine it pressures users into going back. I always see shit like that for stuff that is even just browser based. I prefer not to install zoom, teams, and such and just open in the browser, but ive run into companies saying their typing tests and other pre employment material only run on Windows. It’s usually false, as I never actually have needed it to install Windows, but it sows doubt in people who don’t want to take chances when they are already in a potentially tight spot.
The stats are from StatCounter which has this in their FAQ:
What methodology is used to calculate Statcounter Global Stats? Statcounter is a web analytics service. Our tracking code is installed on more than 1.5 million sites globally. These sites cover various activities and geographic locations. Every month, we record billions of page views to these sites. For each page view, we analyse the browser/operating system/screen resolution used and we establish if the page view is from a mobile device.
So it’s the percentage if web traffic (to sites that use this analytics service)
Ah so that should be pretty accurate then, because the amount of users spoofing their OS is likely fairly low, and I would assume would mostly be Linux users as well, meaning it wouldn’t sell the data as being higher than it is, but rather possibly lower.
Also someone who uses Linux is more likely to use adblock and telemetry blocking features. The actual count is definitely slightly higher.
Does telemetry block that? If you go to a site like this, does it get your OS correct? I figured you’d have to use the spoof features like in Firefox to get it to say something different. (Like telling it your chrome so it doesn’t block your browser on certain pages)
I know in Cromite I can do some of it from here:

You can get the browser version. But as per OP StatCounter says this
Statcounter is a web analytics service. Our tracking code is installed on more than 1.5 million sites globally.
I am assuming these are some extra js files or external scripts that the website will try to load, it won’t be part of the native website itself. Adblocker will completely prevent those file or websites from loading in the first place.
My initial point might not be quite right though, in the sense of Linux might be higher by pure numbers but not by percentage. The sheer number of people using Windows, even if a small portion use adblocker could outnumber the Linux users.
I use arch btw
Real men and women run Slack. Tarballs Yum!
To head off the zealots-- ./././
Gentoo with allllllllll the custom cflags while hanging a 20 lb weight off your scrotum
I did Gentoo for a bit also. Ain’t enough hours in the day…
That’s not even close to a proper test of Linux womanhood/manhood.
I briefly looked at LFS with the thought to try it a long time ago. No… Just no…
That’s not an OS, that is a psychotic break with reality. Fortunately, you can take shots for it…
my linux runs only in RAM, has just a terminal
This guy uses arch btw
It wasn’t immediately clear, I think you need to change your username to IUseArchBtw so we all know off the bat.
Woooo! Year of the linux desktop baby!!
- pumps fist in air*
I mean good for the desktop experience on Linux, its taken the movement of most desktop apps to the web to make OS choice basically immaterial. I’ll still nitpick some things in linux that are still worse than Windows (i’ve replaced my htpc with a cheapo N100 and its better in most ways, worse in a few smaller things), but the most important thing is that the things I mostly use a desktop for (namely media consumption, browsing, some game streaming, and docker containers) its more or less the same as using windows or macos.
I will fully switch when installing mods are just as easy as windows. So far I haven’t found mod managers that work only for one or two games. I have switched mostly to pop os using plasma.
Modding might not be as easy as on Windows, but for example, Mod Organizer 2 works on Linux. Steam Tinker Launch helps with MO2 installation and usage. Wabbajack also works after some tinkering, but you’ll need to search the Internet to figure out how to get it working.
I have recently played Fallout: New Vegas with Viva New Vegas modlist and Skyrim with Nordic Souls modlist under Linux. Took some tinkering to get the modding things working, and to figure out where each of the files are located, but other than those, the games worked fine.
Once you go through the pain of getting one modding tool working, you can then use it with other games without the initial hassle.
Which games? I know there are a few projects trying to improving linux modding.
Oblivion remastered, stardew valley, fallout 4, or rimworld.
I cant commend on the first 3 but im a huge rimworld enjoyer and i’ve had 0 issues modding on linux. Steamworkshop works as expected and even RimPy launcher workers natively on linux.
I switched to mint like a month before PewDiePie lol
My main issue is that I kinda need actual Excel every so often because I require things like power query. I tried installing it using Wine, but it needs to authenticate with Microsofts servers, even the older versions.
I switched over to EndeavourOS around the same time. I relegated my old windows install to a virtual image, which I boot into for specific games and Excel. 10/10 recommend.
Have you tried OnlyOffice? It has better compatibility with MS formats than LibreOffice.
OnlyOffice is worse (and not because of the security breach implications), but because it misses the Ctrl+D shortcut (copies the cell above to the current cell). Which is something I use A LOT for data entry.
Wait, what security breach implications?
Can’t find the exact article I found about the security issues, I did find some more controversies surrounding it, but this thread is about the best Ican do regarding the information with the security breaches: https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/fpurk6/stop_recommending_onlyoffice/
You can spin up a virtual machine running Tiny10 and install office on that. Should work fine.
Still far too low, considering that the US is now a police state.
Yeah, even from inside the US it seems more and more iffy to trust our tech giants even as a paying customer. I love reading the stories about groups and governments in Europe adopting Linux/FOSS, but I’m also surprised I don’t see it more.
Everything in the news is so insane that I could see journalists ignoring/missing such mundane events as public sector software choices.
Here in Germany, at least something is happening. Recently, for example, the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein decided to switch to Linux (and also LibreOffice), with the change planned for this fall.
Overall, however, far too little is happening in our country. The vast majority of federal states and the national government continue to rely on proprietary software (mainly from US corporations, especially Microsoft).
At the national level, this is hardly surprising, as our Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is more of a US lobbyist than a politician: Until 2020, he was on the supervisory board of Black Rock Germany and was also a long time chairman of the “Atlantik-Brücke”, a German-American lobby organization for economic relations (so on and so forth). Unfortunately, no change of course is to be expected from him — nor from his party, the conservative CDU, that is the most popular party for some strange reason.
In Bavaria, which is also deeply conservative, the federal state government is even considering introducing Palantir.
I don’t understand how all this can happen when it is perfectly obvious how vulnerable all these US products are making us – vulnerable to industrial espionage and worse - especially now that the US is developing into a fascist, unjust state.
But hey, I think we all have to remain somewhat positive despite all this. As I said, there is some movement in terms of FOSS —probably much more in other European countries than in Germany. So, slowly but steady, we’re moving forward! I really hope that’s how it is in the US as well.
Best of luck in these harsh times!
I still use windows because of Visual Studio. I used to use Mac OSX because of XCode and I honestly don’t understand people today who still use Windows or Mac for anything other than Development.
If there was an alternative to Visual Studio for Linux I wouldn’t think twice.
The only thing I really miss about visual studio is the automatic profiler. Everything else just felt archaic, bloated, slow, and unintuitive. Adding one line in cmake often does the same thing as clicking through five submenus which never once got updated since 2012.
People who use windows or Mac for anything but development do so for the same reasons as you, they are locked into some features. For example, at home I need a local music library manager with local sync to my phone music app and smart playlists. Mac is still the only platform with this.
At work I need MS exchange integration and all the features of native office. Even the Mac version isn’t good enough for my workflow.
My only hope would be to turn to emulators or something like that, but at that point I’m not really running Linux anyway. I’m just running something else in a container inside Linux.
MPD works pretty well for the music thing, and, I don’t know if this is would be an option for you, but I programmed my own smart-paylist-generator in rust as a hobby project to get control of my 500Gb (around 10,000 100% legally acquired tracks cough, cough) library. The additional control over the algo meant I got something that works waaaay better than pretty much anything else I’ve tried (including Spotify suggestions, etc. — the only thing I still use is Bandcamp for new artist suggestions); if you have the time, I highly recommend a homemade solution like that. It is a lot of work though.
Can you send me the details on your smart playlist generator? What does it do, comb the music and create a static playlist from the library music based on defined parameters?
As far as I can tell from an initial look, MPD doesn’t have local playback and sync which are the main features I’m looking for. Does MPD have a mobile app that I can locally sync the whole library to?
I’m traveling right now, but will get back to you on my playlist generator.
I hadn’t thought of syncing music libraries! You are indeed right, MPD does not have that, and it would be a hassle to set up. One point to apple…
Without knowing what you are working on in Visual Studio, I would suggest checking out Jetbrains IDEs. I’ve used Rider for .NET quite successfully, and most of their other IDEs. I havent spent nearly as much time with CLion, but its supposed to be good. I haven’t used VS since like 2015, so I really don’t know how they compare these days. But I also haven’t missed it.
Visual Studio is a relic of the past. Does anyone still use it?
This question is a comment to its answer 🤔
If it’s for C#, I’m doing pretty well with VSCode/VSCodium on Linux.
WPF and Forms does not work but I also have a Rider license from work which I use occasionally to maintain one of our old WPF applications, which we converted to Avalonia XPF. It works great and we now also have a Mac and Linux version.
In short, you want a .Net developement platform for Linux? And i assume something like VScode is not enough? The thing with .exe compilers in Linux ususally using Mingw/Msys2 because MS having their own proprietary compiler thing?


















