The true year of linux is not any specific year or a userbase percentage but when linux is widely preinstalled on consumer hardware without nerds needing to recommend to people to install it themselves
The steamdeck is the first step to that future
In my region (India), for a while, there seemed to be plenty of laptops available with Linux installed as an option. Then again in the last few years that seems to have withered down to almost none, sometimes even if the same model is available with Linux in some other regions. I am not sure what changed. Perhaps some deal with Microsoft. The good part is that the fact that they do support Linux elsewhere on the same laptop configuration generally means its easy to get it up and running yourself even if it does not come pre-installed.
In any case, as an old-timer, it's very impressive to me how much hardware Linux supports nowadays without any drama at all. Not to mention all the progress made in software especially in supporting Windows-only games, which is truly magical work by the Wine / Proton teams. As far as I am concerned the "Year of Linux Desktop" is here already since I can use it daily without missing absolutely anything at all from Windows.
That was the same in Brazil, where I live. This scared the beejesus out of Microsoft, so they created special, cheaper version for developing countries to counter it.
Honestly seeing the performance of the steam deck right now I'd probably buy a steam machine if a modern one came out
The steamdeck is the first step to that future
I'm sure people said the same about android
I get that SteamOS is an actual desktop distro, and that's closer to a daily driver than any android or bespoke *nix compatible SOC OS, but I doubt we'll see this spread from steamdeck to daily drivers, unless...
Unless linux can offer some feature windows/mac/ios do not, or at least market itself as doing so the way that Apple does, and get the overwhelming majority of tech consumers—who want nothing more than to keep up with the joneses and see the hardware specs numbers get bigger—to FOMO into it
Unfortunately that would conflict with the most enticing features it does have that no one else does: a code of ethics that are inherently anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian. And honestly, who wants every Linux community, online or off, flooded with consumers who only care about the newest Feature™ and have no care about maintaining software freedom?
The only thing I see holding people back is software availability. If it could run adobe and games natively I don't see why anyone would want to pay for windows.
Steam Deck is the first taste I get of Linux. I've always had this fear of not being able to fully utilize a Linux OS due to my lack of skills in coding, but I find myself looking into it more ever since I got a Steam Deck. It may just be the right excuse I need to git gud in coding.
Edit: Thanks for the clarification and encouragement guys. I'm going to make it a mission to move to Linux ASAP since it feels like Windows has been really pushing the limits of privacy these days.
You don't gotta know how to code to use Linux. Maybe some basic skills in scripting will be useful as a tool but other than that it's more about learning how the system is laid out and where to go to do things. Just becoming familiar with doing things in a Linux environment
you don't have to know coding to enjoy Linux! it's got a reputation of being techie-oriented thanks to users of Arch Linux (a very techie distribution of Linux) dominating the Linux community, but there are plenty of distributions for everyday users, like Zorin OS and Elementary
So... About 2010? When Android phones became widespread.
That's not a desktop.
Some would say desktops are not really consumer hardware anymore. Unfortunately. Sent from my useless black rectangle.
The reddit API debacle sent me down a Lemmy, FOSS, Linux, privacy, hacker rabbit hole that I will hopefully and happily never have to leave. My eyes are opened to a better future. I’ll probably be duel booting windows for awhile still to keep up for my job, but I have been able to start transitioning away pretty easily thanks to the hard work of linux desktop devs. I am so grateful for the FOSS community and hope to contribute myself someday.
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The nasty truth is, most folks don't have a computer at home anymore. They do everything on their phone. The desktop is reserved for the office worker, which is itself a double-edged sword as the average office worker is so clueless about the computer they're sitting in front of that it could be replaced with a Linux desktop without them knowing anything other than "IT changed this and I don't like it" but the flip side of that is that there's a generation of IT people who learned their craft during the Ballmer era and are now in positions where they run the IT departments (and those who learned before and Linux kinda sucked back then). If they aren't too jaded to try something new they're too tired or too scared of the long term ramifications of trying something so radically different
As someone in the initial "hop around and pick up as many skills and resume line items as possible" phase of my IT career, I've already heard the exact reasons why Windows is still so prevelent "our company's client base is largely farmers. Sure you might have the skills to be a Linux admin but who would replace you whenever you move on? Good luck finding a good Linux admin around here at a rate we can pay!" "Windows Server is so much easier to deploy and troubleshoot without having to remember the commands, why would I bother learning Linux which is much harder to learn when employers around here aren't even looking for Linux experience" and even my friends who appreciate the geekiness and will openly lab out ideas in their free time for fun have to stay realistic about how stable or how janky every part of the given software solution is, plus the value of a support contract where you can answer the "why is this not fixed" questions with "I have a ticket in with the vendor"
I know it's not a very Linuxy distro, but Linux Mint (Cinnamon) is so easy to use, especially for Windows users. I've completely replaced Windows (and with better software), aside from using Windows for a few games that require it. I used Ubuntu, Suse, and Fedora long ago, but for me, Mint takes the proverbial cake.
Being a beginner distro doesnt make mint any less linuxy. Its probably the gest recommendation to convert people over from windows
Thank you. I appreciate your perspective. Using Linux again has been like a breath of fresh air, honestly. I just love how fast everything is. (Both my Windows and Mint boots live on their own M.2 drives, but Mint is so, so much faster.) And, unlike Windows, I don't feel like I have to jerry rig it to get things to work. I'm sure there are instances where that is the case, but I haven't run into them yet.
I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called Linux, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.
There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called Linux distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux!
"I use Linux as my operating system," I state proudly to the unkempt, bearded man. He swivels around in his desk chair with a devilish gleam in his eyes, ready to mansplain with extreme precision. "Actually", he says with a grin, "Linux is just the kernel. You use GNU+Linux!' I don't miss a beat and reply with a smirk, "I use Alpine, a distro that doesn't include the GNU Coreutils, or any other GNU code. It's Linux, but it's not GNU+Linux."
The smile quickly drops from the man's face. His body begins convulsing and he foams at the mouth and drops to the floor with a sickly thud. As he writhes around he screams "I-IT WAS COMPILED WITH GCC! THAT MEANS IT'S STILL GNU!" Coolly, I reply "If windows were compiled with GCC, would that make it GNU?" I interrupt his response with "-and work is being made on the kernel to make it more compiler-agnostic. Even if you were correct, you won't be for long."
With a sickly wheeze, the last of the man's life is ejected from his body. He lies on the floor, cold and limp. I've womansplained him to death.
Wow
I just wiped Windows from my main PC the other day and put Linux Mint on there. Feels good man.
I remember in the beginning when leaving windows how quiet everything was. No notifications from windows about all kinds of shit, no ads and no interruptions. Have you noticed how calm it feels?
At this rate, we'll be 30% in 300 years!
2323 - the year of Linux desktop.
I love Linux but I've been hearing this song since 2002. I'd love for it to grow bigger but we should stop framing it as the year of Linux.
I've been hearing this song since 2002
That's the joke, my guy. THIS TIME IS REAL!
Is this with or without the steam deck?
Not that I don't like the steam deck, I think it is really great for linux adaption. I am just curious.
This is in the StatCounter FAQ:
Are laptops included in the desktop platform?
Yes. Laptops and desktop machines are included in the desktop platform together. We use the browser useragent to determine the platform and there is not enough information contained in the useragent to distinguish between laptops and desktops. That is why we do not have a separate laptop platform.
So it sounds like they're using the useragent to distinguish between mobile and desktop. So most likely, yes, steam decks would be counted as desktops, but only to the degree that they are used to browse the internet. I suspect most steam deck users don't do that, but I don't know, I don't have a steam deck.
So, these statistics apparently come from StatCounter, a web analytics company. I know that this is probably the best way of collecting usage metrics for the entire Internet, but I think this is less efficient for counting Linux users - after all, I would say that the proportion of Linux users who also use content blockers is pretty high. Even if it weren't the case, most distributions ship with Firefox pre-installed, which automatically blocks trackers out-of-the-box.
Also, wouldn't this also count an embedded device with a WebView as a "Linux user"? For example, smart TVs have a web browser, and typically identify themselves with a "Generic Linux" user-agent.
Maybe next year! :)
Year of the Linux desktop (as my daily driver) has been 2017 for me. Nowadays I dread having to work with Windows.
Most things that go mainstream get ruined. So long as there are enough hardware choices for us, I don't feel too excited about linux going mainstream.
yeah honestly if Linux ever goes mainstream it will probably be some monkeys paw bullshit where some corpo makes a non-Foss data hungry distro or something and it's barely batter than windows or osx
Getting to 50% might take a bit xD
That being said, I want Linux to be a good alternative and talk Microsoft down from the AI/ad/Onedrive in Windows cliff. It's getting exausting.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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