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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There's a circular reasoning happening that's causing Windows to stay dominant. Why isn't professional software being developed for Linux more? Because it doesn't get used in the workplace. Why doesn't Linux get used in the workplace? Because it doesn't have professional software support.
You need to break one of these things to succeed.
Please don't.
It’s 2006 and the year of the Linux Desktop
https://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/articles/Ah_the_change/2006_The_Year_of_the_Linux_Desktop
All jokes aside Linux has grown a lot since the. Just need to keep pumping out good releases, integration and reducing the jank that used to be a thing
Why?
Ask India, they hit 15% Linux desktop use
High Fives India, Well Done!!!
Why does Linux need to be more popular? This isn't some NRM with a proselytizing mandate. Use whichever OS you prefer and let others do the same.
I'm a die hard Linux user. I don't spend much time telling people about it outside of actual tech conversations that should include the topic. I did raise my kids with a lot of Linux desktop use on their machines. They uniformly find the Windows 10/11 experience to be horrible, so I guess I've managed success on that front.
That's when you know you've won!
Or you know Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot
I guess they mean "how to make buggy messy often usermade Desktop distributions more popular."
As Linux itself is insanely popular, it's everywhere and runs everything. From the vast majority of server and network infrastructure to most phones.
The Linux desktop is great for people who need a system that works with them. It is a little trickier explaining that to someone.
Another “Steam Deck is the reason” failure to cover the fact that once Steam Deck dies out it’s users also leave. Valve has awful hardware history and Steam Deck itself only runs games because they are the ones paying for Proton. It should not be controlled by a company that is known to make you lose your games.
Why would you think that the Steam Deck dies out? Isn't it a huge cashcow to Valve compared to the Steam Box and the Steam Controller?
Valve money pulled Linux gaming a decade forward.
Gamers is what will make Linux go mainstream, mark my words.
Not even a corpo shill, check comment history but valve has been pro consumer while holding the market share. Most other companies are actively working against their customer base for some idiotic reason. Next up subscription toilet.
It should not be controlled by a company that is known to make you lose your games.
Are you referring to the fact that Valve promotes digital game distribution (which is a very fair view), or are you talking about some incident where Valve removed games from people's libraries? Because if it's the second one, then I would really like to hear about it.
Do we need to do anything? Microsoft updates do the bulk of the work - surely everyone has a last straw?
This is an extremely sheltered view. Most people don't even know what an operating system is, and they assume that it is an unalterable component of the computer they purchased at Best Buy. They don't have a last straw because as far as they're concerned there isn't anything they can do about it other than perhaps switching to a Mac.
...and yet Linux is a thing
Linux was very obscure for a long time and now has moved to less popular. Honestly I think many tech savvy people will switch and the rest will be supported by some company making a product based on Linux.
Hopefully most have a tech literate friend within their circle, and the wherewithal to test their assumptions. It falls to the tech literate create the alternatives and preach the values of software freedom.
As someone who uses Linux as a daily driver for both work and home, I have this very easy trick on making Linux more popular:
I don't.
I want it to be better for me. Everything else just happens to benefit others. Do to others as you would want to be treated or something like that.
Linux is the most used kernel on the planet - and it’s not close. Just the Android phones are enough to get a comfortable lead. Add the embedded systems. Add the servers. The competition is severely trounced.
The few desktops left and right are just slivers of the complete domination that Linux exerts over commercial operating systems.
That's kind of why it is so good. It comes from a solid base that's well used and tested. Compare that to GUI first.
I absolutely recommend my preferred flavor of Linux to friends that don't run the same distro I do.
With the amount of fuck-ups from Microsoft, this might not be necessary, but:
The average user doesn't want to install the operating system or doesn't care about it as long as they can do their things, and those who care can easily do so today. Thus, IMO, advertising to the end user is a waste of resources.
Focus on permeating it in governments, institutions, and OEMs to increase market share and break the "Linux is complicated / incompatible / for developers" stigma, then organic adoption out of these environments will grow - at least among people who can actually use it with the supported software.
Your partially missing the point. Linux is unlikely to be something someone who doesn't like computers is going to use. It is something people who are power users and computer lovers will use. Its stolen the market share from the old school windows power users.
Really, this seems to be the best way to spread Linux adoption to me. I would bet that Linux got at least a good few users from the Steam Deck coming with it pre-installed. Big way to show people that for most things the average user doesn't need to go into the command line to use their system for what they need as well. Of course, continued improvement in the software included in the most popular distros would really boost Linux adoption as well. I've seen plenty of people say they'd make the switch - if only they could use MS Office or Adobe software on it. Alternatives like LibreOffice, Thunderbird, Kdenlive and the GIMP have come a LONG way since I first made the switch around 2009, but especially the Adobe software still outclasses the competition when it comes to features. MS Office isn't as hard to let go of, especially since you can still use Office 365 Online on Linux and LibreOffice is closer to having all the OOTB features of MS Office than the other programs are to Adobe, but you have to convince people to give it a try first and a lot of employers still require MS Office for work.
I will also say, though, that it was only due to Windows Vista otherwise bricking my laptop back then that I even made the switch. I'd heard of this mysterious OS named Ubuntu so I thought I'd give it a try to save my laptop before I bought a new one, especially since I was living abroad at the time and didn't want to deal with the hassle of buying a computer with a foreign language version of Windows on it. So I had a friend burn me a copy of Ubuntu 8.10, it worked like a charm, and I only ever since ran Windows at home when dual-booting for a couple years for gaming purposes before Proton became a thing. I didn't even know Ubuntu was Linux until I'd installed it and started learning how to use it in earnest. Really showed me how even then Linux wasn't so difficult to use for the average computer user.
You don’t tell people that you use Arch in random conversations? /s
People don't have any reason to recommend Windows because it's the regular OS everyone already uses.
Linux may be an improvement for a lot of people's use cases but a vast majority of them don't even know it exists and its not just for servers and stuff. Mac people probably do this too.
The original image said windows where this would be accurate but I doubt it applies to the average linux user
Well, I do. In fact I've installed Linux on 4 classmate's laptops, after insisting for some time.
You are a true friend.
People do this all the time.
thanks for the red circles
The red circles convinced me to enlarge the picture to read it.
I'm confused, is the image about Linux? I don't see it says Linux anywhere in the red circles. /s
Extremely important stuff here