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Linux Marketshare is Above 2-Percent For Third Month in a Row (omgubuntu.co.uk)
For the third month in a row the share of worldwide desktop computer users running Linux has been above two percent -- up from one percent -- according to data from web analytics company Net Market Share. From a OMGUbuntu report: We reported back in July that Linux marketshare had passed two percent for the first time, and that figure remains the highest they've ever reported for Linux, at 2.33 percent. But the share for September 2016 was almost as good at 2.23 percent. It's the third consecutive month that Linux marketshare has been above 2 percent. Those of us who use Linux as our primary desktop computing platform can take a degree of pride in these figures. They do show a clear trend towards Linux, rather than away from it. But we should also remember that statistics, numbers and reporting methods vary between analytics companies and that all figures, however positive, remain open to interpretation and debate.
Or will it be 2017?
This isn't suprising...I'm using Linux right now and it has been rock solid sta
Some of it is cost. Windows + Office is EXPENSIVE. Since digital computers aren't increasing in power much, and won't ever be now that Moores Law is dead, now is the time for Linux to "catch up".
, and no real UI improvements or new features.
Which is exactly the point. Those 'improvements' are to many just an unnecessary complication. The UI of W2K was fine, WinXp could be set to look like it it.
I've put some family members on Ubuntu Mate. They love, they just use the computer for internet. The UI is more familiar than Windows 10, it doesn't get slower over time and there is a lot less worry for them for malware.
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The idea that Linux doesn't have enough software to be usable keeps coming up, and I don't get it.
Yes, there are things that just won't run on Linux, and in some cases there are no alternatives (particularly the case with verticals like, I don't know, dental records software or running a television studio, and certainly many games). But if you look at a mainstream user, who does web, email, maybe touches up some photos, writes some letters, does some spreadsheets, scans some documents, plays some music, watches some videos --- you get the picture --- everything is there and then some.
Hardware support out of the box beats Windows as far as I can see. I plug new stuff into Linux and it works. Windows, I've got to install a driver. Yes, there are a few items that won't work with Linux, or require additional software (as is the case with Windows) but they are becoming rarer, and often can be avoided.
I won't get into "the year of Linux on the desktop" --- that's likely never, given the entrenchment of Windows --- but unusable due to lack of software? That's a generalization that's false a lot more often than true.
Maybe they will release an update of Lotus 1-2-3 for Linux!
While Windows 10 has been pushed into many computers accidentally on purpose, to many of us, Windows 10 was the final straw for our personal machines. While the awful privacy invasions and security issues of the new OS aren't anywhere close enough to force all, most, or frankly even many users to flee, plenty of Windows users are looking for an out- and those that have use cases that are compatible with Linux have moved (and in smaller numbers are still moving) for that reason.
So I think we are seeing a Windows 10 bump. Certainly Linux desktop is vastly superior to where it was a few years ago, but that's not normally the sort of thing that pushes for a change. We'll probably see it again in a couple years when Microsoft tightens its coils some more- hopefully the desktop Linux experience will be even better then!
If by "a few years ago" you mean 2 decades, maybe. But really Linux has been more user friendly than Windows for a very long time, with more support for hardware than Windows, and many great applications.
I stopped using Windows at home in 2000 and haven't looked back, any time I am forced to use it (eg. at work or at a friend's place) I cringe at how much harder it is to do anything on Windows than on Linux.
Governments are by far the biggest procurers of operating systems. There's an EU draft directive that says that member states must favour free and open source IT solutions. So far, the various flavours of Ubuntu have been the favoured option. My bet is that EU governments switching to Ubuntu is mostly responsible for pushing the usage stats up recently.
85% of devices sold last year ran Linux. The desktop is now in your lap and in your pocket, running Linux. Windows is more popular on systems with IDE drives, PalmOS is most popular on Treo systems, Linux is most popular on supercomputers, Windows is most popular on systems that weigh between 8 and 20 pounds. Linux is most popular.
Next story / complaint: Linux isn't popular on systems installed by major corporations headquartered in Redmond. Um, okay, but anyway 85% of all new devices run Linux, period.