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No, the Linux Desktop Hasn't Jumped in Popularity (zdnet.com)
An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet:
Stories have been circulating that the Linux desktop had jumped in popularity and was used more than macOS. Alas, it's not so... These reports have been based on NetMarketShare's desktop operating system analysis, which showed Linux leaping from 2.5 percent in July, to almost 5 percent in September. But unfortunately for Linux fans, it's not true... It seems to be merely a mistake. Vince Vizzaccaro, NetMarketShare's executive marketing share of marketing told me, "The Linux share being reported is not correct. We are aware of the issue and are currently looking into it"...
For the most accurate, albeit US-centric operating system and browser numbers, I prefer to use data from the federal government's Digital Analytics Program (DAP). Unlike the others, DAP's numbers come from billions of visits over the past 90 days to over 400 US executive branch government domains... DAP gets its raw data from a Google Analytics account. DAP has open-sourced the code, which displays the data on the web and its data-collection code... In the US Analytics site, which summarizes DAP's data, you will find desktop Linux, as usual, hanging out in "other" at 1.5 percent. Windows, as always, is on top with 45.9 percent, followed by Apple iOS, at 25.5 percent, Android at 18.6 percent, and macOS at 8.5 percent.
The article does, however, acknowledge that Linux's real market share is probably a little higher simply because "no one, not even DAP, seems to do a good job of pulling out the Linux-based Chrome OS data."
For the most accurate, albeit US-centric operating system and browser numbers, I prefer to use data from the federal government's Digital Analytics Program (DAP). Unlike the others, DAP's numbers come from billions of visits over the past 90 days to over 400 US executive branch government domains... DAP gets its raw data from a Google Analytics account. DAP has open-sourced the code, which displays the data on the web and its data-collection code... In the US Analytics site, which summarizes DAP's data, you will find desktop Linux, as usual, hanging out in "other" at 1.5 percent. Windows, as always, is on top with 45.9 percent, followed by Apple iOS, at 25.5 percent, Android at 18.6 percent, and macOS at 8.5 percent.
The article does, however, acknowledge that Linux's real market share is probably a little higher simply because "no one, not even DAP, seems to do a good job of pulling out the Linux-based Chrome OS data."
For the most accurate, albeit US-centric operating system and browser numbers, I prefer to use data from the federal government's Digital Analytics Program (DAP). Unlike the others, DAP's numbers come from billions of visits over the past 90 days to over 400 US executive branch government domains
I'm skeptical that hits to .gov websites capture a representative subset of web users. I'd think that many people rarely visit .gov sites.
2018 will be the year of the Linux desktop, you heard it here first!
Unlike the others, DAP's numbers come from billions of visits over the past 90 days to over 400 US executive branch government domains
This strikes me as being a very poor source to use if you're interested in overall desktop statistics. People visit government domains much more often from work than from home, and government workers visit government sites more often than non-government workers do. Alternative OSes are less common in government jobs than non-government positions, and there's probably a skew one way or the other in generic home vs. work statistics.
I'm not disputing that the recent stats cited are wrong, just objecting to advocating what seems to be an inherently statistically biased source as the "most accurate" for this statistic.
rage, rage against the dying of the light
I'm not saying a massive jump, but certainly not immeasurable by any means. It grows every day.
You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.
It's been a VERY long time since I last checked, but I once found that multiple of the most popular browsers were incorrectly reporting themselves as running on Windows even when they were actually running on Linux. This was apparently being done on purpose for some compatibility/bug workaround or something, but was obviously significantly screwing with the numbers towards favouring Microsoft.
Does anyone know if this is still the case at all?
> Chrome OS is as much Linux as Android. As in, not at all.
They are definitely Linux distros. They're just not GNU/Linux.
I've got probably 8 machines, all running Linux. This box is the only one that ever surfs. The others are used for real work. Kind of sad that correct method to determine desktop share is surfing.
I like trolls as much as any other guy, but your crap is TL;DR
Linux is one of the least secure operating systems ... Microsoft is usually quickest to issue patches now.
Hey, our favorite AC is back, posting "facts" that are just as believable as ever before!
Keep up the good work, braddah. We miss you when you're not around.
The Linux desktop is only for smart people, and there are a limited number of those. Therefore, the Linux desktop will never be popular.
If you go by user agent string i am connecting to web sites from a win10 machine.
I haven't run windows on the desktop for a couple decades.
Linux users may be less inclined towards cooperating with analytics.
After trying to use linux for a nice 10-foot viewing environment for years, and dealing with codec issues, and screen tearing, hardware compatibility, third party launcher glitches, and most recently inability to view Netflix and no HEVC acceleration I bought a couple android boxes for $200 and they do exactly what I want. So, yeah, I can understand how linux has fizzled. I still use linux for some tasks/development but not nearly as much as I used to.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Yeah, that was me. I connected with the US Executive Branch several times with my Mac. Sorry!
...omphaloskepsis often...
Is systemd.
Best OS evar!
So I got myself a nice expensive BlueTooth headphone. Awesome. Then I wanted to use it on my Linux computer. Well lucky me, the headphones came with a nice expensive cable...
0x or or snor perron?!
'This is the Year of the Linux Desktop' (aka every year since 1998) finally went down the tubes when Ubuntu went insane.
We went from being able to say 'Oh yeah, just install Ubuntu' if anyone expressed curiosity (even if we were personally using Debian or CentOS or whatever) to going uhhhh.... finally we could point to Mint, but by then it was too late.
Huh? How is this more accurate than anything else?
Can anybody validate the assumption that the distribution accessing US government computers is the same as the distribution across actual computers?
As a few people noted, they use Linux systems for working but other systems for accessing the government. Personally, I do development on Linux and Windows 7 machines, surfing on an oldish Windows 7 machine and accessing banking and government websites on a Mac. That would mean I'm seen as a Mac user, when it's only a tiny fraction of what what I'm doing and a small fraction of the number of machines accessing the Interwebs.
I guess I'm probably so far in the minority that I'm in the noise and don't significantly change the stats.
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
linux promisses no virus's per ibm.
So... what is ChromeOS counted as? Is it in the 1.5% "other" or somewhere else?
I love linux, but when my friends try it out they have no idea what to do when a driver doesn't work properly, so they go back to using Windows. While it works most of the time, the times it doesn't makes it difficult for the non-technical person. Maybe that will change in the future, maybe it never will.
Linux Mint and Ubuntu are very easy to use now. They have a learning curve, but no more than a Windows user switching to a Mac. Those two distros are where the bulk of new Linux desktop users are coming from. Anyone interested in expanding Linux desktop market share should put their focus on helping those two distros, and especially Mint since Ubuntu is already backed by a successful corporation.
> Chrome OS is as much Linux as Android. As in, not at all.
They are definitely Linux distros. They're just not GNU/Linux.
Chrome and Android are Linux hosted, much like an appliance running a Linux kernel where a user can neither see it nor access it. They are not Linux desktops, nor are they Linux distros. "Linux distro" and "GNU/Linux" are synonymous.
Linux is a kernel. Many vulnerabilities of an entire operating system is in the user land, which might be GNU or Android.
Yes, .gov domains are highly skewed, apparently towards the wealthy as evidenced by their showing iOS as far more popular than Android while other sources show Android with about 2/3 of the mobile website browsing marketshare.
Was that 2/3 of browsing or 2/3 of sales? I recall mention of Android representing 2/3 of sales but Android users upgrade more often and that actual usage may be closer to 50/50, in the US. Internationally, yeah, Android somewhere around 80%.
And yes there is absolutely a demographic effect. Despite Android being far more numerous an iOS app will generate more revenue than its Android version. iOS users are more willing/able to spend money. In a university lecture I attended the professor also mentioned some study of Android vs iOS based on cell towers. iOS had far greater representation is "wealthier" zones.
The question is what is Linux for the desktop means.
Is it just a consumer device based on the Linux kernel. Or does the device need a keyboard... then it come down to how much ok the kernel needs to be pure. And how much of the OS needs to follow the GNU standard.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
They probably used Excel.
Have gnu, will travel.
I'm reputedly smart. I design electronics for a living. My coworkers treat me like I'm Zeus - apparently I'm the 'smart' guy on the team or something. Whatever.
With that out of the way - I'm a recidivist Windows user. I use Linux every day in an embedded capacity and it's great for what it does - doing specific tasks relatively well. As a general purpose productivity operating system, it sucks when it comes to usability.
I was a proud Mac user for 10 years or so. There was a time where you couldn't find a Windows PC in the house. That time has since gone. Apple has gone the way of the 'dumb consumer', creating glued-together unserviceable hardware with an increasingly locked-down OS that seems to become more unusable and unstable as time goes on. Everything after OS X 10.6 seems to have gone progressively downhill. iTunes has the most unusable UI of any commercial application I've ever had the displeasure of using. To this day I still cannot find my way around iTunes 12 without having to explore the UI and clicking various inexplicable buttons wondering "maybe this is the one." My favourite feature is typing in a search in the iTunes store, hitting return, and getting thrown back to my music library. Or the incomprehensible meaning of the back button - is iTunes a web browser? Is it a music library? Is it both or neither? We'll never know because it seems to have a different function depending on which screen you push it. Ugh. My solution was to buy music elsewhere as my frustration had boiled over.
Desktop Linux has become an equally unusable schizophrenic amalgam of distros, desktop environments, etc. Maybe I'm getting old but I just don't have the time or patience to geek out with this shite anymore. I just need something that works, and that I can tinker with ONLY IF NEEDED.
Windows has fulfilled that middle ground I call "meh" - it's the new "it just [sorta] works." I went from owning zero Windows PCs to owning four in the last five years. They just do what I want and seem surprisingly stable. Microsoft seems to fix bugs based on feedback. I just don't have the time or patience to deal with Linux in a personal capacity anymore.
I've got probably 8+ devices, with different OS except no windows phone. This macOS box is the only one that really surfs. Don't ask what I do with the other devices. But just for sh*t and gigs, I changed the browser to detect my macOS as windows phone, so I can be the last 3 or so windows phone users on the net market share.
Exactly how does one tell the difference? It appears ChromeOS (or Chromium) is Linux (Gentoo) with a Google-built desktop and a custom set of tools. All the distros come with their own sets of tools. Is it required to have an approved UI to be considered Linux? Is there some sort of "official" approval committee?
The "problem" (if that's actually a problem because I'm glad not so many people use Linux that makes it a target for hackers) is the lack of information. Linux - actually the kernel wrappers OSes like Ubuntu, etc... because the kernel has been strong for a long time - improved tremendously over the past years. The software offer also improved greatly, looking at LibreOffice, The Gimp, browsers, photo software (RawTherapy, Darktable...), sound and video / graphics cards drivers, wi-fi, bluetooth, SSD management, USB 3, etc... Many people just do not know they have a strong and free alternative to WIndows and Mac.
The problem is also the big PC manufacturers, desktops and laptops (Dell, HP, Lenovo...) do not offer a tangible system that really reflects the use of OSS. There is a (kind of) logic to that. They sell 95% of pre-formatted PC Windows, and changing to Linux gives them more work ; reformat to use Linux etc... Why people would change to an unknown system they barely heard about if the PC with Windows prices the same as a Linux PC (while, in the long run, Linux should be cheaper overall [no virus, OSS, no need to upgrade every other year...])?
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
I keep seeing these derogatory comments, but let me remind you about 2004 being named "The year of the Linux Desktop".
Before that year not all desktop environments worked out of the box, and that year was the last time I had to tweak a stock installation. After that everyone had to make excuses for not installing Linux.
Heck, back in university even the most reluctant of the profs has been moved to Linux by 2001. The students have been using Linux-only since 1999. I know this is not representative of corporations, but is a good example.
Also, remember the Munich Linux project (and Ballmer's personal visit to Munich), the SCO lawsuit, Darl McBride's talk at MIT (with an armed bodyguard on stage next to him), and Ken Brown's "Samizdat" ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/....
They all happened in the 2003-2004 time frame. A lot of corporations were looking at migrating Linux at that time, so the timing is not a coincidence. Especially the SCO lawsuit. It spooked a lot of corporations, and all the momentum was lost. Yes, that Microsoft-bankrolled (with RBC's support) lawsuit has succeeded. Don't think that because Groklaw is silent now those things did not happen and the current state of the Linux desktop is due entirely to the misguided efforts of the developers.
After 2004 the reason for not using Linux has become mainly political, and it still is today. But go to any large corporation and start to scratch a bit below the surface. The front-end is indeed Windows, but below that is Linux all the way down.
Do these figures count Kylin, which is just Ubuntu, and other international OS's? It would seem to me if you count the entire world linux has a huge share of desktops.
Linux is relatively secure by default. It can be secured further fairly easily. Typically all of your software will be obtained either from a secure channel or from source code. That's really par for the course in 2017. You can say mostly the same thing about Windows, aside from the teeming crowds of idiots who use it. However, Red Hat (for one) has removed claims about being virus-free from their ad copy, and I suspect that if IBM claims that, they aren't saying it where their lawyers can hear them.
Now I'd like to point out that your comment is ignorant, vapid, ungrammatical, and barely sensible in context. Which for six words is impressive. You're extremely consistent about lowering the signal-to-noise ratio here. Why don't you find some way to address that.
Those who advocate genocide deserve every protection afforded by law, and none afforded by common human decency.
Have you actually even used ChromeOS? It is pretty locked-down by default, yes. You can however set it to developer mode with a key combination at boot, install crouton, and treat it like any other Linux box. Most Chromebooks will run XFCE pretty happily. As it happens, they can also run a fair number of Android apps, although I'm not sure why one would.
You have a far stronger argument in Android, but ChromeOS is Linux in every meaningful sense. It's locked-down to the point of absurdity, and its build process is atrocious, but c'mon, it's like four keystrokes to get to a developer shell running dash. If that's too much effort then we may have to confiscate your geek card.
Those who advocate genocide deserve every protection afforded by law, and none afforded by common human decency.
Are there still people out there who give a shit, instead of just happily using one?
I feel so sig.
What Alas? Linux is just shit. Why would any sane non-fucktard person use that garbage?
Not the first time, and won't be the last. Don't trust these suckers on anything.
but i dont know or hear or have seen anyone who has one so far ....
Free speech was meant to be free for all... how can anyone grow up in a nanny state ?