The Most Popular Linux Desktop Programs (zdnet.com)

The most recent Linux Questions poll results are in. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, writing for ZDNet: LinuxQuestions, one of the largest internet Linux groups with 550,000 members, has just posted the results from its latest survey of desktop Linux users. In the always hotly-contested Linux desktop environment survey, the winner was the KDE Plasma Desktop. It was followed by the popular lightweight Xfce, Cinnamon, and GNOME. If you want to buy a computer with pre-installed Linux, the Linux Questions crew's favorite vendor by far was System76. Numerous other computer companies offer Linux on their PCs. These include both big names like Dell and dedicated small Linux shops such as ZaReason, Penguin Computing, and Emperor Linux. Many first choices weren't too surprising. For example, Linux users have long stayed loyal to the Firefox web browser, and they're still big fans. Firefox beat out Google Chrome by a five-to-one margin. And, as always, the VLC media player is far more popular than any other Linux media player. For email clients, Mozilla Thunderbird remains on top. That's a bit surprising given how Thunderbird's development has been stuck in neutral for some time now. When it comes to text editors, I was pleased to see vim -- my personal favorite -- win out over its perpetual rival, Emacs. In fact, nano and Kate both came ahead of Emacs.

Comments

The Results

[Anonymous Coward]

From: https://www.linuxquestions.org...

Desktop Distribution of the Year - Ubuntu (18.17%)
Server Distribution of the Year - Slackware (22.40%)
Live Distribution of the Year - Knoppix (18.31%)
Lightweight Distribution of the Year - Puppy Linux (29.75%)
Database of the Year - MariaDB (42.22%)
Browser of the Year - Firefox (57.84%)
Desktop Environment of the Year - Plasma Desktop (KDE) (27.83%)
Window Manager of the Year - Openbox (24.22%)
Audio Media Player Application of the Year - VLC (31.13%)
Digital Audio Workstation of the Year - Ardour (42.86%)
Video Media Player Application of the Year - VLC (68.01%)
Video Authoring Application of the Year - KDEnlive (
Network Security Application of the Year - Wireshark (33.33%)
Host Security Application of the Year - SELinux (35.71%)
Network Monitoring Application of the Year - Nagios Core (32.73%)
IDE of the Year - Geany (15.98%)
Text Editor of the Year - vim (28.32%)
File Manager of the Year - Dolphin (25.24%)
Open Source Game of the Year - 0 A.D. (17.31%)
Programming Language of the Year - Python (30.00%)
Backup Application of the Year - rsync (41.30%)
Log Management Tool of the Year - Logwatch (36.96%)
X Terminal Emulator of the Year - Konsole (22.01%)
Browser Privacy Solution of the Year - uBlock Origin (28.13%)
Privacy Solution of the Year - Tor Browser Bundle (37.21%)
Open Source File Sync Application of the Year - Nextcloud (36.92%)
IRC Client of the Year - Hexchat (33.02%)
Universal Packaging Format of the Year - Snap (38.67%)
Single Board Computer of the Year - Raspberry Pi 3 Model B (64.18%)
Virtualization Application of the Year - VirtualBox (64.53%)
Container of the Year - Docker (67.14%)
Orchestrator of the Year - Kubernetes (62.07%)
Linux/Open Source Podcast of the Year - Linux Action Show (16.00%)
Secure Messaging Application of the Year - Telegram/Signal (Tie - 38.46%)
Video Messaging Application of the Year - Skype (54.76%)
Vector Graphics Editor of the Year - Inkscape (68.97%)
Linux Desktop Vendor of the Year - System76 (63.49%)
Email Client of the Year - Thunderbird (63.45%)

Thunderbird

[fluffernutter]

I have yet to see any realistic alternative to Thunderbird. Most other local clients are so bloated I might as well just go to the gmail web panel. Thunderbird is the most lightweight email client that I can see. Too bad it has been abandoned.

Re:Thunderbird

[Gort65]

I have yet to see any realistic alternative to Thunderbird. Most other local clients are so bloated I might as well just go to the gmail web panel. Thunderbird is the most lightweight email client that I can see. Too bad it has been abandoned.

Claws Mail is quite a good email client and it's not bloated for a GUI client.

BTW, Thunderbird is currently neglected by Mozilla, but it's certainly not abandoned. It's still getting regular updates.

Re:Thunderbird

[fred6666]

their last version is in 2018
doesn't sound abandoned

Re:Thunderbird

[Anonymous Coward]

mozilla deabandoned thunderbird and created a new foundation to oversee it's development, and they're hiring again:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/11/thunderbird_mozilla_future/
https://blog.mozilla.org/thunderbird/2018/01/were-hiring-a-developer-to-work-on-thunderbird-full-time/

Re:Thunderbird

[CustomSolvers2]

Too bad it has been abandoned.

It is in pretty good shape anyway. I have been using it for a while already and no complaints.

Re:Thunderbird

[Anonymous Coward]

These days people think that if the interface isn't being screwed up every other week then the software must have been "abandonded". The idea that software might mature to the point where it only needs bug-fixes and (very) occasional fine tuning is considered sacrilege.

Re:Thunderbird

[jwhyche]

Sorry guys. Still a big fan of mutt. I know its pretty useless in the days of html email, (there is a special place in hell for who though of html email), but for straight up reading the kernel mail list it really can't be beat.

So no killer apps.

[jellomizer]

Actually this list is rather surprising that there isn't any really popular Linux App, that isn't widely used in other platforms. This list is mostly just rather basic tools for 2018, Web Browser, Video Player, Text editor, and Windows Managers.

Back in the days.
Macintosh had its Adobe Suits for desktop publishing
DOS had its word perfect and Lotus 123
Windows had its Office Suite
Amiga had its video tools

In general the other OS's seems to have a flagship tool that stands for how the product is primary meant to be used for.

Linux doesn't seem to have that. Probably mostly because it is heart it is a server OS. So what really probably should be on the list is Apache MySQL PHP Or whatever is more popular at the moment.

Re:So no killer apps.

[VeryFluffyBunny]

Actually this list is rather surprising that there isn't any really popular Linux App, that isn't widely used in other platforms. This list is mostly just rather basic tools for 2018, Web Browser, Video Player, Text editor, and Windows Managers.

Back in the days. Macintosh had its Adobe Suits for desktop publishing DOS had its word perfect and Lotus 123 Windows had its Office Suite Amiga had its video tools

In general the other OS's seems to have a flagship tool that stands for how the product is primary meant to be used for.

Linux doesn't seem to have that. Probably mostly because it is heart it is a server OS. So what really probably should be on the list is Apache MySQL PHP Or whatever is more popular at the moment.

And Linux has LibreOffice. I've been using it for years for academic writing and creating learning and teaching resources (all my students have Windows or Mac). I haven't used MS Office for years and don't miss it one bit.

That said, Linux is sorely lacking in decent, productivity oriented multimedia editing software. Adobe still rules the roost in this department and doesn't support Linux and Wine doesn't work well enough with Adobe software. Unfortunately, I still have to dual boot Linux & Windows so that I can do multimedia editing when necessary.

Re: So no killer apps.

[IWantMoreSpamPlease]

You are correct, VMs are quite the thing now, but if I have to run a VM to get work done, I might as well drop the VM and run the real thing instead.

I *desperately* want to ditch Windows, and I'm willing to live with the compromises Linux brings, to a point, but some programs in Windows just don't have workalikes under Linux, and unfortunately, those are the ones I need Windows for...

Re: So no killer apps.

[Zero__Kelvin]

if I have to run a VM to get work done, I might as well drop the VM and run the real thing instead.

You don't seem to understand this whole VM thing at all.

Re:So no killer apps.

[StormReaver]

...Linux is sorely lacking in decent, productivity oriented multimedia editing software.

I use Kdenlive+Blender for this purpose.

vi is clearly the best

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

Since TFA brought it up I can't wait for an evidence-based, rational discussion on the best text editor for Linux.

Re:vi is clearly the best

[ShanghaiBill]

Nice. A vi vs. emacs flame war in 2018.

We should compromise, and just run a vi emulator inside emacs.

Re:vi is clearly the best

[Octorian]

The editor wars kinda annoy me, because it really isn't somewhere that we need absolutes.
For me, the "best editor" really depends on what it is that I'm editing. The best editor for configuration files may not be the best editor for source code. The best editor for a bunch of related files may not be the best editor for a single one-off file or scratch editing of a text snippet. Likewise, the best editor in a GUI might not be the same as the best editor in a terminal window.

Re:vi is clearly the best

[sconeu]

Back in the early '80s, I learned ed because that was the one editor guaranteed to be on EVERY F***ING UNIX BOX, even if it was one of the oddball x86 clones.

Similarly for DOS, I learned EDLIN (this was pre DOS 5 and EDIT) for the same reason.

Re:vi is clearly the best

[subk]

That idea is just E.V.I.L.

(E)macs (VI) (L)ayer

KDE Plasma?

[old_skul]

Saying KDE Plasma is the most popular app is like saying that Explorer is the most popular app on Windows. While technically true, it's also the default, and you can't really use the OS without it. Could you use other window managers? Sure, but I'm not sure a window manager counts as an app.

Re:KDE Plasma?

[quantaman]

Saying KDE Plasma is the most popular app is like saying that Explorer is the most popular app on Windows. While technically true, it's also the default, and you can't really use the OS without it. Could you use other window managers? Sure, but I'm not sure a window manager counts as an app.

It actually is a bit of a surprise, the major distros tend to offer Gnome as the default.

KDE

[Tailhook]

KDE has earned these results. For years now KDE development has been thoughtful and conservative; no iconoclasts have been permitted to blow up everything in another doomed attempt to reinvent the desktop. Small but crucial things have survived incessant pressure from well meaning but short sighted people, such as the fact that you can still turn off fucking compositing. I hope they can stick to this pattern for a few more years and continue earning trust.

"Popular" doesn't mean "Better"

[darkain]

Simple as this, "Popular" doesnt mean something is "Better", it just means it is more widely used and marketed. Marketing isn't just for selling products, it is also a way to influence others to be in agreeable with you on a particular idea. In this case, it is the marketing of "use my free software because..." and whoever has the loudest, furthest reaching voice generally wins.

For one huge example, the list has text editors. Emacs? Vim? Nano? And we're talking about desktop distributions? Hands down, none of those compare to the quality of Sublime Text as a text editor.

As others have pointed out in this post already, there isn't any "killer apps" for Linux out there. So the software being ran is all console software with a prettified multi-tasking window manager to organize all of those console windows. This seems to be the current mindset of all Linux is really used for in the desktop space.

In my day

[PopeRatzo]

You kids don't know how lucky you got it. When I was coming up, we didn't have any fancy Linux to use.

Just itself

[Tenebrousedge]

It's true, Unix has never had a 'killer app': the 'killer app' was always Unix.

Re:Just itself

[jwhyche]

It's true, Unix has never had a 'killer app': the 'killer app' was always Unix.

Yeah, I got to agree with this. Linux, and therefor unix, has lots of programs and applications. Outside of games and if you are willing to put up with its little quirks, you can work linux into a office environment.

But generally speaking when I need to get any real work done. I usually toss aside the gui and open a vt100 window. An 90% of the time us use nothing but command line tools that come with the OS to get work done.

Wood and Formica

[argee]

I made my own desktop. Two epoxy-glued layers of 3/4 inch plywood, covered and edged with off-white formica. It is supported by 2-drawer file cabinets. Size is 8 ft wide and 3 ft deep. I have 2x4 reinforcements underneath the top. Holes in the back for cables. It is a solid thing you can jump on. From Amazon I got a pull-out drawer unit for pencils, and some other bric-a-brac. I have a keyboard hutch, and the monitor used to be on top of the hutch, but now is on an arm from the wall. I like this desktop, rugged, custom and ample enough to do work, including soldering up things from time to time. www.xalaska.com Nome, Alaska, USA

No productivity apps

[Hasaf]

As you noted, Libre Office wasn't even on the list. Even in the article the most popular were computer management apps and no mention of productivity apps.

This is a large part of the reason I stopped using Linux on the desktop. When the computer was the ends, rather than the means, it was great. However, at this point in my life, the computer is the means, not the ends. When I just need to get work done, Linux just isn't the tool.

Re:No productivity apps

[VeryFluffyBunny]

However, at this point in my life, the computer is the means, not the ends. When I just need to get work done, Linux just isn't the tool.

Rubbish. I use GNU/Linux daily for academic, professional, and personal use without ever needing to use Microsoft Windows. If an academic course requires Microsoft Windows it is a sure sign of an ill-conceive lesson plan and curriculum. That said, since I paid for a copy of Microsoft Windows when I bought my latest computer, I chose to replace it with Xubuntu Linux and install Microsoft Windows as a virtual machine instance via Oracle VirtualBox.

LibreOffice's support for MS Office file formats is pretty good. It's usually only when a new version of MS Office has just come out, you know, when they deliberately break backward compatibility, that problems arise. But those issues arise for MS Office users too.

BTW, Zotero https://www.zotero.org/, the FOSS academic bibliography and citations manager, works much better with LibreOffice than with MS Office :)

Re:Why are Linux users so against IDEs?

[OrangeTide]

I write software, which is just a series of text files. I don't need much more than a text editor and my own wits.

indirect linking

[Mozai]

Why did you link to ZDnet, instead of linking to the source at LinuxQuestions?

Re:Not even close to a scientific poll

[skids]

Yeah, essentially we now know what is most popular among a handful of bored or zealous users.

The Debian Popularity Contest automatic rolling poll has package-level info on a couple hundred thousand systems. Of course systems != users and monitoring the atime of a file overcounts things that get run automatically on occasion (e.g. if some application isn't complying with Debian standards and opens nano or vim instead of the system's "sensible-editor" default, it would affect those results even if the user hates said editor.) And you have to find all the different flavors/major versions to get a complete count on a package. But still, a much more robust data set