It's not a typo. Linux's desktop share is growing, according to the US government's records.

Clickbaity title on the original article, but I think this is the most important point to consider from it:

After getting to 1% in approximately 2011, it took about a decade to double that to 2%. The jump from 2% to 3% took just over two years, and 3% to 4% took less than a year.

Get the picture? The Linux desktop is growing, and it’s growing fast.

  • मुक्त@lemmy.ml
    2·
    2 hours ago

    The key point is that Europe’s governments are ditching MS one by one. One of the state governments of India, that of Kerala, is also fostering a local chapter for open source and Linux.

    • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
      11·
      2 hours ago

      That’s a thing, but the biggest thing is that PCs as a class have been falling in numbers. As media consumption devices, they’re outmoded. Phones, tablets, and cheap smart TVs have taken their place.

      A typical family of 4 might have 1 laptop for when one is actually needed, whereas a few years ago every member of a suburban household would have their own computer.

      So a larger part of the market is enthusiasts and techies, who are more likely to be using Linux, and gamers, who are using devices like the Steam Deck and Legion Go that run on SteamOS.

  • SneakyWeasel@lemmy.caEnglish
    2·
    4 hours ago

    Been working with linux for the last 2 years. Had to use windows for my laptop for work but now its a full linux mint machine

  • dil@lemmy.zip
    4·
    8 hours ago

    I think ppl get terminal anxiety but thats less and less of an issue, like you don’t need to ever touch it because of stuff like octopi, software/discover/bazaar,etc. I remember just getting anxious thinking id forget a command I really need to remember and I wouldn’t have internet axis and id be fked (not an issue lol)

    • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
      8·
      22 hours ago

      It makes perfect sense, the resistance of having Windows legacy software etc becomes smaller the more of that goes out of use, the resistance of everyone only knowing Windows becomes smaller with nobody even knowing Windows, and the resistance of corporate interests becomes smaller because it’s all in the Web, and the Web has been corrupted and Chrome works on Linux.

      So. Listen to me carefully. If Linux domination happens without FreeBSD and Haiku normalization, then things are bad.

    • Scrollone@feddit.it
      2·
      8 hours ago

      KDE Plasma is so good, I love it. But I think that Cinnamon (the default environment for Linux Mint) is also super user-friendly.

      There’s no good excuse not to use Linux in 2025 if you’re a home user. Except maybe if you rely on some software such as SharePoint, the Adobe or the Serif Affinity suites.

    • dil@lemmy.zip
      1·
      8 hours ago

      If you game Cachyos (just installs everything relevant for you, coming to linux itll help you figure out whats commonly used), endeavoros if you wanna set up arch quickly, grab stuff for yourself and build your own desktop, bazzite if you game and are scared to break shit, idk if I would reccomend ubuntu just because I don’t like snaps or the snap store, just comparing it to flathub, flathubs missing a few games/apps like rexuiz but nothing important.

      Bazaar is pretty nice to use (new bazzite default), one thing I disliked coming to linux was lack of gui download manager and progress in the appstores, tried them all and hated them, while Bazaar feels great and comparing the search to others it actually works, like if I search fps all the fps games pop up, while on others maybe one or two that have it in the title.

    • PastafARRian@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      2·
      22 hours ago

      I wonder what percentage of people given a Kubuntu laptop, when asked what OS they’re using, would say “Windows?”. I’m going to guess 20%

  • Darren@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    22·
    1 day ago

    Does it count that I have four computers running Linux because I can’t help myself?

  • webghost0101@sopuli.xyz
    31·
    2 days ago

    A king once summoned a wise man who had done him a great service and said, “Name your reward.” The wise man replied, “Your Majesty, I ask for a simple thing. Give me one percent Linux desktop market share for the first square of the chessboard, two percent for the second square, four percent for the third square, and so on, doubling the amount for each of the 64 squares.” The king, thinking this was a modest request, said, “Surely you jest! Such a small reward for such a great service? Ask for gold, land, or jewels instead.” But the wise man insisted, and the king agreed. The king ordered his treasurer to calculate the total. Starting with 1% for the first square, 2% for the second, 4% for the third, 8% for the fourth… by the time they reached the tenth square, they needed 512% of the desktop market. The treasurer, pale with realization, informed the king that by the 64th square, they would need more market share than could possibly exist in the entire universe of computing devices. The king then understood that what seemed like a humble request was actually impossible to fulfill, and he gained a new respect for the power of exponential growth.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

    • xthexder@l.sw0.com
      61·
      1 day ago

      It already goes over 100% market share after only 8 squares. 512% seems like a weird place to stop? How can you have more than 100% market share?

        • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
          5·
          2 hours ago

          Not supposedly, but mathematically. Even if the grateful king ruled the entire planet and the great warrior were willing to settle for grains the size of a single atom, the king would be unable to pay in full; the total of grains on the whole chessboard would be 2^64 grains, but there are only 2^50 atoms on Earth.

            • Tinidril@midwest.socialEnglish
              2·
              1 day ago

              Theoretically you could make a black hole with a single grain of rice. You just have to figure out how to crush it down enough.

              • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
                1·
                1 hour ago

                Obviously this is just more theory, but I think I’ve heard that the minimum size for a black hole is about on the order of a big mountain’s mass; something to do with the amount you can increase density before you’re actually forced to compress electron clouds down toward the proton.

                • Tinidril@midwest.socialEnglish
                  1·
                  53 minutes ago

                  I think that happens is any black hole formation. At least that’s my understanding of how neutron stars are formed. The electrons get forced into the nucleus and turn the protons into neutrons. From there it’s quark gluon plasma then a black hole.

                  In any case, I have no idea how either a grain of rice or a mountain could be made to do such a thing.

              • Warehouse@lemmy.caEnglish
                1·
                11 hours ago

                It also wouldn’t last very long due to Hawking radiation, but that’s another thing.

                • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
                  1·
                  1 hour ago

                  Fun fact: while Hawking radiation will eventually evaporate away almost all of a black hole’s mass, the black hole will eventually become small enough that physicists think the system would stabilize (because it would have so little mass that it would actually have to reduce entropy in the system in order to evaporate any further). It would then just wander the universe, interacting with gravity in a tiny way, but being utterly invisible to any other means of detection we have. Add to that the fact that there were likely a huge number of black holes in the early universe, which was long enough ago for sufficiently-small black holes to have evaporated to this stable state, and you come up with a plausible explanation…for dark matter.

        • xthexder@l.sw0.com
          1·
          1 day ago

          Yeah, I appreciate the reference, it’s just that my brain got stuck on the comparison breaking due to using percentage instead of some absolute count.

    • Cricket [he/him]@lemmy.zipOP
      19·
      2 days ago

      They used a different data source for this one and mentioned why they preferred this one over the one from the day before.

    • squaresinger@lemmy.world
      7·
      2 days ago

      I read a similarly sensationalist headline with 4% two months ago and 5% yesterday. What’s up with the headline makers?

      • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world
        16·
        2 days ago

        Linux is gaining market share quickly as the Windows 10 EOL rapidly approaches. There is still a massive amount of perfectly great hardware out there that isn’t officially supported by Windows 11, and only 3 months until Windows 10 reaches EOL.

        • squaresinger@lemmy.world
          91·
          20 hours ago

          According to more realistic data, e.g. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-202406-202506 the market share has been around 4% for the last year, even slightly declining in the meantime.

          But that doesn’t make for nice, sensationalist headline stoked by wishful thinking.

          Sorry to say, Linux isn’t going mainstream anytime soon and by and large the end of Win10 just means that the comparatively small group of users still running 5+ years old hardware will just buy a new PC or keep using their outdated OS.

          In fact, if you combine the market share of outdated Windows versions (XP-8.1) you get a market share very close to the market share of Linux.

          As much as we all would love it if the Linux market share goes to 50% in fall, it’s not going to happen.

          The main issues with Linux adoption (it’s not preinstalled and most people have no idea which OS they are using and really can’t be bothered to reinstall) are just as present now as they were for the last 30 years.

          • Mereo@lemmy.ca
            4·
            6 hours ago

            All it takes is momentum. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem, and I think it’s gaining momentum because of Valve. Gaming was always the one thing stopping people from checking out Linux.

            Now, however, more and more people are trying it out. More tech YouTubers are trying Linux, which means more exposure. Distros are becoming more refined. KDE is much better than it used to be because of Valve. All in all, there’s true momentum building.

            In due time, Linux will be preinstalled on computers and laptops, and because of this, more people will contribute to Linux. People are fed up with the bloat and heavy AI push of Windows 11.

          • Atreides@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            5 hours ago

            And even though I have seen that the average price of machines with Linux preinstalled may be close to some machines with Windows, I would guess that most people are going to go with the latter. Easier access to purchase one, familiarity etc.

        • Cricket [he/him]@lemmy.zipOPEnglish
          4·
          1 day ago

          Agreed. I think we’re still going to see a LOT of growth in Linux market share by the end of this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 7%-8% by then.

  • Sina@beehaw.org
    14·
    1 day ago

    Statcounter considers me a Win user due to the Win user agent I’m using, this is not a rare behavior in the Linux space…

  • Ptsf@lemmy.world
    182·
    2 days ago

    About to be 6.0000001% when my Kubuntu download finishes. I’m finally taking the dive boys, linux on main here we go.

    • Scrollone@feddit.it
      1·
      7 hours ago

      Congratulations, and welcome to the Linux world. You won’t regret it. But also don’t get scared if something doesn’t work right away!

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      FWIW, Fedora with KDE is fantastic - been using that as my distro of choice (for systems I want a UI on at least) for a few years now and I love it.

    • expr@programming.dev
      14·
      2 days ago

      I think kubuntu was the very first distro I ever installed in a VM when trying out Linux 10 years ago. I’ve since moved on (an aging Arch install right now, which will eventually be replaced by a NixOS install whenever I get around to it), but just wanted to say that a whole new world lies at your footsteps, my friend. Enjoy it. It’s like discovering the wonder of computing for the first time.

    • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
      3·
      2 days ago

      Cool, welcome! I assume you’re aware that it won’t be all sunshine and rainbows from day 1, but give it time and leverage the community to solve any issues you run into. Effective bug reports and knowledge sharing make the experience better for everyone.

      To me it’s worth having control over my hardware, and an OS that’s designed to work for me and not some corpo against me.

    • ☂️-@lemmy.ml
      11·
      2 days ago

      welcome!

      i use ubuntu and its a good choice, but id recommend installing gnome-software and its flatpak plugin and using that instead of the slower snaps. its perfect otherwise, enjoy!

        • caseyweederman@lemmy.ca
          2·
          1 day ago

          You still need the underlying package manager installed (it’ll prompt you to do so), and on Plasma 5.0 you also need a special integration plugin for each package manager (merged into Discover since I think Plasma 6.0).
          Discover is a joy to use.

    • Harvey656@lemmy.world
      8·
      2 days ago

      Nice! That’s what I use. Don’t see alot of others talk about Kubuntu. I enjoy the heck out of it. It doesn’t play games all that well, but that could also be user error as well. Still, so far it’s my favorite distro. Good luck on your journey!