Hell, that would have been the case 10 years ago. Now that Windows is ‘the default’ for almost everybody, I can never see Linux taking that crown even if Windows never advertised again.
Windows is much less of a default today than it was 20 years ago.
This data shows 2009 to now, Windows has been in a slow trend down with macOS on a slow march up. Back around 2000, Windows was probably 99%, now it’s down to 69%.
If we include mobile, Android is bigger than Windows, which is wild. Microsoft completely fumbled the ball on mobile. Ironically they had Windows Mobile long before iOS or Android were even ideas, but they failed to take the iPhone seriously and never recovered.
No giant is too big to fall. That being said, desktop Linux would need to make some significant changes to get itself in the running. Primarily, not being generically “Linux”, and have a distro the whole community organizes around and make it the best desktop OS out there. The lack of focus can generate a lot of interesting ideas and projects, but really slows down progress and increases confusion for new users.
macOS has 20% marketshare and has been the main reasons Windows has been dropping for over a decade now. macOS is Unix. There is no reason Linux couldn’t be just as easy to use, or even better… combining ease of use with user control. But I think for that to happen some hard decisions need to be made. Kill off the dead weight projects and get everyone behind the stuff that’s going to really matter.
It’s not about marketing, it’s about trying to turn on surround sound, almost blowing up my speakers with static, and reading through pulse audio or Alsa configs for hours to do what an AppleTV just does innately.
Linux, and especially desktop linux, is a collection of disparate technologies by different groups with different priorities and it will never have a cohesive vision or responsive support.
I’ve had a Linux desktop on and off for over 20 years and it’s always some bullshit or another.
It’s always the year of Linux on the desktop if you’re a masochist.
No. Something with no marketing never beats something with billions of dollars in marketing and partnerships.
Hell, that would have been the case 10 years ago. Now that Windows is ‘the default’ for almost everybody, I can never see Linux taking that crown even if Windows never advertised again.
Windows is much less of a default today than it was 20 years ago.
This data shows 2009 to now, Windows has been in a slow trend down with macOS on a slow march up. Back around 2000, Windows was probably 99%, now it’s down to 69%.
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-200901-202308
If we include mobile, Android is bigger than Windows, which is wild. Microsoft completely fumbled the ball on mobile. Ironically they had Windows Mobile long before iOS or Android were even ideas, but they failed to take the iPhone seriously and never recovered.
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share#monthly-200901-202308
No giant is too big to fall. That being said, desktop Linux would need to make some significant changes to get itself in the running. Primarily, not being generically “Linux”, and have a distro the whole community organizes around and make it the best desktop OS out there. The lack of focus can generate a lot of interesting ideas and projects, but really slows down progress and increases confusion for new users.
macOS has 20% marketshare and has been the main reasons Windows has been dropping for over a decade now. macOS is Unix. There is no reason Linux couldn’t be just as easy to use, or even better… combining ease of use with user control. But I think for that to happen some hard decisions need to be made. Kill off the dead weight projects and get everyone behind the stuff that’s going to really matter.
Windows was the default for almost everybody 10 years ago too.
You’re definitely right about that, I tend to forgot how recent 10 years ago was…
It’s not about marketing, it’s about trying to turn on surround sound, almost blowing up my speakers with static, and reading through pulse audio or Alsa configs for hours to do what an AppleTV just does innately.
Linux, and especially desktop linux, is a collection of disparate technologies by different groups with different priorities and it will never have a cohesive vision or responsive support.
I’ve had a Linux desktop on and off for over 20 years and it’s always some bullshit or another.
It’s always the year of Linux on the desktop if you’re a masochist.
Signed: a masochist.
I started using Ubuntu partly because all that just works
The distro that almost blew up my speakers(and my eardrums) just happened to be Ubuntu! Small world!