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According to the website 'Netmarketshare', Desktop Linux has finally hit 2% in June after three consecutive months of growth.

I would still take their figures with a pinch of salt, as there's no truly accurate way to get the overall statistics for each platform.

This does not include Android, even though it is using the Linux Kernel, it's captured separately as a different platform (as it should be).

The way the data is gathered is by using unique hits to over 40,000 websites, while that's rather a lot it is still just a sample.

It's debatable how accurate it is, but it's still pretty nice news to see it grow months in a row to hit an all-time high.

Thanks to all the people who messaged me about it. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Editorial
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Stupendous Man Jul 1, 2016
Thank you Microsoft! :)

In the last few months I've made 2 Linux installations for friends with Windows problems. One might go back to Windows because she needs iTunes (for now I've installed it with wine), the other is perfectly happy with Linux.
Stupendous Man Jul 1, 2016
Quoting: GuestSurprised she wouldn't just go with Apple if she needs iTunes.
Cost I guess.
t3g Jul 1, 2016
Quoting: liamdawe
Quoting: devland
QuoteThis does not include Android, even though it is Linux,

Android is not Linux. Linux programs don't work on Android and Android apps don't work on Linux.
Android uses a heavily modified version of the Linux kernel. That's it.
Linux is a Kernel, if it uses it, it is Linux. It's everything on top that makes it a desktop/mobile/server/whatever distribution.

Let's not split hairs over something silly eh.

Its because you are wrong. While Linux is the kernel, the desktops that you use (and SteamOS) are GNU/Linux since it is the GNU utilities in combination with the Linux kernel to make it all work. While Android may use a Linux kernel, Google uses their own software and it has no relation to the the "Linux" you talk about on this page which are the Arch, Debian, SteamOS, and Ubuntu distributions.

Here is a good read from the father himself: https://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html
Shmerl Jul 1, 2016
Weirdly, statcounter stopped even listing Linux. Most of those stats aren't that useful.


Last edited by Shmerl on 1 July 2016 at 8:52 pm UTC
Avehicle7887 Jul 1, 2016
I'm not much for statistics however I've seen a small rise in Linux popularity outside the online world, the locals where I work tend to bring laptops with Linux and their request is never about removing it but rather for technical reasons, on another occasion a client would ask me to install Ubuntu for him.

While Ubuntu has been trying to bring Linux to the desktop, it seems in the past 2 years or so that it finally got the attention it deserves. Ironically we also have to "thank" Microsoft for the push, while it's still a small percentage they indirectly pushed many people towards Linux - I guess I should count myself for this one since I refused to see beyond Win7 ever since Win8 landed.

In my theory, I think in a couple of years time Linux might become on par with Mac in gaming popularity due to how easily accessible it is compared to Mac.
Shmerl Jul 1, 2016
Gaming wise Linux already is probably ahead of OS X, especially for high end gaming. Apple's hardware simply can't cope with the times, and their software is even worse (OpenGL is in bit rot state there, no Vulkan support coming and so on). Expect OS X gaming usage to plummet going forward.


Last edited by Shmerl on 1 July 2016 at 9:01 pm UTC
Liam Dawe Jul 1, 2016
Quoting: t3g
Quoting: liamdawe
Quoting: devland
QuoteThis does not include Android, even though it is Linux,

Android is not Linux. Linux programs don't work on Android and Android apps don't work on Linux.
Android uses a heavily modified version of the Linux kernel. That's it.
Linux is a Kernel, if it uses it, it is Linux. It's everything on top that makes it a desktop/mobile/server/whatever distribution.

Let's not split hairs over something silly eh.

Its because you are wrong. While Linux is the kernel, the desktops that you use (and SteamOS) are GNU/Linux since it is the GNU utilities in combination with the Linux kernel to make it all work. While Android may use a Linux kernel, Google uses their own software and it has no relation to the the "Linux" you talk about on this page which are the Arch, Debian, SteamOS, and Ubuntu distributions.

Here is a good read from the father himself: https://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html
Again, splitting hairs, it's a minor point. We just have different opinions and I think it's a bit of a silly argument to have.

I don't agree with the rule that it's not Linux unless it specifically works on the desktop with .debs and so on.


Last edited by Liam Dawe on 1 July 2016 at 9:39 pm UTC
Shmerl Jul 1, 2016
For the sake of discussion, Android is indeed not [glibc] Linux. It's bionic one. And bionic is bad news. That's all that should be said. Android is pretty useless for us, when Linux gaming is concerned. It only benefits things indirectly, i.e. may be wider adoption of Vulkan, some improvements to the kernel and so on. Huge rift on libc level and completely different graphics stack makes it "not Linux" for me.


Last edited by Shmerl on 1 July 2016 at 9:43 pm UTC
Liam Dawe Jul 1, 2016
Quoting: ShmerlFor the sake of discussion, Android is indeed not [glibc] Linux. It's bionic one. That's all that should be said. Android is pretty useless for us, when Linux gaming is concerned. Its only benefits are indirect, i.e. may be wider adoption of Vulkan, some improvements to the kernel and so on. Huge rift on libc level and completely different graphics stack makes it "not Linux" for me.
Probably best to leave this argument there. No point getting into an argument over such a small thing :)
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