Looking on the brightside, the English-only tracker hit an all time high with Linux at 4.15%.

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They also tried to buy Valve as recently as 2012.

I have no doubt Microsoft would love to buy everyone they see as a competitor, or view as adding value to a competing platform. Regulators really need to take a stronger stance on this.

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I don't think we should get our hopes up too much for a new device or devices. It may just be a minor revision to the Steam Deck hardware. Deck was code named Jupiter, and Galileo discovered the big moons of Jupiter / a space probe sent to Jupiter. Deck's SOC was code named Aerith after a character from Final Fantasy 7, and this is named Sephiroth who of course kills Aerith in FF7.

We are also approaching the time in the Deck's life cycle where initial supply contracts may be expiring and new contracts for a refresh of the SOC with power consumption improvements and lower costs might be possible.

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Perhaps I misunderstand the thrust of your argument but, when you say things like:

Quoting: Purple Library GuyThe Chromebook says "This distribution runs no software. It's the browser or nuthin', baby!

That comes across as rather emphatic about excluding ChromeOS as a Linux distribution over the way it presents itself to normal users.

Or when you are being somewhat less over the top:

Quoting: Purple Library GuyI mean, Linux has a sort of software ecosystem, from LibreOffice and the GIMP and stuff to on the gaming side things like Proton and Steam and a bunch of Linux native games. And, ChromeOS won't run any of that stuff.

Which is simply untrue. ChromeOS can run all of that, albeit with the easiest official way being within a Linux container. Which is simply the way it handles software, including Chrome itself in the newest version. Which at least to me, seems like excluding ChromeOS over a quibble about its software packaging system vs other more modern takes on a mainstream distribution. Essentially engaging in special pleading.

Quoting: Purple Library GuyReally, have you ever interacted with a Chromebook?

Then you say this, which came off as decidedly uncivil. When I called you about it you accuse me of arguing in bad faith.

So what I have said is what I believe. ChromeOS is a Linux distribution, and it should not be excluded from Linux stats.

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Quoting: Purple Library GuyReally, have you ever interacted with a Chromebook?

Yes, I have. I own a Pixelbook as a matter of fact. I got it because I wanted a machine for casual living room web browsing and D&D beyond. Tasks it handles flawlessly. Just like Chromebooks solved the problem of constant Windows problems for a number of non-technically inclined family members.

This distribution runs no software. It's the browser or nuthin', baby!

Except that hasn't ever really been true, even if it is the perception. At the minimum ChromeOS includes a number of other basic Linux utilities that enable its intended use like a ConnMan fork with a front end to handle networking, a front end for CUPS, and a front end for handling containers.

ChromeOS is also hardly the only Linux distribution with a minimal install focused on being easy to use in a particular role out of the box. If making a better "Windows" for power users to install was going to get us to mainstream use, it would have happened years ago. More limited environments that come pre-installed on hardware are the only proven pathway towards more mainstream acceptance.

If the only Linux distributions that count as Linux are distributions are full-featured environments targeted at enthusiasts and developers, then how is Linux ever supposed to grow?

We shouldn't be turning up our noses at a minimal Linux systems made to do one thing well.

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Quoting: sarmadwhich is why Linux apps in ChromeOS run via a VM and cannot run natively.

Not entirely true, but for end users how is this really that different from other modern end-user focused distributions with immutable file systems, and that only run typical desktop software distributed in self-contained formats like Flatpak? It is simply an earlier take on the same concept of how to make a Linux distribution aimed at specific use cases and avoiding as many pitfalls as possible.

means we should be able to run Linux binaries natively on ChromeOS.

That was always possible, just not exposed. I also don't think it means that will be made easier for end users. ChromeOS will remain a distribution primarily focused on running containerized software. Chrome itself in the new version, runs as a container separate from the underlying Linux system. However, it should become easier for end users to run other Linux containers that have been pre-configured, or to create their own.

If we demand that every Linux distribution, to count as a Linux distribution, must look like Debian or Redhat, with the underlying system immediately accessible, and not allowed to use Linux features like containers to improve security to help protect end users, then "Linux" is never going to gain marketshare. It will remain a tiny niche for developers and enthusiasts, even as mainstream targeted Linux distributions continue to see adoption.

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Quoting: mitcoesIt will be 6.52% Linux soon, as Chrome OS is going to switch to Wayland

Since when has using Wayland 100% of the time been a requirement to be a Linux distribution? If we went by that standard SteamOS, or a lot of people still using X wouldn't count as "Linux" either.

ChromeOS is already a Linux distribution, all that is happening is it modernizing and moving closer to the rest of the ecosystem. We need to stop splitting Linux apart over relatively minor differences.

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Quoting: Purple Library GuyI note ChromeOS is at 4%. If only it ran, you know, programs.

It has been possible to run quite a bit of desktop software easily on ChromeOS for years now. There is even an effort underway to officially support Steam.

https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/steam-on-chromeos/ [External Link]

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According to statcounter we're over 7% because they've separated out the most popular desktop distribution. Considering their past behavior of lumping Windows vs splitting Linux, I wonder how long it will be before they find another distribution or type of distribution to separate out.

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Quoting: pleasereadthemanualI've always had some questions about ChromeOS that I've long tried to find answers for

ChromeOS big advantage over other user friendly distributions is that its a very focused OS, optimized around, and limited to, solving only the most common mainstream use cases. Plus it comes pre-installed on a device that is built for and certified to run it.
There really isn't any closed source secret sauce for usability that Google isn't contributing back. ChromeOS vs ChromiumOS is more about controlling trademarks and ensuring devices get certified.

A lot of the same considerations Valve has concerning the Steam Deck, which is a more modern take on a lot of the same usability concepts just with a different target audience.

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