There has been an upsurge in the desktop Linux market share which has seen a rise to 3.37% in the latest statistics on Net Market Share for operating systems. Linux market share has witnessed a steady increase, especially in the last two summer months.
The stats show May 2017 with 1.99%, June with 2.36%, July had 2.53% and August showed Linux market share increasing to 3.37%.
Net Market Share is an analytical company that “collects data from the browsers of site visitors to our exclusive on-demand network of HitsLink Analytics and SharePost clients”. Their network includes over 40,000 websites across the globe.
Quite clearly this is not the real statistics on how many Linux desktops are in use and perhaps that is even not possible. But this is as close as we can get in collecting data on Linux market share.
Chromebooks help Linux Market Share?
The stats seem to take count Chrome OS as Linux since it is built on top of Linux kernel. Chromebooks, devices pre-installed with Chrome OS, have grown popular lately especially among college going students.
Chromebooks are usually lower end devices that have low prices and are lightweight. They come handy in carrying around and taking notes and saving them to cloud.
This might be a factor as students preparing to go to college may have boosted Chromebook sales.
However, this is my speculation and it may happen that more people are actually using desktop Linux. It is worthy to note that Linux distros dominate the market in servers and embedded devices. Not to forget that Linux simply rules super-computers with almost all of the top 500 supercomputers running on Linux.
Leave your comments below on what you think might have caused the increase in Linux market share for operating systems.
july 2020 3.61% guys /0/
guys guys it is at it peak right now!
I don’t know where you’re getting that 3.37% number for August 2019 (your last update) but it’s not that netmarketshare link you provided. That link shows linux hovering just below or ever so slightly above 2% for a long time, never hitting 3.37% that I can see.
If it’s deeper in the past (PLEASE UPDATE THE ARTICLE IF SO), then it was clearly spurious because we’re back below 2% with no signs of improvement that I can see. If you can see it, tell me how.
By the way, as a linux user I’d love to see more adoption, but it’ll never happen so long as all manner of drivers remain a problem, and game support still dwindles on lifesupport.
I can hear all the pro-linux honks out there yelling “but, but, but….” Sorry, but it starts and ends with things being turnkey, and Windows and Mac are turnkey despite whatever angry past you’ve had with them. (And as a person who repairs PC’s for free, trust me, I’ve had quite an angry past with Windows).
And before anyone chimes in with “look at all the big companies using linux for servers” keep in mind two things: 1. Server support is absolutely NOTHING compared to the hell of Desktop support. A server has no worries about thousands of different soundcards working, AMD vs nVidia graphics (<—–NOTE THAT ONE WELL, BECAUSE IT'S STILL A DISASTER), support for thousands of printers (<—OYE!!!), Wifi Network adapters (<—OY x 2!!), etc., etc., etc., all of which funnel through standards that are only loosely met by manufacturers.
Further, a big reason for using linux for servers is that a company the size of (say) youtube cannot easily buy the solution off of the shelf and needs to tailor it at the lower level.
It's not an argument about the viability of linux as a desktop replacement for windows or mac. Sorry, but it just isn't.
We've got a lonnnnnnnnnng way before linux starts making more than enthusiast-only desktop sense.
YES YES YES YES! Plus it doesn’t help to start with: well the frame work and lib STOP JUST STOP!. Speak to Karen, Dylan, and Floridaman! They has issue: My (appe here) where is it!: don’t say: oh (snuff) and blother on about a long list of archane shit. DO say: oh! sure…um tried looking in the app installer here? or check snapcraft.io, is the app there? and 10s simple, small, words for why the big guys should use it: Big. Guys. What’s the hook for Maxon to fuck with Proton? 10s! go!. Why should Blizzard who’s try to support and port with transpiling stunts, take yet another stab at Ubuntu, keeping in mind they wanted it to work, but dropped openGL because They Can’t just call a dude. and were burned by Cononical in the past over assholery related to GPL, and technicalities of IPs..10s–GO!
You nailed it untill that minds set changes drasticaly to speak them, get THEM. I may speak some amount of geek, design, but I also actively try to speak regular joe
And yeah as I said on redit Unpopular opinion: wine is a fucking mess, and untill I can dig up my copy of Dragon Dictate 12 and it Just Works, better than on Windows
Karen, Dylan, and Floridan man will say hard pass no
I like ubuntu, but I know, and accept: The fucking library of apps sucks..or…lack of. Sucks. and Game support is hit and mis and that sucks. I do love that somethings it does better than Windows…sometimes. But I am also a bit geeky. Karen: nope she just knows google chrome, or FireFox took a shit and now she’s calling..YOU because OMG betty, billy, bob and mary-anna-rose-smith called about Something Here on Faux, and fuuck DARLIN’ THAT FUCKING OH-ESS AND DOIN’ GET ME MY COMPUT…yeah untill THAT gets to just fucking works better than windows?
Not gonna happen partner to do more than limp along at 2% and allso consider; apple is getting it’s ass handed to it by MS and they know-or knew there shit for making a competive real os that’d just fucking work.
Love Xbuntu and Manjaro one on Laptop one on desktop for 3 years now. The more years that pass the more I hate using Windows. The simple fact that I can update all programs at once make Linux so cool. No long win updates that hose your PC. I troubleshooted Win PCs for 2 decades and when I retired I said I would never use it again. Still have to Keep the Wifes win 10 running. :-(