
Linux Marketshare on Desktops Apparently Hit 6.91% in September, Higher Than Mac - grover_hartmann
https://netmarketshare.com/report.aspx?qprid=9&qpaf=&qpcustom=Linux&qpcustomb=0
======
pmontra
OMGBuntu doesn't believe the figure [http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/10/linux-
marketshare-6-91-pe...](http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/10/linux-
marketshare-6-91-percent-september-2017)

> The figure is impressive but is also highly irregular and out of sync with
> the reported Linux marketshare from other companies like StatCounter and
> Wikimedia.

> [...]

> Netmarketshare also stress that the graph showing Linux’s big leap is based
> on “preview data that has NOT been reviewed by Quality Assurance”.

Anecdotally, I was at an Erlang and Elixir event on Saturday morning. The
first three speakers were using Ubuntu machines. I didn't notice what the
fourth one used. Maybe it's the subject but conferences use to be MacBook
monocultures with an occasional Linux or Windows machine.

~~~
ReverseCold
September is when school starts in the US, leading to increased Chromebook
usage(?)

That's one likely reason.

~~~
NiveaGeForce
[http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-
share/desktop/worldwide](http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-
share/desktop/worldwide)

------
skinnymuch
The last few times this stuff has appeared here and elsewhere, most
assumptions are Chromebooks and school year are accounting for a big part of
it.

Technically Chromebooks are Linux, but it doesn't seem right to combine them
with Linux when doing broad charts or data like this. It would be better to
separate it out.

A smaller part could be headless Chrome being fully unleashed. Though I'm not
so sure about this.

~~~
giancarlostoro
I would wager its a mixture of people frustrated with both Microsoft and Apple
recently going all in on Linux maybe, but it's hard to prove that I suppose?

~~~
charlesdm
I've never seen anyone aside from devs running a linux desktop device, so
while I'm not saying this can't be right, I am a bit sceptical. For an average
user, Linux can still be quite challenging to use as their main OS.

~~~
gerdesj
My wife uses Arch on her laptop - she doesn't really know what it is and
doesn't really care. She does know that she has less down time than with
Windows when updates happen. She uses Facebook (the internet _sigh_ ) very
heavily, email (Evolution to an account on my office Exchange server) heavily
plus a fair few other things - basic word processing and spreadsheets via LO.

I'm a KDE aficionado for good reason. I put a few large icons (KDE allows you
to scale your icons really well) on the desktop, with a pretty wallpaper, that
have easily understandable functions, that are locked in place. The ability to
lock the desktop layout is a killer feature that I do not see available on
Windows or Mac or most Linux WMs.

Obviously, it does help that I'm an IT Consultant but "For an average user,
Linux can still be quite challenging to use as their main OS." No it doesn't
need to be so. The KDE Plasma UI can be made very simple or unbelievably
complex to suit the required UX.

~~~
domenukk
I've installed Linux on family member's computers before just to get calls
when an update broke the graphics driver. Just try and let your wife install
and update Arch herself, I'm sure she'd give up quickly. That being said, most
users just need some icons and a web browser, almost any OS works for that.

------
omarforgotpwd
Anecdotally, I have to say yeahhhhhhhh riggghttttt. Especially since this
seems to have happened suddenly in Aug / Sept. Headless Chrome seems like a
far more likely explaination than “2017 is actually finally the year of
desktop linux”.

~~~
digi_owl
Could be. There is a similar, but much smaller, uptick in Chrome browser usage
for the same period.

Edit: And now it is gone. Seems there is some tweaking of the numbers
happening...

------
pavlov
Do Chromebooks count?

The uptick from August to September looks enormous, but if Chromebooks did
well in back-to-school sales to students and schools, it might be real.

~~~
dlp211
Not just sales to individuals, but schools are adopting the Chromebook as a
part of their infrastructure. They are actually a really awesome solution for
the EDU space.

~~~
brianwawok
Indeed. Every single kid in my kids district has a chromebook. 800ish right
there.

------
z3t4
I think in the last 20 years Linux has become many orders of magnitude better
on all fronts. It's a rolling snowball that has already surpassed other
platforms on many levels. The only reason there's only 6-7% market share is
that's there very few people selling it. I would say it's an huge market
opportunity.

~~~
y4mi
uuuh, no.

i've got ubuntu (i3wm) on my home machine and would never consider anything
else for my development environment. Not having to manually manage windows was
an eye opener to me.

but from my experience, most people aren't open to change. they don't want to
relearn anything. they just want their old way, forever and ever on.

there will be some software that they've used for years. This software will
probably be (at best) similar to the linux alternative. But it will be
different. And they don't want different. They want the same UX.

This applies to both Windows and Apple Users. Its especially confusing if said
person knows jack shit about their chosen platform.

------
digi_owl
Err, it seems netmarketshare is actively tweaking their data.

I just hit refresh on the page, and the number dropped from 6.91 to 4.94...

------
bigheadpercoli
Based on the chart the share was a stable 2.5% this year. Then there was a
slight uptick in July, and a rapid increase from 2.5% to 7.5%.

Was there any major Linux release that would explain that ? Otherwise, i'd go
with "This report contains preview data that has NOT been reviewed by Quality
Assurance."

~~~
skinnymuch
Seems like here in this thread like before, casual consensus, is Chromebooks
and headless Chrome.

The data could be a bit wrong too like you're saying. It doesn't seem like
Chromebooks should've made that big of an effect. Maybe a ton of schools are
using them now though?

------
jbverschoor
Maybe its te headless rendering support in chrome.

~~~
giancarlostoro
I would easily blame Windows 10. Automated forced updates, in file-manager
advertising (although to be fair it's just for their cloud file hosting
offering so it doesn't bother me half as much as it bothers most). There's
other things as well, and Windows 8 the previous incarnation was not well
received either. Microsoft really needs to revamp their entire OS team because
everywhere else in MS land people are getting happier, but when it comes to
the OS itself people are still upset. I've been using Ubuntu / Linux for as
long as Windows 10 has been out. I used to use it on and off, but now that
Linux is usable on some of my more modern hardware it's hard to switch back. I
only use Windows at work for .NET development.

~~~
skinnymuch
Why would some backlash against Windows present itself all of a sudden in a
1-2 month span now?

You're also using a lot of "I". Windows 10 has been received decently by the
public. Windows 8 wasn't but it wasn't the worst reception either since a lot
of people were so happy with Windows 7. This could possibly make sense if
Windows 10 hadn't come out. But even then the number increase is too great in
a short time span to blame Windows 8/10

------
archildress
Simple explanation: Chromebooks in schools being powered on.

------
bigbugbag
I've always wondered about the people using linux for privacy reason going the
extra step to mask their operating system and block trackers. Would they
appear anywhere here ?

Out of all people using linux as their desktop/laptop I know about a third are
privacy minded and take this extra step.

------
mikl
From 2.5% in July to 4.9% in September. Seems highly unlikely that many
millions of people decided to switch desktop OS within a couple of months,
without anyone noticing.

------
AlexeyBrin
It seems that they are tweaking the results live because I see 4.94% now.
Almost 2% lower than Mac.

------
nadiad
Linux will dominate the desktop share and we are all waiting for that day.
Cheers :)

------
kelukelugames
I wish MGTO and photoshop worked on Linux. I would switch in a heartbeat.

------
jacksmith21006
Is this because of the popularity of Chromebooks?

