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That's nice and all, but this is almost meaningless. For 25 years, we've had monthly articles in the Microsoft-funded trade press about how Microsoft has all th
by TheRealDunkirk 4y ago
That's nice and all, but this is almost meaningless. For 25 years, we've had monthly articles in the Microsoft-funded trade press about how Microsoft has all the market share for computers. The implication, as always, is not to bother buying a Mac, or, eww!, using Linux. All of these numbers, for over 2 decades, have been buoyed by corporate purchases, and mean nothing. As as Unix sysadmin, and one of the most-ardent Linux zealots, inside a Fortune 250 in the late 90's and early 00's, even I had to admit that it would have been a mistake to deploy the majority of the "corporate fleet" with anything other than Windows. But if you could ever excise the corporate purchasing data out of these numbers, I think you'd find that Windows has less than 50% of the PERSONAL computing market these days. Maybe even closer to just 25%. I base this on personal observation. Almost no one I know uses a Windows-based computer for their "computer" needs. I've posted about this before, to crickets. If we could get personal buying data from, say, Best Buy and the like, and leave Ziff-Davis and Gartner out of it, I think I could prove it. But I'm sure they're taking money from Microsoft to continue to put the numbers together, so we'll never get the "internal" numbers to figure it out from them.
- zeroonetwothree 4y agoEveryone that is into gaming uses Windows. I find your 25% claim dubious.
- anothernewdude 4y agoNot even a VM these days.
- neverminder 4y agoNot everyone. Linux gaming on Steam is on a steady rise.
- TheRealDunkirk 4y agoThe 50% of the gaming market that is consoles would argue with you.
- Snoozle 4y agoAre you discounting the absolutely massive gaming industry? I have never met a single person in real life that uses Linux, and those that used Macs were only casual computer users
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- sudo_chmod777 4y agoMy company has a Linux Slack channel and that's where I finally got to know a lot of 'real people' who also use Linux lol
- neverminder 4y agoSteam's Linux user share is steadily growing and making a dent in Microsoft's monopoly even there.
- TheRealDunkirk 4y agoUh... I used Linux on the desktop for 19 years, and desperately wanted this to happen, but last time I looked, Linux still only accounted for a couple of percent of Steam platforms. Maybe this will change with the Steam Deck, but that's a gimme.
- neverminder 4y agoProton is fueling this growth more than Steam Deck I would think. I know, it's a double edged sword, but still.
- TheRealDunkirk 4y agoI am. Those are the only people who have PC's that I know. That's the point. For non-corporate use, if PC gaming didn't exist, there would BE no PC market.