4 ms·

That's the worst part (and I know that most people will never buy a license because they get it through their OEM or just crack it) but Microsoft are still happ

That's the worst part (and I know that most people will never buy a license because they get it through their OEM or just crack it) but Microsoft are still happy to charge you £220 for a Windows 11 Pro licence [0] and shove ads in your face. [0] https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/d/windows-11-pro/dg7gmgf0d8h4 https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/d/windows-11-pro/dg7gmgf0d8h...

Izmaki 3y ago
The second all my games are fully compatible with Linux natively, I'm ditching that horrible "does it all, but poorly" corporation.
- jeffparsons 3y ago
  How recently have you tried. Obviously YMMV, but all mine already are. Proton is a thing of beauty.
  - LtWorf 3y ago
    Microsoft kicks me from online play if I use proton… Coincidence?
- lelanthran 3y ago
  > The second all my games are fully compatible with Linux natively, I'm ditching I've been seeing this sentiment since 2001 at least. No one ever follows through; if they did we would have seen this already in the desktop stats. You will, whether you consciously realise it or not, switch to playing windows exclusive games the minute all your games run on Linux, hence you will never switch.
  - _dain_ 3y ago
    >I've been seeing this sentiment since 2001 at least. No one ever follows through; if they did we would have seen this already in the desktop stats. There has been an inflection point crossed lately, because of Proton and the Steam Deck. Linux is at 1.95% market share on Steam today. A year ago it was 1.3%.
    - lelanthran 3y ago
      As I pointed out to another reply, this fact is not relevant to the point I made. You may as well say "but the sky is blue", which is also true and just as irrelevant
  - weberer 3y ago
    >if they did we would have seen this already in the desktop stats Well you can see it. Linux is used by 4.25% of all English speaking Steam users. And its trending upward. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/ https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/
    - lelanthran 3y ago
      That's a statistic that is irrelevant to my point. It is not a statistic of Linux desktop share, it's a statistic of existing Linux users, not windows migrations.
      - weberer 3y ago
        >It is not a statistic of Linux desktop share Yes it is. The Y axis is "Percentage of Steam users". The fact that the Linux percentage is increasing means that the the percentage of Windows users are decreasing. The graph shows a trend of migrating from Windows to Linux.
        lelanthran 3y ago
        > Yes it is. The Y axis is "Percentage of Steam users". "% of desktops amongst Steam users" is significantly different from "% of desktops".
        Macha 3y ago
        Stat counter also has Linux going from 2.5% in 2021 to 3.8% today: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide/2021 https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide... (And yes, this excludes ChromeOS and Android)
  - heelix 3y ago
    I think we are at an interesting reflection point. Desktop Linux is to the point where it does pass the grandma/cousin tests for usability/install. Games were one of the big items from a compatibility perspective. Combine that with Windows 11 not working on older, viable hardware... 2025 is going to be interesting. Those of us who used it on desktop Linux helped drive the handheld, which is really accelerating compatibility. When Windows 10 hits EOL, folks got to go somewhere - and many are not going to toss out their hardware for new.
- tremon 3y ago
  Then stop buying games that are not?
steve_rambo 3y ago
OEM licenses are not exactly free or cheap. I was perusing the local shops a couple of weeks ago and the same exact laptop without a Windows Home license is always $100 cheaper, no exceptions. More than that for Pro or whatever the fuck it's called. So most people will buy a license, they'll simply not be aware of it. How convenient for MS.
- 7734128 3y ago
  "OEM" licenses sold by retail is not at all representative of what actual PC makers pay, which is of course going to massively vary. I wouldn't be surprised if some manufacturers, especially those who have been flirting with Linux, have instead been paid to install Windows.
narag 3y ago
Microsoft are still happy to charge you £220 for a Windows 11 Pro licence... You can buy Windows 10 Pro OEM licenses for less than 20€ online. I did just that for a familiar three months ago. The installation was validated and associated with the Microsoft account no problem. Then you can "upgrade" to Windows 11 free of charge, if that's your thing.

Izmaki 3y ago

The second all my games are fully compatible with Linux natively, I'm ditching that horrible "does it all, but poorly" corporation.

jeffparsons 3y ago
How recently have you tried. Obviously YMMV, but all mine already are. Proton is a thing of beauty.
- LtWorf 3y ago
  Microsoft kicks me from online play if I use proton… Coincidence?
lelanthran 3y ago
> The second all my games are fully compatible with Linux natively, I'm ditching I've been seeing this sentiment since 2001 at least. No one ever follows through; if they did we would have seen this already in the desktop stats. You will, whether you consciously realise it or not, switch to playing windows exclusive games the minute all your games run on Linux, hence you will never switch.
- _dain_ 3y ago
  >I've been seeing this sentiment since 2001 at least. No one ever follows through; if they did we would have seen this already in the desktop stats. There has been an inflection point crossed lately, because of Proton and the Steam Deck. Linux is at 1.95% market share on Steam today. A year ago it was 1.3%.
  - lelanthran 3y ago
    As I pointed out to another reply, this fact is not relevant to the point I made. You may as well say "but the sky is blue", which is also true and just as irrelevant
- weberer 3y ago
  >if they did we would have seen this already in the desktop stats Well you can see it. Linux is used by 4.25% of all English speaking Steam users. And its trending upward. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/ https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/
  - lelanthran 3y ago
    That's a statistic that is irrelevant to my point. It is not a statistic of Linux desktop share, it's a statistic of existing Linux users, not windows migrations.
    - weberer 3y ago
      >It is not a statistic of Linux desktop share Yes it is. The Y axis is "Percentage of Steam users". The fact that the Linux percentage is increasing means that the the percentage of Windows users are decreasing. The graph shows a trend of migrating from Windows to Linux.
      - lelanthran 3y ago
        > Yes it is. The Y axis is "Percentage of Steam users". "% of desktops amongst Steam users" is significantly different from "% of desktops".
        Macha 3y ago
        Stat counter also has Linux going from 2.5% in 2021 to 3.8% today: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide/2021 https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide... (And yes, this excludes ChromeOS and Android)
- heelix 3y ago
  I think we are at an interesting reflection point. Desktop Linux is to the point where it does pass the grandma/cousin tests for usability/install. Games were one of the big items from a compatibility perspective. Combine that with Windows 11 not working on older, viable hardware... 2025 is going to be interesting. Those of us who used it on desktop Linux helped drive the handheld, which is really accelerating compatibility. When Windows 10 hits EOL, folks got to go somewhere - and many are not going to toss out their hardware for new.
tremon 3y ago
Then stop buying games that are not?

steve_rambo 3y ago

OEM licenses are not exactly free or cheap. I was perusing the local shops a couple of weeks ago and the same exact laptop without a Windows Home license is always $100 cheaper, no exceptions. More than that for Pro or whatever the fuck it's called. So most people will buy a license, they'll simply not be aware of it. How convenient for MS.

7734128 3y ago
"OEM" licenses sold by retail is not at all representative of what actual PC makers pay, which is of course going to massively vary. I wouldn't be surprised if some manufacturers, especially those who have been flirting with Linux, have instead been paid to install Windows.

narag 3y ago

Microsoft are still happy to charge you £220 for a Windows 11 Pro licence... You can buy Windows 10 Pro OEM licenses for less than 20€ online. I did just that for a familiar three months ago. The installation was validated and associated with the Microsoft account no problem. Then you can "upgrade" to Windows 11 free of charge, if that's your thing.