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bydgatwood ( 11270 ) writes:
Just curious how much SteamOS contributes to that total.
byrsilvergun ( 571051 ) writes:
But that's probably worldwide. There's an estimated 60 million desktops in America though. So I think it's safe to say that a lot of if not most of that is steam decks.
That doesn't really help desktop Linux adoption because not very many people use a steam deck as a desktop. I came across one YouTuber doing it because they killed their main desktop PC but beyond that most people are going to use it for gaming only. Maybe some movies and lite web browsing.
That means a lot of the software that locks people to Windows will continue to be locked on windows. Stuff like film editing and music production for example.
Honestly though pretty much everybody is getting their asses kicked by phones with phones increasingly taking over the casual user computing experience.
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byrsilvergun ( 571051 ) writes:
Oh and also I'm wondering if some of this is because of the shrinking desktop market. Somebody who is a Linux user is going to have a desktop computer because they're going to be a PC enthusiast in most cases. Yeah there's the occasional family member who installs Linux for somebody who literally just opens Internet explorer but honestly most of those people these days have switched the phones for that, maybe a table.
So I guess what I'm saying is the number of Linux users is likely to stay constant while the total number of other operating system users drops resulting in the percentage of Linux user is increasing.
It does help that basic hardware is extremely standardized so you can just install Linux just about anything nowadays.
And there's a lot of gaming you could do under Linux because of valve. Although the big multiplayer games are still locked away on Windows because of the anti-cheat software with the exception of marvel which remarkably runs very well and is fully supported under proton.
I know some musicians though that are completely stuck on Windows because the software for running they are interfaces just does not work in Linux. And there's lots of people stuck with Adobe software or something like it or who need Microsoft Office. Although I'm not sure how well the web-based version of office runs under Linux it runs pretty crappy under windows.
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byHermMunster ( 972336 ) writes:
How much has it shrunk? 5 billion units remaining? 5% of that is large. If just US users then considerably less.
What you might not understand is that most people that have linux have many computers running linux and hence most aren't counted. Most households have more than one Windows machine too. Those can be tracked tho independent of website visits.
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byRazorSharp ( 1418697 ) writes:
That doesn't really help desktop Linux adoption because not very many people use a steam deck as a desktop.
We count gaming PCs but most gamers don't really use their PCs as a desktop beyond "some movies [porn] and lite web browsing."
In all seriousness, though, I think it does help Linux desktop adoption because it normalizes Linux for these users. It's very common on ./ to see posts where people say, "I only use Windows for games." Gamers tend to build their own PCs (or buy weird custom rigs), so unlike most computer users the OS isn't just baked into the cost. Also, judging by their hardware, ricing Linux shoul
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bygeekmux ( 1040042 ) writes:
But that's probably worldwide. There's an estimated 60 million desktops in America though. So I think it's safe to say that a lot of if not most of that is steam decks.
* looks over at the rather obvious handheld form-factor that is Steam Deck *
Ifthat is now considered a “desktop”, then I’m guessing my full-sized tower chassis is now classified as either an MMA weight training aide or a medieval torture device, depending on local gun laws.
Perhaps I should stop complaining before someone doubles down and re-defines what a “desk” isn’t anymore.
bykarmawarrior ( 311177 ) writes:
We've been (quite reasonably!) quietly counting laptops as desktops for the purposes of these types of survey so I suspect the definitions have always been fuzzy.
But that said, maybe we should be counting desktop GNU/Linux installs - ie installs where GNOME, MATE, Cinnamon, LXDE, etc are included in the primary installation and are used at least once, and the installation should include the GNU userland,. That's a little fuzzier though, how many desktops does GNU/Linux have these days?
bykarmawarrior ( 311177 ) writes:
> Translation; Although we know damn well the difference between a laptop and a desktop, we’ve lied on surveys for years now for the purposes of marketing popularity.
There's no lie. Nobody is interested in how many desktop form factor computers run Linux vs how many laptops do. I doubt Microsoft breaks down the stats either for their desktop operating systems. And it's not as if the data is easily available, web browsers - by far the most common way to measure and extrapolate desktop numbers - do n
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byLuniticusTheSane ( 1195389 ) writes:
If it makes you feel any better, I can set my Steamdeck on top of my desk.
Seriously though, I have a USB hub with HDMI out. I plug my steamdeck into it and get a keyboard, mouse, external HDD, and a real monitor.
bygeekmux ( 1040042 ) writes:
If it makes you feel any better, I can set my Steamdeck on top of my desk.
Seriously though, I have a USB hub with HDMI out. I plug my steamdeck into it and get a keyboard, mouse, external HDD, and a real monitor.
Ironically enough I have an identical setup for a Legion Go gaming deck.
My local SFF chapter and the tower chassis brigade would still like to investigate to know which full-sized USB port marketing plugged into and hurt Linus with.
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byShaitan ( 22585 ) writes:
"There's an estimated 60 million desktops in America though. So I think it's safe to say that a lot of if not most of that is steam decks."
Virtually every corporate employee in the nation has a desktop as their primary workstation [the physical machine is usually a laptop of course but it's still part of 'the desktop' market]. I doubt a niche gaming device is going to amount to anywhere near 1% let alone 5% of that market. I don't know anyone running a steam deck but I know many tech workers who run linux o
byLuniticusTheSane ( 1195389 ) writes:
My Steamdeck ran so well, I installed Linux on my PCs that were stuck on Windows 10.
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