It Will Never Be the Year of the Linux Desktop · unix.foo

If we’re talking about a “world controlled”, I automatically think of servers…and most of it is indeed Linux :wink:

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I’m not sure that “most of it is indeed Linux”, but a LOT more of it IS Linux than in the past. Even Microsoft has “softened” their stance on their arch rival and include various tools that allow you to run either native Linux or gain access to Linux via Virtual Machines or various forms of emulation, and they also created their Power Shell that incorporates many of the features of the best Unix and Linux shells.

According to one report: " Linux: Holds roughly 44.8% to 63.7% of the general and enterprise server operating system market. On public-facing web servers, Linux powers around 61.7% of sites with an identifiable OS. [1, 2, 3]

Supercomputers: 100% of the TOP500 most powerful supercomputers run Linux (a streak held since November 2017).

Cloud & Containers: Linux powers nearly 49.2% of global cloud workloads and dominates containerization (with Docker holding an 87.67%

Like it or not, IBM’s purchase of Red Hat has without a doubt contributed to many of these numbers, so “Big Blue”, while conceding desktop and laptop sales to other companies a few decades ago, further cemented their strength in server systems, maintaining their own proprietary mainframe systems for very large legacy enterprise systems while migrating to Unix and Linux systems for many of their remaining server systems, thus improving what had previously been an eroding primary profit enterprise. I don’t think they’re back to what they once were because they can’t charge $10-20M for their server farms unless there are hundreds of them, but they can still retain a very comfortable, profitable business!

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It should be “the year of the Linux desktop”. That’s what the articles are talking about, not total Linux. Linux has a long way to go to catch up to Apple or Windoze on the desktop, but has made impressive gains on the desktop in recent years.

Duck AI

As of October 2026, Linux holds approximately 4.54% of the global desktop operating system market share.

It had stood at 2%for many years.

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You are right of course, and actually this is the most impressive improvement.
To the point about servers, THAT is one space that was eventually bound to steer toward Linux because it’s a fraction of the price, and indeed that is what has happened.

Long ago I postulated/predicted that the space where Linux really could JUMP the other methods was in the mobile space, and Linux (and BSD) have done well in that space; the Windows community has never understood that space well, so the server percentages and the mobile environment percentages really don’t surprise me, but the 0.8% rise to 2%, then to 4.5% is really a much more impressive rise, and again it’s a combination of lower costs and prices, increased familiarity with Linux, a greater push by a few companies to actually SELL and distribute Linux systems and more educated students knowing something about Linux; it all adds up!

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I agree there. Servers, Super computers, the IoT and Android and Chrome books using the Linux kernel puts Linux everywhere but the desktop. Windows got enterprise by getting there first and corrupt business practices like anti-trust violations and their Embrace, extend and extinguish program. Apple also took Unix-BSD and really improved on it and built on great hardware, but became trendy and expensive. That’s the three main choices for the desktop. I don’t care if Linux has a huge share, I just care it lives on so I can use Linux.

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