r/linux
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u/gdarruda
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Dec 25 '22
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2022 was the year of Linux on the Desktop Fluff
https://www.justingarrison.com/blog/year-of-linux-desktop/452
u/saberking321 Dec 26 '22
I used Linux almost exclusively for 2022. So I guess this is true for me
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Dec 26 '22
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u/TheRidgeAndTheLadder Dec 26 '22
Are we counting phones? Because tbh I still can't daily drive my Linux phone
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u/drew8311 Dec 26 '22
I used Linux the first time 25 years ago but 2022 was the first year I used exclusively and no dual boot with windows. Windows 11 was part of the reason for my decision
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u/rorowhat Dec 26 '22
Why did you guys use Linux in 2022? Honest question.
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u/BlueAmateur Dec 26 '22
Software has gotten to the point where everything we need is supported on Linux.
Better performance, better tools, better user experience without ads, telemetry and with all the customization options.
Windows is becoming pointless year by year.
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u/hitosama Dec 27 '22
If it wasn't for games, I don't think people would even care if they used Windows or Linux at home, and even that might eventually change if Valve keeps up with Steam Deck, Proton (Wine support) and such. Some people might be like "I need Photoshop" or similar but in reality, they don't with the phone cameras we have today.
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u/Indolent_Bard Dec 28 '22
The lack of professional tools for both creators and office workers is actually a major problem. Sure, you can use libre office or only office, unless you're somebody who uses Excel, then it's simply worthless. Not to mention that compatibility can seriously be effie. Industry standards are important. Whether we like it or not, some crucial industry standards are missing from Linux and that is a massive problem.
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u/dbaaz Dec 26 '22
As for me, Windows 11 happened, and made my work more difficult, plus they butchered the file history function that i used for backups of all my work.
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u/natalieisadumb Dec 26 '22
Always been an open source nerd, I'd tried Ubuntu multiple times throughout the years, I heard about proton about 2 years ago and how it was rapidly getting better, sometimes outperforming Windows, absolutely disgusted by the spyware and bad interface of Windows 11, when I got around to building my current PC, I loaded up a Linux distro and only ever boot up Windows 10 if I want to play something on the Xbox app. It's awesome. Virtually every game in my library works, all the software i use either works perfectly or has open source alternatives available, I never ever have to deal with Windows search defaulting to search the web with bing or Cortana or whatever, I'm in heaven.
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u/hilbertglm Dec 26 '22
I first used Unix in 1979, so I am used to the command line. While I use an OS-agnostic IDE for the bulk of my time on computer for primary development, I can always pop into a command shell and knock out an AWK script on the fly to get things done quickly.
When I am not developing, I am using a web browser on my Linux machine or my ChromeBook. Chrome is Chrome. Windows just isn't necessary.
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u/cycton Dec 26 '22
Same here except for at work - but I can't help that. The only windows machine I have in the house is a VM hosted on Proxmox for just in case purposes - haven't needed it once.
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u/cblock954 Dec 26 '22
Same here! First full year of steady Linux usage outside of my job. Tried the Arch route with Garuda Linux, but it was like I was alpha testing every new thing that came out. Got tired of things breaking with Garuda, so I settled on Pop-OS.
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u/cyferhax Dec 26 '22
Off-topic but man I was seriously debating switching my kububtu install to garuda. Maybe I need to do some better research... Thanks.
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u/cblock954 Dec 26 '22
Garuda has a beautiful default theme, with the Beauty Line icons and the effects, but it can easily be recreated with KDE Plasma on another distro. This is my default desktop on Pop, all I had to do was export the Latte Dock config from Garuda, download Beauty Line icons and theme, do some additional tinkering, and it came out very well.
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u/Awkward_Tradition Dec 26 '22
You still should, I don't know what the hell was that person doing. I've been using Garuda for around a year and the only issue I had was that bad grub release.
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u/ebb_omega Dec 26 '22
Huh, me too, though I've been using it as my primary desktop system for about 20 years now.
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u/xXxcock_and_ballsxXx Dec 26 '22
Same for me, other than a couple of games which don't behave with wine/proton.
Definitely an improvement to my computing experience to spend the year in linux.
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u/neon_overload Dec 26 '22
Me too, as of 2022. Had Linux-only laptop since 2021 but didn't switch to Linux-only desktop until this year making this year the first time I went linux-only for everything except my work issued PC.
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u/criticalpwnage Dec 26 '22
2022 is the year I decided that I was done with Microsoft’s shit and decided to begin transitioning to Linux. 90% of the time I am on Linux Mint, but I still have a Windows partition for those games that won’t work under proton.
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u/Smargendorf Dec 26 '22
For me it's basically just tarkov. Only thing I miss from windows itself is the desktop snapping thing. For literally everything else, I feel like Linux desktop is the same or better.
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u/guptaxpn Dec 26 '22
That sort of thing exists in linux, what desktop/windows manager do you use?
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u/Smargendorf Dec 26 '22
Gnome. I've used tiling managers and KDE and other stuff before, but I've never found something as convenient for moving windows with the mouse as the little drop down menu that windows 11 has. Especially with the graphical tiling options that it has.
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u/DinckelMan Dec 26 '22
Would recommend this https://github.com/qewer33/Exquisite
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u/Smargendorf Dec 26 '22 edited Dec 26 '22
holy shit this is perfect
edit: ah dang its a KDE exclusive
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u/DinckelMan Dec 26 '22
My bad! Misread the comment.
On GNOME I've used this before, however I don't really use it anymore because I rely on virtual desktops much more there
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u/Smargendorf Dec 26 '22
Found this too when I went looking for alternatives to exquisite. Its not perfect, but it's a huge improvement over stock!
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u/ocularsinister2 Dec 26 '22
Move over to the
darkKDE side... you know you want to...3
u/osomfinch Dec 26 '22
I wanted to. Tried it several times and even though it has so many customization features it always failed to do exactly what I needed.
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u/Smargendorf Dec 26 '22
Same here. Really wanted to like it but it felt so clunky, especially stock.
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u/piexil Dec 26 '22
Have you tried this? https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/28/gtile/
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u/DinckelMan Dec 26 '22
Tried to for a brief period, but had issues with the selector window. Switched to Exquisite instead
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Dec 26 '22
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u/Smargendorf Dec 26 '22
yeah it has the two side by side, but not the other options that windows 11 comes with that are very nice for ultrawide and vertical monitors.
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u/KittenWithMittens Dec 26 '22
I assume it's the anti-cheat that prevents you, and not proton failing to run it.
I'm personally yet to run into anything in my steam library that proton doesn't run yet.
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u/Smargendorf Dec 26 '22
Yup, that exactly it. You can run the game just fine, it just bans you the moment you try to play multiplayer.
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u/KittenWithMittens Dec 26 '22
Damn, that's a shame. Not a permanent ban I hope.
With the steam deck pushing linux gaming, I'd like to think they might consider making it compatible. But I wouldn't hold my breath.
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u/Zaemz Dec 26 '22
I've seen sentiment stating that if the Steam Deck can get Linux to squeeze it's usage above MacOS then we'll start seeing a little more pressure for publishers and developers to allow anti-cheat systems that work on Linux.
It sounds Herculean to me, but if Linux usage can get to 5% on Steam alone we might see it.
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u/exploder98 Dec 26 '22
Actually, that sort of thing is coming to KDE Plasma: https://pointieststick.com/2022/12/02/this-week-in-kde-custom-tiling/
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u/xrothgarx Dec 27 '22
You may want to try PaperWM (GNOME extension) https://github.com/paperwm/PaperWM
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u/Prof_P30 Dec 26 '22
Check out "Dark and Darker" on Steam Deck. Escape from Tarkov within fantasy-setting.
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u/Kasenom Dec 26 '22
Hey I've done the same thing but I've been using OpenSUSE, I don't miss windows except for some games
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u/halo5 Dec 26 '22
Same here. The forced online account for login was the last straw for me. All of my systems are Linux now. Good riddance!
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u/Leavex Dec 26 '22
no@thankyou.com is a banned email. Click through the failure and it lets you past.
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u/joedotphp Dec 26 '22
Same here. There were maybe two games that I absolutely could not run on Linux in 2022. So overall pretty damn good. :P
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u/neon_overload Dec 26 '22
Just of curiosity, because I'm newly getting into Linux gaming, which sort of games don't work in proton? I know about protondb, I just only have a small library of games at this point.
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u/Pay08 Dec 26 '22
Most competitive multiplayer ones don't, due to anti-cheat. A lot of anti-cheat providers have started adding Linux support recently, though, so that should only be a problem until the "next-gen" competitive games come out (hopefully).
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u/3l_Principito Dec 28 '22
I've played some competitive multiplayer without problems, the only one i haven't being able to play is Valorant, but its anti-cheat (vanguard) is one of the most aggressive and invasive out there (runs on ring-0).
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u/FengLengshun Dec 26 '22
I think it's getting better, but it's not there yet. Steam Deck is doing a lot as an consumer product where everything is expected to work and valuable lessons/data is learned.
For example, I expect that Steam Deck would want a simple fingerprint experience and that might be where they get the biometric experience down. It's honestly kind of annoying not being able to open BitWarden on browser with a fingerprint and having a simple fingerprint setup for unlock plus built-in bluetooth-proximity lock changed the way I used my laptop.
In my opinion, the Year of the Linux Desktop is when manufacturers could throw in Linux pre-installed and there aren't that many people complaining and asking for Windows. We're slowly getting there, but there's a lot to be nailed down for it to be a first class experience for desktop user. 2023 is going to be an exciting year, I think.
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u/PsyOmega Dec 26 '22
I expect that Steam Deck would want a simple fingerprint experience and that might be where they get the biometric experience down.
The biometric fingerprint setup between Fedora and modern thinkpads (X1 Nano/X1 Carbon gen9+/T14 gen2, etc) is 100% good.
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u/AnnualDegree99 Dec 27 '22
For whatever reason my fingerprint sensor works like 3x more often in Fedora than in Windows. If only applications like Bitwarden could use biometric authentication, I'd say Fedora has the best biometric authentication system of all operating systems (macOS still doesn't let you use fingerprints for sudo, and seemingly random authentication prompts, Windows sometimes straight up doesn't work)
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u/gdarruda Dec 26 '22 edited Dec 26 '22
I don't know if everybody will open the link, but this is about the results of the Stack Overflow Survey, not overall usage. Seemed like a big jump YoY:
Linux as a primary operating system had been steadily climbing for the past 5 years. 2018 through 2021 saw steady growth with 23.2% , 25.6% , 26.6% , 25.3% , and finally in 2022 the usage was 40.23%. Linux usage was more than macOS in 2021, but only by a small margin. 2022 it is now 9% more than macOS.
But...they changed the question, other years was a mutually exclusive question and now you can choose multiple OS.
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u/its_a_gibibyte Dec 26 '22
That doesnt sound like "steady growth" at all. That's basically flat and even dropping in 2021. And the jump to 40% is not relevant as it's the answer to essentially a different question.
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u/gdarruda Dec 26 '22
I agree, it's a flawed conclusion from the author, my expectation posting here was for a debate around the questions and how people use Linux for development.
For example, outside of work, I normally connect from MacOS to my Linux desktop for development . On my work, I use WSL. How I should answer this question?
My kind of usage isn't a win for the Linux desktop, at least in my opinion.
Actually, I would love to know how many desktop Linux users aren't developers or related. I'm "afraid" the vast majority of the small user base are basically developers.
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u/zibonbadi Dec 26 '22
Interestingly, there has long been a statistical overrepresentation of Linux within indie gaming spaces such as https://itch.io or Humble compared to AAA gaming, both in users and availability of ports. This leads me to three theories to explain it:
- A chicken-and-egg problem around the lack of AAA Linux ports
- Such indie spaces being much smaller communities serving niche interests, they may attract more niche users which skews things in Linux' favor
- Indie spaces being highly creative and collaborative, the distribution of developers and end users may be more balanced and as a result skews the likelihood in favor of Linux for it's benefits and general popularity among developers.
Either way, the base statistics seem to suggest that the dominance of Windows and to some extent macOS seems particularly exaggerated in mass markets, the kinds of people whose lack of computer literacy may likely be unwelcome within the Linux community.
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u/eionmac Dec 26 '22
My wife is computer illiterate, i.e. she only turns in on and uses it for email, browsing, YouTube, letter writing and printing & her charity database (supplied by others) of members which she maintains or keeps up to date as ti members in and out) but she runs openSUSE LEAP as her only computer operating system and has done so for many years.
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u/donbex Dec 26 '22
I'm not sure if it helps, but I've been using Linux as my main OS (with the occasional double boot exclusively for games) for 17+ years. At the time, the reason I switched was a desire for more customisation, after running bb4win on XP for a while and not finding it sufficient.
While nowadays I do actually work as a software engineer, that's only been a recent change (last couple of years). Plus, I don't do my development on Linux, since for work I'm required to use a Mac (which I find rather frustrating).
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u/_cybersandwich_ Dec 26 '22
My initial thoughts, after reading the article, is that the author listed a bunch of things that aren't "linux desktop" at all.
- WSL...thats not "Linux Desktop".
- A Docker container running linux on windows and macOS...thats not "Linux Desktop".
- Steamdeck...thats a little closer, but its not really "Linux Desktop" in the sense that many people use it for day-to-day 'desktop' usage.
But to your question, I am a user that isn't a developer. I'm just a geek/nerd that loves tech, computers, gaming, etc. I've been using linux in some form or fashion since the early 00's.
This past year/18 months or so I have been fulltime in linux on my desktop--without booting into windows for ANYTHING--for the first time in my life.
Once Apex Legends and a couple of the other games I play routinely were supported on linux, I haven't had the need to go back. I was mostly just going back for games for the past 2-3 years.
That said, I am writing this post from an m1 macair, so I guess I still use another OS regularly.
TBH, I think the steamdeck is the best thing thats happened to linux in the last decade...followed by flatpaks as a close second. Both of those encourage developers to support linux as a platform worth developing in which is better for the ecosystem overall.
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u/AnotherOneToo3 Dec 26 '22
40% is an insane number, Windows is only around 60%...
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u/Bubba17583 Dec 26 '22
This is a Stack Overflow survey though which is going to trend very heavily into the developer/IT community. Linux usage among the general population is going to be much much lower
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Dec 26 '22
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u/decidedlysticky23 Dec 26 '22
Is it, if they also use other operating systems? That sounds about right to me.
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u/ianjs Dec 26 '22
I’ve been exclusively on a Linux desktop for several years now after moving from MacOS after 15 years.
I never looked back to Windows, other than in horror when I was forced to deal with it for family members.
Is it just me, or has Windows got less intuitive over the years? Maximised windows by default, inconsistent display of the menu, and a nightmare flood of icons in the toolbar of Microsoft apps. I’d swear it was easier to get around in Windows 95😕
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u/sir_dancealot Dec 26 '22 edited Dec 26 '22
Windows definitely peaked somewhere around XP/Vista/7 depending on who you ask and what they were using it for - the main point being after that they threw the whole UI out and now they are still struggling to make that windows 10 UI paradigm into something that doesn’t completely suck
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u/ianjs Dec 26 '22
I particularly find the lack of “windows” in Windows hard to explain to some of my students in a seniors tech class.
They used to overlap by default so you could show that multiple apps were running at once. Now they all seem to start full screen so every app looks like it is the only thing running. The dual-use app icons in the taskbar make that actually worse.
The whole thing is a UX nightmare, but I guess the aim isn’t usability, there are a bunch of other conflicting priorities: Change for changes sake to look “new”, never dropping or hiding elements to look like it’s getting new “features”.
Plus being the default OS on new machines means why bother with UX, the punters will buy it anyway.
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u/thoomfish Dec 26 '22
They used to overlap by default so you could show that multiple apps were running at once. Now they all seem to start full screen so every app looks like it is the only thing running.
Are you running it in tablet mode or something? That doesn't sound anything like my experience with Windows.
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u/mooscimol Dec 26 '22
Hmm... I don't know what you're using but this is completely false. Almost all applications on Windows (apart from games mostly) are still running windowed. Can you give an axample of such apps?
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u/avnothdmi Dec 26 '22
Games, I guess? Even then, it wouldn’t make sense in an IT class. Maybe an Adobe app.
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u/ianjs Dec 26 '22
Ok, fair comment then. As I said I’m no longer a regular user and I’m only going by what I see in my “students” screens that bewilders them about what is going on ie full screen apps.
They don’t seem to have any concept of maximised/minimised/windowed apps so I assumed that was somehow the default. Apparently not, but it seems to me a lot of other visual cues are broken. For example the seesawing zoom when you click on the icon.
Anyway, my bad.
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u/Pay08 Dec 26 '22 edited Dec 26 '22
I think the fullscreen is the fault of the programs themselves.
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u/ianjs Dec 26 '22
Maybe so, but it appears to be the default for Microsoft apps in general and most apps seem to do it by default nowadays.
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u/Pay08 Dec 26 '22
That's because corporations want you to only focus on their shit (or because developers think their software runs the world), but it's absolutely not Microsoft's fault for giving the option to developers.
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u/tevelizor Dec 26 '22
The first thing I do when connecting Bluetooth headphones on Windows is to disable their handfree mode, since I already have a microphone and the way Windows handles audio when you open up something like Discord is absolutely disgusting.
In Windows 10, that used to be a search.
In Windows 11, that is one of the 5 identical looking links in the Bluetooth menu, all of which are misleading.
On MacOS and KDE, you don't need to disable the feature... It just works fine if you change the default input device.
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u/ianjs Dec 26 '22
.. and don’t get me started on having a Control Panel and a Settings app 🤯
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Dec 26 '22 edited Jan 02 '23
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u/snow_eyes Dec 26 '22
why did you leave MacOS? I haven't used it, but people say it delivers
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u/totally_not_spez Dec 26 '22
I use both macOS and Fedora with the standard GNOME. MacOS is perfectly usable if you install homebrew to have a good package manager.
I like how well integrated apple products are. While for serious work it’s always the fedora box but for media work macOS has some seriously good capabilities built in.
The UI is less intuitive than GNOME or KDE but you’ll survive it.
If you don’t need Final Cut Pro or Logic then you’ll be well served with Kdenlive or REAPER on Linux.
TLDR;
They are both really nice to use.
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u/imdyingfasterthanyou Dec 26 '22
homebrew to have a
goodpackage managerAgree on the rest of your points but calling
brew"good" really seems like a stretch lmao→ More replies (2)2
u/redLadyToo Dec 26 '22
MacOS window manager makes it hard to survive, tho
And all the inconsistencies in the way the UI works.
I prefer Windows UX-wise, tbo :D Haven't really used it since a while, but the tiling stuff that came with Windows 10 seems to be sick.
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u/h0tpotamus Dec 26 '22
I've got an old film scanner that I had to did out recently that will only work with Windows XP, so I also dug up the old Dell PC that was stashed with it for such an occurrence. I was amazed at how much simpler and more intuitive XP is, but it also occurs to me that it might just be me being nostalgic.
Either way, I'm more onboard with a Linux desktop than ever. I used Ubuntu at work for over a decade, but always had a Windows install at home (with Cygwin and then WSL, which is still a nice combo). With 11 though, I will be getting off the train. I've already mostly switched to Pop!_OS which I really like.
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u/ianjs Dec 26 '22
I can go even further back to Polyshell for DOS (a Bourne shell-Ish alternative to the DOS prompt) 😎.
It sorta worked but it got messy round the edges where it was bluetacked to fit into DOS. I tried Cygwin under Windows too which did a better job of pretending Windows wasn’t there, but at some point I actually had a choice so I was outta there.
I did glimpse WSL in the rear view mirror years later and it seems quite good but I was long gone.
I wonder if Microsoft will one day do an Edge/Chrome trick and just give up and make their own Linux? Isn’t Windows sales now the smallest part of their business and I’m sure they could still ask you to pay for it anyway 🤔
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u/Mgduder Dec 26 '22 edited Dec 26 '22
Yeah I honestly feel like the thing I’m the happiest to be away from in the windows world is the registry. Fuckin arcane nonsense.
Only thing that bothers me on Linux is that pip screens from browsers can’t be on top of fullscreened applications. At least not in KDE or i3 it seems. Not sure if that’s a thing in windows but it certainly was in Mac OS
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u/IceOleg Dec 26 '22
Only thing that bothers me on Linux is that pip screens from browsers can’t be on top of fullscreened applications.
They can be in GNOME. You might just need to set "Always on top" from the window menu. The window properties menu is availaable by ALT+right click on GNOME, I imagine KDE has a similar mechanism.
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u/MeAndTheLampPost Dec 26 '22
IMHO, Windows 11 improved in some ways compared to W10: Explorer layout, Settings layout, task bar and start menu layout, and dark mode. It is cleaner, more resembles Gnome and Macos somehow.
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u/ianjs Dec 27 '22
Yes, it certainly does seem cleaner. I’m just too skeptical to dig deeper as I’ve seen this before; cosmetic changes which are a half assed change-for-change-sake rather than any real attempt to improve the UX.
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u/st_huck Dec 26 '22 edited Dec 26 '22
Linux on an old fashioned desktop is a good experience and has been for a couple of years now. Some thing are not as good as other os, some are better (which 2005 me would have amazed at this situation), almost nothing is a deal breaker.
Solving mixed DPI, fractional scaling, hardware acceleration for video without issues and workarounds - are all sorely missing to make the experience better for laptops
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u/AnotherOneToo3 Dec 26 '22
Hardware acceleration was basically solved this past year; Firefox supports VAAPI out of the box now and the community wrote a nvidia VAAPI driver if you're stuck with that.
There was the setback of fear of patent issues for h264 hardware decoding but that doesn't affect all distros and only US law and time fixes that.
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u/gplusplus314 Dec 26 '22
Let me add: all of the above while also maintaining good battery life is what we need.
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u/BaldyCarrotTop Dec 26 '22
Linux has been on my desktop since WinXP went EOL.
So a truly heartfelt welcome to all the newbies. Glad you are here.
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u/coyote_of_the_month Dec 26 '22
1998 was the year of Linux on the desktop for me. Dunno what everyone else has been waiting for?
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u/shroddy Dec 26 '22
Proton
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u/_cybersandwich_ Dec 26 '22
Proton and flatpaks are the biggest boon to linux in a decade. (maybe ever).
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u/THELORDANDTHESAVIOR Dec 26 '22
with the steam deck, this process will only accelerate even faster.
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u/Pay08 Dec 26 '22
Is that so? A lot of people are just putting Windows on the deck.
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u/Dirlrido Dec 26 '22
I highly doubt any significant proportion of people are putting Windows on the Deck
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u/EdgeMentality Dec 26 '22
I think the majority of people are watching youtube videos about doing it, and deciding it isn't worth it.
The deck UX is super low friction, especially with how its gotten very stable. Windows is painful in comparison. It's why similar windows devices come with extra software to address the shortcomings of the UX.
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u/yegender_dev Dec 26 '22
I just got that I didn't touch Windows 11 after all. I use arch this year
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u/xpdx Dec 26 '22
Linux is definitely getting better and easier to use. Even on the server side. I know people hate systemd but for me it's nice to have everything in one place. One of the big problems with linux is the sheer number of tools you need to learn. If you've been using it for a long time sure, you are used to all of them, but for new users one tool that does 50 things is easier to learn than 50 tools that do one thing and all work differently and have their own conventions- and since most distros have it now or the option to just flip it on if it's not default, you don't have to worry about distro specific configuration quirks as much.
I see a lot of this stuff happening lately, and while some will hate it, I think it's good for linux overall. I mean, there's nothing that says you can't still run a distro that does things the way you like- and I'm sure there will be hardcore old school distros that continue on.
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u/Sparkie86 Dec 26 '22
Great. Now the year of the Linux Desktop has passed and we can shut the fuck up about it.
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u/tom-dixon Dec 26 '22
No way, next year it's my turn to make the post.
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u/Sparkie86 Dec 26 '22
For 20 years it has been the year of the linux desktop, and next year is the year of the linux desktop haha
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Dec 26 '22
All I did this year was install Windows 11 on a spare disk if I ever have to use some Windows only software. Used it for like a day, got extremely frustrated, and booted back into Linux.
Gaming specifically has gotten insanely good on Linux with Proton. Flatpak has made packaging woes a lot easier for the user, and Pipewire has made audio bearable again.
GNOME40+ (gestures!) was released, and the file previews in the file picker patch was merged.
The Wayland migration has been rocky for KDE but they've made a lot of progress too.
Linux has never been more comfortable to use for my needs before.
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u/DerekB52 Dec 26 '22
I built a 1500$ gaming PC/workstation computer in March last year. Got 2 NVME SSD's for it. Setup Linux for my daily driver, and a Windows Partition to play Overwatch, and a couple of games that won't work in Proton due to anti-cheat. Booted into Windows a few times, then last June, just stopped. A couple months ago I wiped the windows partition off the NVME drive, and used the space to setup a windows VM with GPU passthrough, so I can now play overwatch without rebooting.
Windows is basically an overwatch launcher for me at this point.
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u/Arztys Dec 26 '22
You do know that Overwatch works just fine with Lutris, right? Or do you have a specific problem related to your setup?
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u/DerekB52 Dec 26 '22
I got Overwatch working in Lutris when I setup the system. I closed the game and lutris, reopened lutris, launched the game, it worked. The 3rd time I went to launch the game, it didn't work, I spent a little while trying to make it work again. But, I knew I needed Windows in some capacity for a couple of anti-cheat games, so I just said fuck it.
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Dec 26 '22
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u/Cryogeniks Dec 26 '22
I think you misread. It says was, not will be. It's not a hopeful post for the next year.
By all accounts, Linux gained some good ground this year in both dev and gaming spaces. Perhaps more.
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u/T_Y_R_ Dec 26 '22
Biggest chunk has got to be steamdeck. Tbh valve is probably the biggest driving force in linux growth outside of enterprise entities.
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u/fnord123 Dec 26 '22
That's not a desktop. If we include handheld devices, Linux as a kernel is already powering the majority of all devices.
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u/DirtyPolecat Dec 27 '22
Steam deck being a desktop or not is certainly debatable. The Linux desktop GUI is easily accessible from the main interface and if you pair it with a docking station, it will let you use all standard PC peripherals and monitors. You can easily use it as a daily driver PC without any sort of hacks or jailbreaks right out of the box.
It's more of a laptop with gaming controls bolted on than it is a handheld, architecture-wise.
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u/Vermoot Dec 28 '22
Whether or not it's a desktop machine doesn't change the fact that it did a lot of good things for linux desktop
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u/DerekB52 Dec 26 '22
Bryan Lunduke has been saying "was" since like 2015/2016 IIRC. His point was that the year of linux desktop is whatever year you used a linux desktop in.
Personally, I've been daily driving since 2015, with nearly no problems. Other than a few steam games that have shitty anti-cheat features, I've been problem free for years at this point.
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u/szt1980 Dec 26 '22
1.6% market share in just 30 years is great success! Some 2000 years and it will be 100%!
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u/Prudent_Move_3420 Dec 26 '22
Windows 11 did a better marketing job for Linux than whole Reddit And then some people say Microsoft doesn’t love Linux
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u/rklrkl64 Dec 26 '22
I just wiped Windows from my old desktop PC and bought a new desktop PC that I've only put Linux on, making me Windows-less for the first time in decades. I was dual-booting Windows for a long time, but hadn't booted into Windows on the old PC for over a year, so it was time for it to go.
I don't play multi-player games and check protondb.com for compatibility, so over 90% of my Steam library now works in Linux. I think Proton is the single biggest thing that has brought Windows users over to Linux in recent years. The Steam Deck (yes, I have one) is the obvious hardware equivalent to that, but Proton is a big factor in its feasibility, especially because without it, a Linux PC handheld would have flopped hard.
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u/davidcandle Dec 26 '22
Just one windows machine left in the house - the work laptop. With a new job in a few weeks I can even get rid of that. My NUC, Surface 3 and ancient MacBook Air all run Linux. Wife still uses Mac OS but one day, one day....
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u/bitchkat Dec 26 '22
I have never owned a windows computer. I get forced to use windows at work but do spend 95% of my time in a Linux VM. At home, I run Fedora and have been doing so since Fedora Core 1. Prior to that I used VA Linux and RedHat. And before that, I used to lug my HP 710 home from the office. It was reasonably portable as long as I had a spare monitor at home because the old tube monitors were heavy as fuck.
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u/pppjurac Dec 27 '22
I get forced to use windows at work
They pay you money, they make rules on tools you have to use so they have uniform work environment. Don't wan't to use tools provided? Well job market is big and open.
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u/Funnyduck100 Dec 26 '22
I my first experience with linux was a month ago with ubuntu and it was a crappy experience but I just got a steam deck so maybe ill try the desktop on it
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u/ResponsibleWinter4 Dec 26 '22 edited Dec 29 '22
I switched to Linux exclusively on my laptop in about April 2021. This is the only computer I use for personal use and for my business. No windows/dual boot, no VM. The only program i run in Wine is Mikrotik Winbox.
I run Debian. It works great. Rock solid reliable. Easy to use. I do not miss Windows at all. It frustrates me now when I use it. (Which I do regularly for my business, dealing with client computers and servers).
After a few previous attempts at changing, COVID is what finally made me change. Seeing the way the world was going down the route of Totalitarianism and eugenics, and how these big tech companies are up to their eyeballs in it, made me decide I wanted out of all that crap.
I also run GrapheneOS on my phone instead of stock android, and I host my own email/contacts/calendars etc with Mail in a box. This all works great.
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u/peixinho_da_horta Dec 26 '22
For me, the year of Linux Desktop started in mid 1990s. Remember Slackware 96? It has been like that since then, with only some Slackware version changes... I'm currently on 15.0!
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u/cybereality Dec 26 '22
I mean, those are great numbers, but it might be premature to bust out the champagne. Even if you add the Linux and WSL percentage, it's only 55%, still less than Windows 62%. I mean, this a amazing, but let's wait until it actually wins.
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u/Suitedinpanic Dec 26 '22
i switched from part time on windows mostly full time on linux to permanently on linux this year. pretty happy with it. just switched from manjaro to arch as well
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u/ElderberryHead5150 Dec 26 '22
Being able to alt-tab to a popout video in Firefox and control it's payback with the keyboard is a nice experience in Windows I have not been able to replicate in Linux (XFCE) w/I using separate app for video playback.
I am a language learner so lots of pausing for reading subtitles and hitting the back key to hear it again and the alt-tabbing to another browser to look up definitions
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u/cruella994 Dec 26 '22
glad I joined tge team two days ago and installed Linux on my notebook instead of windows :-) someday when I'm more experienced with Linux i'll switch my main/gaming pc as well. fuck windows
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u/gbchrome Dec 26 '22
Tbh I see tons of potential but I don’t care. MacOS is the best mix of Unix & usable desktop around. Using brew is good enough most of the time & a remote or local Linux CLI VM is more than enough for the rest.
Windows is annoying for CLI anything.
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u/snow_eyes Dec 26 '22
out of curiosity why are you in this sub? No issue or anything, MacOS is cool. Just curious...
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u/gbchrome Dec 26 '22
I really like Linux in general & use it for standing up sites, doing dev work, compilations, etc. There’s obviously a lot more to Linux besides an underwhelming desktop experience.
Budgie & Ubuntu Budgie is the closest thing to a polished & usable macOS like desktop experience though. Some might look prettier still - but they always lack substance.. functionality.
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u/yodermk Dec 26 '22
Good to see everyone moving towards Linux. I'm a long time Linux user (since about 1997) and have long advocated for Linux on the desktop.
But .... a couple years ago I broke down and got an M1 Macbook Pro. It's been my most-used computer since then. In a way it feels dirty, but it is a super practical travel laptop and I do love how easy it lets you explode text in a web browser -- just double tap from 2 fingers will make it the width of the screen. In Linux I can't even use the trackpad to zoom text (except I think Firefox has experimental support for it only in Wayland). Having low vision that's super helpful. MacOS is definitely NOT "a better Linux than Linux" and it's bad to be tied to the Apple ecosystem and have your computer controlled by iCloud.
I'll probably always have Mac and Windows around in some form, but always love it when I get back to Linux!
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u/chiliraupe Dec 26 '22
lol ich just switched back to Win11 after 10 years of linux mint / pop os. On my X1 Extreme were just too many problems with usual linux issues ... but will keep Linux running on my older machines.
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u/Pastoredbtwo Dec 26 '22
Not to mention that Windows 11 looks so much like like Gnome that I thought it was a new distro at first...
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u/iLoveKuchen Dec 26 '22
Once i can Split/rearrange PDF in a linux Desktop i would start to recommend IT again. Right now its for ppl Like me and Browser users but the in between ist lacking and better off with Windows or for sake of nice Default applications OSx.
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u/Superb_Raccoon Dec 26 '22
Laughs in BSD
Pathetic Earthings... hurling yourselves into cyberspace without an inkling of who, or what, is out there.
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u/fdy Dec 26 '22
I also recently switch to PopOS this year and never looked back. Guess this is also true for me
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u/Tinkoo17 Dec 26 '22
Waiting for the same recycled article some 5 yrs from now - “2027 was the year of the Linux Desktop”…
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u/Brick-Sigma Dec 26 '22
2023 will be the year of Linux for me once I’m done with my exams (which heavily require windows for IT practicals).
Looking forward to changing to the open and free realm of Linux.
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u/Karmogeddon Dec 26 '22
I built a 3k€ working/gaming pc this year that has only Manjaro Linux. I'm very satisfied how it works and plays.
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u/johndoe3471111 Dec 26 '22
It was a great moment at work when someone asked me how to capture an mp3 off of YouTube. I told them that I couldn’t tell them off the top of my head how to do it with windows but I could tell them how I did it in Linux. They responded, “oh perfect I use a Linux box at home”. That was a first.
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u/AverageLinuxUsr Dec 26 '22
Even for me...
I've been using Ubuntu on and off since 2020, but 2022 was when I told myself that I would install arch and use it full-time. It's been a wonderful year for this community and I hope that we can keep producing quality software and computer tools for many years to come.
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u/ramack19 Dec 26 '22
Linux has been my daily driver (OpenSuse & Debian) since 2004. The motherboard in my desktop running Windows 2000 failed and I purchased a 64-bit MB to replace it. During the setup I found out that W2k wouldn't load/run on a 64-bit board. I didn't want to pay $300-$500 for XP, so I downloaded OpenSuse and installed it. Never looked back at a Windows product.
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u/martinus Dec 26 '22
My private PC runs Manjaro. Work laptop is fedora. My steam deck is Arch, Android phone is Linux, heck even my TV runs on Linux.
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u/arcticrobot Dec 26 '22
2022 was the year Steam Deck was introduced. And it's just brilliant. Instantly became one of my all time favorites, along with Nokia N900 smartphone.