Linux

They already tried to just kill win32. Not only did it fail miserably but it's the reason Valve started looking into Linux to begin with.

They're too locked in themselves to kill off non-cloud.

Yeah microsoft is unlikely to pull the rug out from under windows users in one go, their strategy is much more likely to be pushing people in the direction they want to move computing slowly and incrementally over a number of years. They appear to want everyone who plays games, does office work, runs a business, or writes code to have a microsoft account, which they can then monetize in various ways using cloud services because that will be the main way they will deliver what people need.

I feel like we are in the middle period of this strategy.

I'm sure this will play out like the office 365 subscription service. Everyone I know uses it as work. Microsoft doesn't sell to IT people. They sell to middle management and finance departments. Ba ha ha ha.

I also don't think there's any chance Apple would move to the cloud. They're a hardware company...

This. They might release a cloud version and work towards a future where that is the default, but realising that due future is several decades away.

Cloud only would be unworkable for say, 50% of Australians - I imagine that would be similar in most countries.

Sry, Wrong top comment.

I do actually. Not any time soon tho

IDK, if there will ever be one, I think this year or next year is it. Steam Deck seems to have really hit the mainstream, and Linux is overtaking macOS in some stats. GNOME Wayland also works well and has finally solved my variable refresh rate issues (one monitor @60Hz, one with FreeSync at higher refresh). That's pretty amazing, and worth recognition!

I don't think Linux will ever become #1 on desktop, nor do I think that's the intention behind "the year of the Linux desktop." Linux as a desktop platform is as or more viable than macOS for a majority of users, and it's competitive with Windows for many if not most.

The only thing left for me is to see major software vendors natively support Linux. That means:

• AAA games support Linux directly - kinda happening with Steam Deck
• Adobe products - probably won't happen, but I can dream
• Microsoft office - I guess cloud counts, but I'd like to see desktop client support like exists on macOS
• another game store - EGS, GOG, Origin, Xbox Game Pass, should make a native Linux client

And so on. Once major software starts releasing on Linux, I think we've won.

HAHAHA same, been using Ubuntu for 3 months, I'm so ticked off, someone never told me Linux excisted!!

looks like somebody didn't read the article

Even if Android and ChromeOS count as Linux, it's a stretch to say they're Linux desktop distributions. ChromeOS is closer to it than Android.

This is actually a really great point. If I have to treat them as different platforms as a developer, since for example my code isn't platform agnostic/cross-platform for whatever reason, why should these market share studies do it any different? In the end it's the software or rather the developers/companies deciding if it's worth their time and money investment these market shares matter for.

Not only it's not Desktop, the Linux kernel is buried under such an alien user space that it's has nothing to do with a Linux Desktop.

The article is dumb. It states:

If you count Android and Chrome OS as Linux, which I do, the Linux desktop accounts for 44.98 percent of the end user market.

Linux != Linux desktop, and that's the point of the article, but in their premise they're equating them.

I used Dex for a while as a software developer, it works surprisingly well for most office tasks and at the company I was working at at the time we did most of our work in cloud VMs anyway

With everything moving to the cloud it's going to become more and more attractive to just have a tablet (with a keyboard case) instead of a laptop/pc and just dock it when you need peripherals I think

That said that's good for those of us wanting to use Linux as our desktops because we'll be on basically the same playing field as all the windows users if they go entirely cloud based. No longer any need to use onlyoffice/libreoffice (I like them but my manager seems to think they aren't fully compatible with office files that we get from clients )

Hey I dex from time to time. However, the shortcut keys, or lack of, are the big issue for me.

Mainframes peaked by the 70s. 80s bored the fruit of the standalone PC revolution.

My very first thought. At the same time, it brought to mind stories of Richard Stallman's "blank password" protest shenanigans...

We've been hearing this since 1999.

Keep going back much, much further. I remember hearing that phrase back in the early 2000s, and wouldn't doubt it if if was referenced as early as 1999.

If you believe the service area maps provided by most US ISPs, not that many.

I agree, but I also believe that Windows desktop will become increasingly closed and limiting for those who don't use the Enterprise versions or the new pro edition.

Windows 365 is a contingent against the growth of mobel and MacOS. You are right, it is there for business. It competes with other RDS solutions, but I think the focus is to allow business to keep old tools around while everyone is demanding iPads and MacBooks, without having to go to a third party.

Windows 12 won't be a thing client with a subscription to a cloud PC. The economics and technology aren't there. But a good RDS solution tied strongly to M365 is valuable for Mac users and contractors that might not be issued a company computer.