20251114-why_desktop_linux_is_growing.txt

As much as many GNU/Linux users would love to act like the growing
market share of the OS family is people coming into the light, I
believe the most overlooked reason is that PCs are very slowly being
phased out of common hardware. Smartphones are making up more and more
of the hardware composition of the web. Granted for anyone who knows
what they're doing or even just how to type, a computer with a full,
physical keyboard is a better option. But there are a growing number
of normies that only have a smartphone. The idea is attractive to me,
as long as you have some good docking solutions.

This leaves more and more computer users falling into the "enthusiast"
group. And computer enthusiasts are more likely to use GNU/Linux or
something other than Windows or Mac OS.

I think predatory pricing models (i.e. subscriptions) are also pushing
more and more people to look elsewhere for solutions. I, like many and
likely most others, got into GNU/Linux because the two normie options
have become fucking terrible. First of all, I hate Rotten Core. They
hate their customers, so why wouldn't I hate them? Second, Windows
stopped doing what I wanted it to do and did more and more things in
the background without my knowledge or consent until a breakthrough
moment revealed some of the seedy crap Windows 10 was doing in the
background.

Obviously the massive improvements in the GUI have a lot to do with
new user retention. Steam obviously did a ton to win over gamers (this
is probably the biggest reason GNU/Linux's market share is growing).
Just basic refinement has done a lot, along with increased exchange of
ideas online (a double-edged sword, to be sure). But I did want to
discuss one factor that has been seemingly overlooked by so many
people: the decline in desktop market share overall.