So 2016 is _finally_ the year of Linux on the Desktop?
That being said, I'm typing this comment my workstation running Linux and I for one am getting very tired of this year of the Linux desktop joke.
What OS you run is an individual choice, stop trying to declare a single winner.
You != masses.
There might not be a clear single winner, but there is a clear single loser. Statistically speaking.
Myself and a lot of other people are using GNU/Linux and other libre operating systems with great pleasure and, finally, growing hardware support. I could not care less if 90% of desktops are Windows systems or if an additional 9% are OS X machines or whatever.
tl;dr: Just use what works for you. If it supports your ethical values, itäs even better!
Realistically linux did hit it big, but on a phone OS. It's now one of the most installed kernels in the world, but its brand is hidden. Linux is also incredibly important in the server space, and everyone knows this.
Linux will never have its year on the desktop in my opinion, but it will still be all over the place in the server/phone space. It just won out in other areas than the desktop.
They were not actually, this is a myth. A few tech "journalists" wrote such articles which people started making fun of. But no, regular Linux users never claimed that, or at least not in any significant number that I know of.
They lost me with all the rewriteritis and monodaemonisation that followed. I switched to MacOS (hackintosh) and was very happy for a while, since it could run all the Unix stuff, most of the productivity stuff (MS Office), and many games. It was for a long time the most plain, conservative OS (while Windows was going crazy with 8).
But recently, I've found Windows to be the OS that "just works" and gets out of my way - which was pretty surprising to me.
If anybody killed alternative desktops, it is not MS, but the desktops themselves.
I've had the opposite experience. Windows does not "just work" and it certainly does not "stay out of the way".
I have USB headphones I can't use in Windows because they connect but Windows doesn't let me switch to them. When I plug in an external monitor my OS comes to a crawl and it doesn't speed back up until I restart the whole thing. When I unplug a monitor it loses my windows.
And did you hear the story about the guy who lost his job because Windows decided to update the .NET framework right before he was scheduled to do a presentation at a business meeting? Doesn't sound like Windows stays out of the way to me.
I wish Windows "just worked" but it doesn't. It breaks all the time unless you're a power user. Giving my parents Linux was the best thing I ever did for them because it turned their laptops from a source of constant frustration to an always-on communication machine. We went from hundreds of ads and dozens of toolbars on windows to a Linux machine that just works.
Now I'm just trying to get my dad to switch to Linux for work so he doesn't have to install his printer drivers again every time he wants to print something. All he uses for work is Chrome any way.
For most people, this would be a problem with the USB headphones, not with Windows. On the other hand, if the USB headphones work well in Windows but not in Ubuntu, then it's a problem with Ubuntu, not the USB headphones.
This is why it's impossible to have a rational debate about the state of the "Linux desktop".
All hail Winux though. (That's the name for this mix I came up with.)
Before you downvote this without thinking ... consider, for example, KDE is severely understaffed and this will deplete them further. Who will bother with X.org bugs and drivers now? What's the point? Who is your target audience? You need to drink a real big dose of Stallman kool-aid to continue with Linux if this thing on Windows works as promised.
I have been using Linux solely on my laptop since 2004. I am sick of the constant driver problems. Yes, yes, you can connect to your home router or the router in the cafe. Now go and try and connect to an enterprise network. Perhaps with VPN.
But it has been improving all the time with every single release. The problem is that you (and millions of people who were looking for Linux desktop to "win") are just not excited anymore since new form factors (phones, tablets) arrived.
But I actually think Linux desktop is a winner. There are several high quality desktop enviroments suitable for all kinds of use cases.
Yeah we are not dominating the world. That was a short naive dream in the early 2000. But we have awesome desktops and thats what matters.
Disclaimer: minor KDE contributor but these were my thoughts not KDE's.
Btw, give KDE a try its so good these days :)
It becomes even more approachable by "Winux". Let people learn the basic of the CLI and get comfy with more open source tools -- then reinstall your computer to a Linux distro (and put your Win-only apps in a VM or on Wine) is a small move.
Same for some IT professionals that use Windows (either since their job demands it, or out of preference). They might install Winux at some point to get some aspect of their work done faster. Again a lower barrier to get your CLI skills up and get comfy with common open source tools.
I believe there is a lot of value in "CLI skills and common open source tools" that Windows users are currently missing out on.
I've deemed it "Frankenstein OS" because they've sewn a whole bunch of parts together to make an unwieldy monster that doesn't quite work as good as the individual pieces did on their own.