> Geeks are very different audience from general public.

HNers forget this quite often.

Considering ChromeOS and Android's success, and the fact that Windows 10 and Windows 11 include Linux VMs, it's fair to say Linux on the desktop has had some decent success, albeit somewhat indirectly. The generational switch to Windows 11 will probably only help with that, and IMHO Linux has never been easier on a desktop than today.

Suggesting that App distribution is even part of the consideration for why Linux didn’t catch on is kind of hilarious to be honest. Their app distribution methods being good or not had nothing to do with their lack of adoption and it’s kind of a non sequitur.

If I dropped their app distribution onto Windows it would also succeed there with the general mainstream public, in fact even more so, because of the garbage state for app management there.

I'd argue that these days, the majority of kids' interactions with any desktop computer comes in the form of using school-issued Chromebooks. Those are certainly Linux desktops.