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Comment by pms | Hacker News Reader

Why is this is a top comment? Market share is a relative measure. Even if there is a drop in the number of personal computers, still it's an achievement that the drop didn't affect Linux, while it affected other platforms.

> Basically if the higher percent is due to less desktops overall instead of a major uptick in Linux desktops, it is not really much to celebrate.

I disagree. Imagine that Linux became the OS used on 95% of personal computers. According to your reasoning there wouldn't be much to celebrate. Says who?

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Because it's an important distinction. If all PC sales fall to almost zero, and only the most hardcore tech nerds keep using them, and use Linux like they've been doing for two decades now, did Linux really win the battle or did the entire war evaporate and they are some long lost leftover soldier in the jungle fighting some battle no one else even is anymore.

If an OS is used, then that's because people need it, not because they're fighting some imaginary fight in the jungle. It's their preferred OS. If the number of people using computers shrinks, because non-pro users move to mobiles, while the fraction of pros using Linux increases to 95%, or even 50%, I think that's a very clear win for Linux.

The reason why MacOS grew in popularity is because it started to be used by pros, myself included, i.e., I've switched from Linux to MacOS seeing many top computer scientists using MacOS. However, after over 10 years of using MacOS, I'm actually still not sure whether it was worth it, and I'm considering to go back to Linux since a few years. The main reasons stopping me from switching is a reliable Calendar app and concerns about battery life.

It was just an analogy. My point is still that if you get 1 million nerds using Linux in 2006, and even if they remain 1 million as the whole market dies in 2028, that doesn't say much more about Linux than it did in 2006 when only 1% of desktop users used it.

On a side note, I'm no computer scientist (I don't even know what that means, and I'm from the SF bay area), but I used MS products since 1989. A friend gifted me a 2017 iMac Pro recently. I was impressed.. for 3 days. And then I wondered how people even work like this. Finder limitations, dock limitations, and the final nail in the coffin was no cutting files via command x. Apparently that's a thing apple people have put up with for decades? It just doesn't seem made for serious work.

It's an amazing Linux Mint machine though.

> It was just an analogy. My point is still that if you get 1 million nerds using Linux in 2006, and even if they remain 1 million as the whole market dies in 2028, that doesn't say much more about Linux than it did in 2006 when only 1% of desktop users used it.

Exactly this is the point I was trying to make.

If the percent goes up but the actual number of Linux machines stays the same that really isnt saying much about Linux it self. If that were the case there was no shift or growth.

Or it is possible that it is both of these which means maybe there was a growth and shift but not at as big of a number as the percent may imply.

5% of 2 million and 10% of 1 million are both 100,000.

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