How do you make Linux more popular?

The original image said windows where this would be accurate but I doubt it applies to the average linux user

thanks for the red circles

I actually do. All the time. And I think you should too. Don't understand why people seem to think there's something wrong with that.

Well, I do. In fact I've installed Linux on 4 classmate's laptops, after insisting for some time.

People don't have any reason to recommend Windows because it's the regular OS everyone already uses.

Linux may be an improvement for a lot of people's use cases but a vast majority of them don't even know it exists and its not just for servers and stuff. Mac people probably do this too.

People do this all the time.

You don’t tell people that you use Arch in random conversations? /s

Really, this seems to be the best way to spread Linux adoption to me. I would bet that Linux got at least a good few users from the Steam Deck coming with it pre-installed. Big way to show people that for most things the average user doesn't need to go into the command line to use their system for what they need as well. Of course, continued improvement in the software included in the most popular distros would really boost Linux adoption as well. I've seen plenty of people say they'd make the switch - if only they could use MS Office or Adobe software on it. Alternatives like LibreOffice, Thunderbird, Kdenlive and the GIMP have come a LONG way since I first made the switch around 2009, but especially the Adobe software still outclasses the competition when it comes to features. MS Office isn't as hard to let go of, especially since you can still use Office 365 Online on Linux and LibreOffice is closer to having all the OOTB features of MS Office than the other programs are to Adobe, but you have to convince people to give it a try first and a lot of employers still require MS Office for work.

I will also say, though, that it was only due to Windows Vista otherwise bricking my laptop back then that I even made the switch. I'd heard of this mysterious OS named Ubuntu so I thought I'd give it a try to save my laptop before I bought a new one, especially since I was living abroad at the time and didn't want to deal with the hassle of buying a computer with a foreign language version of Windows on it. So I had a friend burn me a copy of Ubuntu 8.10, it worked like a charm, and I only ever since ran Windows at home when dual-booting for a couple years for gaming purposes before Proton became a thing. I didn't even know Ubuntu was Linux until I'd installed it and started learning how to use it in earnest. Really showed me how even then Linux wasn't so difficult to use for the average computer user.

break the "Linux is complicated / incompatible / for developers" stigma

This is entirely on Linux developers and users.

Try searching "how to x on Linux" and tell me you're not immediately sent into the CLI.

Your partially missing the point. Linux is unlikely to be something someone who doesn't like computers is going to use. It is something people who are power users and computer lovers will use. Its stolen the market share from the old school windows power users.

That's when you know you've won!

@azimir @urska

I'm happy your kids are into Linux! It's better to raise on then windows in my opinion.

Agreed. Both things need to happen when they can.

If you live with the applications available on Linux ( or prefer them as I do ) then you can use Linux in the workplace.

At the same time, some “professional” applications are going to need to start targeting Linux. Some do. More need to.

There is an implied contract above. If you need professional applications and they become available on Linux, you have to use them ( and pay for them ).

Yes I've observed small examples of this at various places I've worked where the devs want to use linux but the company want everyone on windows or macOS.

The problem is that enterprise software like RMM which the companies usually need for compliance/security/insurance reasons don't have working linux versions. It's particularly intractable because most devs think of this software as basically being malware so you're never going to get a coordinated effort to assist the SAAS companies with compatibility/integration.

Windows and MacOS are products. Linux is a technology and common human knowleadge.

I think I don't even want Linux to become too popular. It will attract the wrong kind of attention. First, being more targeted by attackers it may become less safe. Most importantly, I don't even know how but I know that if Linux becomes a huge market for home users, corporations will look at it and go "uh, big market sitting there let's monetize it" and there is absolutely no way Linux won't become shittier in more ways than one when thousands of big corporations out there are trying to get their hands on Linux users and our data in multiple different ways. Again, I don't know how it will happen but I don't like having this kind of attention on Linux.

Exactly. If critical mass is achieved inorganically, it would result with a reverse in uptake & possibly even a revolt against it.

You can lead a horse to water... (but a pencil must be lead)

make sure the hardware really works

Also make sure the software really works, one of the main issues with Linux adoption by hardware manufacturers is their lack of dedication to it. In Brazil, for example, most brands that ship with a Linux distro (except for DELL, which ships with Ubuntu) ship with basically digital waste (unmantained, poorly developed distros) just to make the hardware cheaper, because they know people will get it to just install a pirated copy of Windows in it.

This is an extremely sheltered view. Most people don't even know what an operating system is, and they assume that it is an unalterable component of the computer they purchased at Best Buy. They don't have a last straw because as far as they're concerned there isn't anything they can do about it other than perhaps switching to a Mac.

High Fives India, Well Done!!!

Forced financial constraints? Because I am an Indian.

Linux being more popular means more applications of higher quality. I guess this does not matter to you. For those of us that would prefer more high-quality applications, Linux popularity matters.

That's kind of why it is so good. It comes from a solid base that's well used and tested. Compare that to GUI first.

The Linux desktop is great for people who need a system that works with them. It is a little trickier explaining that to someone.

System76 (a laptop maker "rebrander") is making their own desktop. Can't think why ASUS, Lenovo or Dell could not contribute to some desktop or maintain their version.

I want it to be better for me. Everything else just happens to benefit others. Do to others as you would want to be treated or something like that.

The more people, the more donations, the more devs, the more user bug reports, the bigger communities, more communities, more brains, more software support, more game support, more likelihood of using linux at work, less microsoft and apple bullshit, ...

All jokes aside Linux has grown a lot since the. Just need to keep pumping out good releases, integration and reducing the jank that used to be a thing

It should not be controlled by a company that is known to make you lose your games.

Are you referring to the fact that Valve promotes digital game distribution (which is a very fair view), or are you talking about some incident where Valve removed games from people's libraries? Because if it's the second one, then I would really like to hear about it.

Why would you think that the Steam Deck dies out? Isn't it a huge cashcow to Valve compared to the Steam Box and the Steam Controller?

Valve money pulled Linux gaming a decade forward.

Gamers is what will make Linux go mainstream, mark my words.

Not even a corpo shill, check comment history but valve has been pro consumer while holding the market share. Most other companies are actively working against their customer base for some idiotic reason. Next up subscription toilet.