Linux Turns 25 Years Old

[cynic]

False, Google would not answer like that, that's a MS-like answer, and also ChromeOS is a web-kiosk OS (at least for a few months).
Although it is true that pretty much everyone would be happy with a Chromebook, especially after the android app layer goes off beta and you can use Android apps in them too.

That said, I mentioned Google as you can just look up their (and other's) data about the amount of web browsing done by mobiles (Android), and you will see that like last year they went above 50% of the total browsing share.

so, basically that proves what I'm saying since the beginning: what we used to call "the Desktop" is no more.
50% is mobile, and a big part of what people does on PC is just browsing the internet (that is something that you can do with whatever OS, or just a tablet).

of that 50% mobile a relevant percentage is Linux. So: linux IS on "the desktop".

[starshipeleven]

so, basically that proves what I'm saying since the beginning: what we used to call "the Desktop" is no more.

Yes. I was saying that there are numbers that prove your gut feelings. MS and Intel are butthurt because lack of sales and their numbers show this clearly, while Google and everyone else looking at mobile can confirm that yeah, there is an obvious migration away from "the desktop".

That said, the PC parts market isn't seeing any significant slowdown, so workstations, home servers, PC gaming, HTPCs and other roles where PCs roflstomp anything else are still alive and kicking.

So yeah, "the desktop" is losing the users that weren't really tied to the perks of a proper desktop. No big loss.

of that 50% mobile a relevant percentage is Linux. So: linux IS on "the desktop".

No. Just no. Android is a weird-ass Java-based mobile OS that happens to use Linux kernel but it shares 0 similarities with what we call "desktop linux".
It's certainly a very custom embedded linux, but not desktop linux.

It is also on its way to more desktop-y features like windowed apps and things like that in latest version (and the next ones probably).

[waxhead]

Been using linux for about 17 years, but only went desktop about 7 years ago.

Probably the single most surprising "WTF is it April Fools?" moment to me was Microsoft announcing they were bringing Ubuntu bash shell to Windows 10. Yes, I know it's not "linux desktop" but the fact that the far wide reach and success of linux made it happen speaks to what future it has.

That moment my friend was the EMBRACE part... now there are two E's to go - only this time they won't succeed!!!

[hoohoo]

mine was around 2001 i think i could be a little wrong on the timeframe. Back then we had knoppix running kde3 and man was that a beauty, it was so snappy yet so fully loaded linux desktop and we had CD/DVD drives then . K3b was incredibly rock solid. I miss the old days of k3b, and older amarok skins. Also Xmms. Good Times. I got so hooked to the concept of open source operating system and linux's tweakability, that now i work as a full time linux professional.

+1 xmms

[bvbfan]

You obviously haven't been using Linux very long.

You're wrong again. I'm using Linux about 2008, i'm C/C++ dev, behind the joke there haven't normal user who wants this. Marketing is for many-makers like M$, i'm, personally, using only FOSS KDE software, it is best.

[torsionbar28]

In about 1992 I took a compsci class and it was taught on Sparkstations. I fell in love with UNIX. But a Sparkstation cost about $15K.

So my best ever Linux moment was in 1993 and it was booting Slackware 1.something on my parent's 386 box, and compiling a hello world C++ program on it.

Ah, the good old days! My first experience with Linux was in '94, installing Slackware 2.1 from a *mountain* of floppy disks on my 33 Mhz 486 DX. It was an all-day exercise, lol.

Actually, I still have my first Linux CD distro. The Infomagic 6 CD set from December 1995. Vintage! Maybe it'll be a collectors item some day, eh? Linux on freaking CD-ROM was the best, it was like stepping into the future after doing an install from dozens of floppy disks.

[Green Lion]

I'm still a bit torn as to whether I prefer Linux or Windows as an operating system for web hosting... my company uses Windows, but I've been hyping up Linux a fair bit I found a blog post here which seems to suggest that Linux is just slightly more preferable, but only just... :P

[rainsee]

I prefer Linux to Android.