I am waiting for SteamOS Desktop to be released before switching. I want the support of an 800lb corporate gorilla, that prioritizes gaming. I use mods and play niche games, so I need a Linux that balances casual users while allowing for some power user stuff.
I already know about Bazzite and Cachy, but again, I want the support of a focused giant who won’t die or change hands.
I have doubts that Valve will officially support SteamOS on anything but their own hardware (and maybe some partners’), in which case unless you plan on buying a Steam Machine you’re going to be stuck for a very, very long time.
Linux use on steam has also passed mac use. The three most popular mac versions are still used by more than the 3 most popular linux versions, but the total for macs is under 3%.
And for me personally, I didn’t even have to give anything of value up to make the switch. I kept my old windows machine in a running condition as a backup, but I think I’m about ready to start retiring that machine entirely, at least as a windows machine.
3% is insane.
I am not a “year of linux” huffer. The majority of the population doesn’t even know what a filesystem is, much less (for example) how to get to the BIOS setting they need to even install linux.
But 3% is absolutely a threshold for “viral social spread” amongst those that can.
It’s like damn look how good the general Linux desktop got with barely any general consumer adoption for about 30 years. Imagine what it could get around ~10%. 20 years ago Mac’s were only around 5%. I love gaming on Linux but my main thought is how this is the trojan horse that brings users and some funding and developer attention to open source applications. Kdenlive needs love. Ardour needs love. Darktable. Get them all the Blender treatment someday
It’s okay openSUSE Tumbleweed. I still stan for you. ;P
Really wanna try a perma switch from Fedora just cuz they include a nice grub theme lmao.
Plus I like that its proper rolling instead of staged releases.
Even though I think it’s generally frowned upon to use, I use GRUB Customizer from the Discover Store, and change the theme to a Fallout style one, if that would be easier for you to use!
I’ve had one or two hiccups when updating openSUSE Tumbleweed. Once was just a normal update, back then I was doing it weekly since I basically only game on my desktop, but it completely broke my graphics for whatever reason. I have an NVIDIA GPU, so I attribute it to that.
Luckily, Tumbleweed has that snapper component, and I used it for the first time. Absolutely amazing I could just run that and then be back in a working state at the shake of a lambs tail. I just started updating monthly after that, and so far, no hiccups!
Now that zypper has been pulled into the modern age with parallel & faster downloading, the only complaint remaining I have for it is the installer itself
I kind of liked the installer, but that is because I am a huge Fallout fan and liked the black with green theme you could use when I installed it about a year ago… I am but a simple person… lol :P
openSUSE is GOAT.
I’m a CachyOS shill, and I’d recommend Tumbleweed to anyone. It’s criminal that folks use stuff like Ubuntu or Manjaro over it.
I chuckled when I saw Manjaro of all things on there, and not my beloved OS of choice! lol
For real, though, openSUSE is truly something to rave about, as far as I am concerned! :)
I am seeing a lot more Linux in the mainstream outside the tech bubble. It makes me happy.
I feel like the number of “I switched to Linux” videos on YouTube have exploded recently, although it might just be some algorithm thing.
All of the major gaming youtubers have made at least a couple videos featuring Linux over the last couple months, which is definitely a big change from the windows-only (except sometimes servers) content of years past.
I think there is a real change in people’s mind . Windows is at it worst since forever. Just this month 2 people in my inner circle just ask me how can they Make the switch and which distro should they use for there needs. Those 2 were hardcore Windows fan and gamer.
I like how all Arch based distros are in “quotes” by the way.
I think it’s because they’re including steam os which is an Arch derivative.
Right? It’s oozing with sarcasm, like—ArCh LiNuX
lmao
Linux mint 21: loses a little
Linux mint 22: wins a little
my brother in christ. they just updated their pc
Importantly, there was a net increase in Linux users and a net decrease in Windows users.
Still increases in other areas ☺️👍
What the fuck are the 96.8% sniffing
Possibly Battlefield, League, Fortnite, or COD. Can’t deny those are big population draws, and turn Linux into a no-sell.
Probably not in the mood of dealing with stuff like having to turn Secure Boot off to get my laptop’s Nvidia (Optimus based) card to work in Performance Mode, as the drivers delivered by Mint aren’t signed.
Or fighting with Wine and Lutris to get Battle.net to install, as I just want to play the Diablo II remaster. Only to find the Battle.net interface does not render most of the time, even after following advice like turning Hardware Acceleration off. Or having the launcher freeze completely when trying to use Proton, no matter if it is version 8,9,10, Experimental or Hotfix. Or finding out that after spending way too much time on getting Battle.net to work that the game I wanted to play actually crashes immediately to the desktop on start.
Or trying to get Bazzite to install, which it won’t because it keeps throwing a useless ‘exit code 1’ error during install. Which can’t be solved by following the online guides, as none seems applicable to my situation (no previous Fedora installation, no Fedora folder on my EFI drive, tried multiple drives, image checksum is OK).
That was my gaming experience of the last week and hardly the first time that I had to jump through hoops getting stuff to work. Getting Skyve to work for Cities Skylines II was also such a fun time.
I’m crazy enough to keep trying and debugging on my laptop. But my gaming PC is definitely not going to get converted to Linux anytime soon, for those cases where I just want to play a game without any problems. And unfortunately my debloated/detelemetried Windows 11 has so far provided a stable and trouble free gaming experience.
Forget Lutris, just use heroic game launcher. Click Add game, select the battle net installer exe, run it and let it install, close it then switch the path to the installed battle net exe. Heroic will use proton ge (i believe by default) and it’s worked for me without issue. I tried lutris first because that’s what showed up online when I searched and I had nothing but issues. Then I did it in steam, with similar steps to what I described already and I could get it to work, but in heroic it was just a couple minutes and it’s good to go.
A pugnant earthy mix of fear, nostalgia, sloth, and an open acceptance of corporate skullduggery.
Ableton Live
Why would you run Ubuntu core? Are they only running steam?
I have one machine where I run steam as a headless instance as I just use it for remoteplay to the TV.
Oh shit, that’s smart
this is steam as snap package, just like how they count flatpak steam
I was wondering who’s gaming on their thermostat.
i’m presuming people are using a just enough os (JEOS) distro to install a gui of their choice and steam and not much else.
That makes sense. Pure gaming machine
GamingOnLinux estimates >7% of English language install base for Steam is using Linux (if I’m understanding this correctly): GamingOnLinux Steam Tracker
That chart shows what I would interpret as really strong Linux growth. Somewhere around 200% growth in the last 4 years, and seems to be significantly accelerating.
Yeah, indeed. Steam language breakdown is about 40% English, 30% Chinese, 10% Russian, 5% Spanish, 15% other. Chinese speakers overwhelmingly use Windows rather than Linux, so choosing ‘English only’ basically doubles the Linux percentage.
I’d be interested to know why Linux has such bad update in Chinese-speaking regions. (It’s the lingua franca for much of Asia, so not just China, just largely China.) Obviously, inertia plays a part - easier to move to Linux if you know someone else that can help you, which if there’s no-one then you might be a bit stuck. Are the fonts crappy? Are the input methods greatly superior in Windows?
I’d be interested to know why Linux has such bad update in Chinese-speaking regions.
I wonder if language in particular may be a factor hindering Linux adoption there?
- How does the documentation for Linux (including forums, how-tos, blogs, etc) available in Chinese dialects compare to what is available in English, and how well does machine translation work for translating the English sources?
- The documentation available online for Linux very often involves the command line. How much of a pain is it for people who only speak Chinese dialects to use an English command line? If the commands are available in Chinese, how well do the machine translations of the English documentation sources work for that purpose.
I feel that there are probably significant language barriers that have an effect here, and effectively create a chicken-and-egg problem for Linux adoption, possibly limiting Linux usage to Chinese people who are relatively proficient in English.
For reference, here’s an article about what proportion of Chinese people speaks English (it seems to be around 5%?): https://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/how-many-people-in-china-speak-english
they do not care about many of the things that people in western societies care about. they do not care about privacy. they want to use the same type of computer their friends and coworkers are using. 11 is a higher number than 10.
unless there’s a chinese linux distro that gets pre-installed at the factory, along with a government ban of windows (it could happen), they will be the last society to adopt.
I would put it down to censorship. Not of Linux directly but of information about noncomformity. Windows is the default OS for desktop PCs and I imagine it is easier to get exposed to the idea of searching an alternative in the west than in China. If you never question the oppressive bullshit corporations are doing to you, you will not think to break free and use Linux.
i find this a little difficult to believe when china develops and promotes their own linux distro and desktop environment
Guessing Linux is associated mostly with the government attempts to make their own distribution. I think in their context windows may feel safer.
3.20% is practically nothing but everyone in here is foaming at the mouth like this means windows is done or something. very weird behavior
It amounts to several million converts in the past 4 years, at least.
Got my new bazzite gaming laptop YTD!
Screw you, windows, I’m out
Thanks for the users, Microsoft!
