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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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The truth about linux having 15% market share in India. (self.linux)

submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by caustictrap to c/[email protected]

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I am from india. These numbers are inflated due to our population and government and health sector office pc using linux (ubuntu). These office pcs just require a chrome browser and all the work is done on the browser Nobody here cares what os they use in their office pc. I don't see anyone here switching to linux on their personal pc other than the IT students who are forced to install kali linux. And most of them are running linux on virtualbox on windows.

Steam deck is not even officially sold here and imported ones that are sold cost 950$ for the 512 gb variant. So it is a ultra niche item here. .

People here buy desktops only for gaming/content creation, which means most households here doesn't need/require a desktop. And these people always prefer mac or windows.

Also gaming scene here is dominated by mobile games (because gaming pcs and consoles are too expensive and we have the cheapest internet and phone prices) As for pc games it is dominated by valorant, Minecraft and gtav (fivem rp).

Edit - Many consider this a huge win. But getting market share in the office space for basic browsing and word processing inflates the numbers for actual game/app developers who wants to support linux and they will disappointed seeing the actual usage and they will abandon the linux support. Also the indian market isn't buying laptop/desktops for browsing, they just use their phone because pc hardware is expensive and phones prices are cheap. And anyone who is buying desktops for serious tasks stick to windows and mac.

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[–] CeeBee 46 points 8 months ago (13 children)

These numbers are inflated due to our population and government and health sector office pc using linux

So just like Windows numbers being massively inflated because of corporate computer fleets?

These office pcs just require a chrome browser and all the work is done on the browser Nobody here cares what os they use in their office pc.

Right, so again, the mostly the same with Windows for both office and personal use.

I don't see anyone here switching to linux on their personal pc other than the IT students who are forced to install kali linux.

What are you expecting exactly? Is the choice of each person supposed to be formally announced? Are we supposed to real into a populated areas and declare like Micheal Scott "I declare: I'M USING LINUUUUUX!"?

People here buy desktops only for gaming/content creation, which means most households here doesn't need/require a desktop.

You just described the entire world. This is far from unique to India. Most people I know don't have a desktop and maybe have a laptop, and I live in North America.

Not to be conceded, but I'm guessing this post is in response to my comments from a couple days ago?

I really don't understand your point. It's like you're saying "the users in India don't count because they're not using Linux the way I do".

Does that mean that all the workstations at CERN don't count? Or that the systems up on the ISS don't count?

To me (and I'm certain most people in general would agree) the ISS story is very important, because they were originally running Windows on those systems, but it kept crashing. They switched to Linux to get more stability out of those systems and have been using Linux ever since.

Also, does the story of the City of Munich switching to Linux not count either? It's supposed to be a major win, btw. A city government switching away from Windows and choosing to go with Linux is huge. I see it the same way with India. The more often people are Linux in the wild, the more normalized it is and the more mind share it generates. And mind share is huge in getting people to make a certain choice. It's the reason why product ads are everywhere. The more often you see a product/brand, the more likely you are to say to yourself "that's the thing I'll buy".

Before anyone says Munich switched back to Windows, they didn't. Microsoft made an under-table deal with some officials with the at-the-time in power government to switch back to Windows if they set up a Microsoft office in Munich. Then a new government was voted in a few months later and said "hell no, we're continuing with the Linux rollout" and that's where we are today. The City of Munich is a Linux success story.

Ultimately your post was just stating some facts and then waffling on about how it doesn't count.

[–] caustictrap -5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So most of the entire world is using windows/mac if they want to do something serious other than web browsing. And most of the linux desktop usage is contributed by enterprise and office pcs using linux. People still use windows and mac on their personal pc. So it is not a huge win if you want developer support for games and apps. Even if developers follow these numbers and start supporting linux, they will soon realise it is not worth their time because linux usage is mostly due to enterprise running chrome.

[–] CeeBee 4 points 8 months ago

So most of the entire world is using windows/mac if they want to do something serious other than web browsing.

Absolutely not. Depending on what you want to do, Linux enables you to do way more than Windows.

And most of the linux desktop usage is contributed by enterprise and office pcs using linux.

Do you have actual numbers for this, or is it just entirely your own anecdotal observation?

Even if developers follow these numbers and start supporting linux, they will soon realise it is not worth their time because linux usage is mostly due to enterprise running chrome.

Garbage argument. It's like the whole induced demand nonsense city project planners use. No one ever says "I'm only using Linux because I don't need the extra stuff Windows can offer", instead what you often hear is "I'd switch to Linux if this one specific application wasn't Windows only".

The largest thing that has held Linux adoption is application compatibility.

And one fact that I know that questions your "it's only cheap enterprises" argument is that Linux is huge in the academic sector in India (and the world also). More than half of the AI and ML demo videos on YouTube are from Indian accounts.

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