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Linux didn't just eat 10% of Windows market share, AI bots are inflating the numbers
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this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2026
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Here's the truth of the matter. As a server, Linux runs the show. As a desktop, Linux is basically little league.
There is some growth, but it's not people getting fed up with microsoft. The real growth comes from Valve.
Despite it's apperance, SteamOS is considered a linux desktop, and it's driving growth on linux. I don't think it's up to 10%, considering 2 years ago it was at an all time high of 4%. But I can believe it's at 6%. And even that would be considered tremendous growth. 4% in 30 years, but 2% more in 2 more years? That's huge.
I keep seeing the same story about linux. People are gaming on steamos, or bazzite, and they have to keep a windows installation on the other partition because select games have anti-cheat that 100% does not work on linux.
But here's the better news. Console games are dying.
The people I've spoken to in real life (outside of Reddit and fediverse bubbles) are more interested in France changing their systems to Linux of all things, which rather surprised me. In their minds, that move gave it a lot of legitimacy.
Linux needs to change from "scary thing that sounds hard" to "easy thing that just works". If more big names adopt it that will help a lot. Projects like ZorinOS are also a great bridge.
Well the reason that is big, is that regardless of the OS, whether it's windows, MacOS, or Linux, the concept of a desktop experience itself is shrinking.
Most people today that use desktops do so at work only. Meaning they don't control if it's Windows 11, Windows 10, Linux, or some company made propriatary OS (which, is most likely a form of linux). Doesn't matter. They come into work, use a computer that isn't theirs, to use an OS they have no say in.
With France using Linux, those people who don't know how to use a windows PC, will now be the people who don't know how to use a linux PC. But, like all things, they'll learn SOMETHING from it.
The major reason that Windows thrives is because businesses use it. When businesses use it, the employees use it. When the employees use it, they learn SOME things from it.
So when it comes time for them to buy a PC, they'll be firmiliar with linux, and windows becomes the foreign thing they've never used.
Thats the glass ceiling. People buy windows because they know windows. And they know windows because their school/job taught them windows.
But if their school/job teaches them linux instead, then that's what they'll know when they bring a PC home.
It's not a huge deal in itself. It becomes a huge deal when you consider the snowball effect.