Video download link



Summary: According to StatCounter, which mostly counts people who are easy to spy on, almost 3% of observed laptop/desktop users are on GNU/Linux 'proper' (not counting the most widely used operating system, Android, which is Linux-powered)

THE Windows monopoly is eroding, but who or what grows at its expense? Well, Chrome OS is based on GNU/Linux but we don't count it as such because it does not respect users' freedom. Looking at one data source we've long tracked, GNU/Linux 'proper' (Arch, Debian, Kylin, Gentoo and so on) is definitely on the rise, not just somewhere like Russia where the proportion of GNU/Linux users is higher. The growth is a worldwide trend and it accelerated a lot this year.

It's essential that we understand what's really going on; it can help explain a lot. The quote from Nathan Myhrvold, then Microsoft and now Intellectual Ventures, is rather revealing.

The video above explains what's going on and shows some examples, bearing in mind that this data is incomplete and most likely biased against GNU/Linux (for a number of different reasons it can be grossly biased, e.g. tracker blocking, VPNs). The vapourware tactics from Microsoft (Vista 11) are likely indicative of Microsoft seeing the same thing; they try to 'freeze the market' (Microsoft's own term). Vista 10 has suffered from endless issues, including bricking of millions of machines and devastating cracks that cost billions of dollars in damage (some damage is immeasurable in financial terms, e.g. loss of lives). As our associate noted this morning, "the implication that all digital attacks are successful is something that Microsoft boosters wish to establish in the mind of the public." ⬆

Worldwide trend, GNU/Linux growth

For Russia alone