Bonum Certa Men Certa

Laptops With GNU/Linux Everywhere, a Sign of the Times in 2020

Sign of the Times (Harry Styles song, latest of many)

Economy's crisis
Market research has led even the largest OEMs to pre-loading GNU/Linux distributions (because that's what a growing number of people wanted)



Summary: People are choosing to cut the fats from their computing; this belt-tightening exercise means that more are moving to GNU/Linux

THIS MORNING my wife told me that news had become overfilled with reports about laptops with GNU/Linux, pre-loaded even (and suitably configured for users; they don't need to tinker). She asserted it had become too hard to keep track of things, as there are so many brands to choose from now, both large and small (bigger ones being Dell, Lenovo and so on). This is a sign of an economy in decline and people working from home, not having Microsoft and Windows imposed on them by some boss or IT department. They used to call it "BYOD", now it's just "remote work". My wife and I both use Debian ("Buster") and are reasonably happy with its KDE integration. We both installed about 7 desktop environments on it, but KDE is good enough for everything.



"Microsoft is laying off loads of workers, with a thousand more announced yesterday, while GNU/Linux makes big gains."The past week has been the busiest week ever for Tux Machines, which she runs. It had the most traffic ever. Many of the stories these days aren't about how to install GNU/Linux but where to buy a "PC" (usually laptop) with GNU/Linux on it. We're not even counting Chromebooks, which are essentially GNU/Linux-powered (but don't offer software freedom).

Times are changing. Microsoft is laying off loads of workers, with a thousand more announced yesterday, while GNU/Linux makes big gains. Those gains are measurable even without spyware. The longer this downturn lasts, the stronger GNU/Linux will become. People no longer want to waste money on Windows. Some cannot even afford it.

Recent Techrights' Posts

One Person's Take on Jef Spaleta, the New Fedora Project Leader
"With a little searching, I wonder what else may be found regarding Microsoft."
LLM Slop Has Virtually Killed unixmen.com and Many Other Sites
There's no longer any incentive to write real articles in there
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
 
Links 07/04/2025: Leaving Gemini/smolweb and Mastodon Migrations
Links for the day
In Iraq, Windows 3.1 (Percent)
There's also zero
Links 06/04/2025: Flood, Cool Gemini Capsule, and Long Form
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Science, Politics, and Pricier Goods
Links for the day
Sharp Declines for Microsoft Windows in Bangladesh (Pop. ~175,000,000), Big Gains for GNU/Linux
Microsoft Windows has been having a really hard time in poor countries
Links 06/04/2025: Fake Reviews, Privatisation Heists, and "AI" as Smokescreen for Impoverishing Humans
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: What Was Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
We hope to finish this whole lot within a week, then move on to election, lobbying etc.
Links 05/04/2025: Tariffs Backfiring, YouTuber Arrested, X/Twitter Set to be Fined
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Offline is For Everyone, Copyright Colonialism, and More
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: TikTok Unsold (Still), Royal Society is Dead
Links for the day
Techrights Will Spend the Next Few Years Writing a Lot About Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
It's a growing problem
The State of EPO Staff's Health in Rijswijk or The Hague
We're going to cover the EPO some more later in the month
NVIDIA Corp Lost 36% of Its "Value" Since Cheeto Inauguration, But "Gen Hey Hi" (GenAI) is Totally Not a Bubble
Selling loads of unneeded hardware based on hysterical hype; like selling shovels during a Gold Rush
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia, Windows by Default No More?
GNU/Linux is now on the shelf
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux 'Articles' From Linux-Hostile LLMs
It is almost always negative things and nobody can be held responsible for it except the charlatans prompting the LLMs
Links 05/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) "Sale Looks Highly Imminent" (US), Stock Market Drowning in Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Moving Plants, No to Smartwatches, RAID Hygiene
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 04, 2025