On the GNU/Linux 'Popularity Contest'

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2023-07-14 01:00:46 UTC
Modified: 2023-07-14 01:00:46 UTC

Follow the STALL MAN, follow freedom

Summary: After nearly 40 years we're seeing GNU/Linux flourishing on the client side (not just mobile phones, servers, supercomputers etc.); it's important to remind ourselves what the actual goal is

The goal of GNU/Linux (at its origin at least, back in the 1980s) was to enable a freedom- or user-respecting computing experience for those who need/want/desire it. The concept of "world domination" wasn't talked about until the "Linux" days (1990s), at least from what I can gather...

GNU is about freedom, Linux is about Linux, and for some people it's all about brands, e.g. replacing "Microsoft" with "Apple" or with "Linux", rather than replacing evil, malicious, spying-centric proprietary software with the ideological opposite, shifting control from vendors to communities/users.

Lately there have been many articles about GNU/Linux market share (not including ChromeOS, which isn't user-respecting). All of them cite statCounter, saying that "[GNU/]Linux Finally Hits 3% Market Share" or something to that effect. It should be noted that ChromeOS is at 3.3%, same as other GNU/Linux distros, so those less strict about the word "Linux" can say that GNU/Linux is measured at around 7% globally and in India it's about 15%. Yes, India, the world's largest populaton.

"The goal isn't replacing one brand with another but changing the relationship between humans and computers."And speaking of India, in Asia GNU/Linux is measured at over 5%, based on statCounter. If one counts PRC ("one China") as a single nation, then in Asia Windows has majority market share in only 3 countries (Asia has 48 countries) and Windows is down to only 21% of the market in Asia.

There have been plenty of negative stories about Microsoft this past week, not even counting the layoffs. Let's ensure that whatever we replace Microsoft and Windows with... respects users' freedom. The goal isn't replacing one brand with another but changing the relationship between humans and computers. A lot of discussion has been framed in terms of buzzwords (like "Hey Hi"), but we should reject that and speak in terms like freedom and workers' rights. Chatbots aren't even "Hey Hi". ⬆

Like GAFAM, US Telecom Industry Has Severe Debt Problem: Maybe their real problem is true profitability
Latest Example of False Marketing by Anthropic: Like Scam Altman, they're better at buying publicity (paying for hype) than they are at delivering something of genuine value [...] That has the full make-up of fake news and a publicity stunt
IBM: From RAs to "Workforce Re-balancing" (New Names for Mass Layoffs): Well, "workforce re-balancing" means "RAs", which is a misleading acronym IBM has devised to soften if not hide mass layoffs.
Microsoft's Grip Has Slipped, Market Share Steadily Declining: This is why Microsoft is having financial issue
SLAPP Censorship - Part 60 Out of 200: Talking About Corruption at Microsoft and Arrest for Strangulation is "Malice": At the moment Brett Wilson LLP has no new clients
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part VIII - "Red Line" When the European Patent Office (EPO) President Sleeps With Sister of "Cocaine Communication Manager" (Whom He Unconditionally Protects): If only management took its own words (idealistic pontification) seriously
IBM is Already Doing 'Voluntary' Layoffs This Year in Europe ('Buyouts' Ahead of Mass Layoffs): IBM's efforts to hide or belittle layoffs is noteworthy
Tracing Back the Misuse of the Word "Buyout" to Describe Merciless Mass Layoffs: So we can assume very large Microsoft layoffs are on the way, this time not spun as "buyouts"
Growing the List of Sites That Are Rogue: It's very important to raise and spread awareness of which ones are fake
Links 28/04/2026: Uganda Criminalising ‘Foreign Agents’ and China’s Economy "Starts to Show Cracks": Links for the day
Anthropic and Claude Are National Security Risks Not Because of Politics But False Marketing and Vandalism, Plagiarism Sold as Innovation: The slop hype is causing severe damage
Gemini Links 28/04/2026: Misfin, ELPiS, and Developing Another Gemini Client: Links for the day
US Government Sites See More Traffic From Apple Devices Than Microsoft Windows PCs: Keep this in mind when Microsoft talks about mass layoffs while calling these "buyouts"
Layoffs Versus Buyouts: Microsoft has mass layoffs and those target the most experienced people in one of the best-paid locations
Aaron Hillel Swartz Would Have Turned 40 This Year: Aaron Swartz killed himself in 2013
The Trumps Are Making Jimmy Kimmel More Famous and Popular: Comedy has long been "controversial", but trying to get people sacked for the 'wrong' joke results in having no comedians or only pseudo-comedians who are the dictator's jester/joker
Links 28/04/2026: Microsoft's GitHub Upselling After Two Leaders Jumped Ship (Losses Pile Up), "Inflation Jumps," and More: Links for the day
IBM Laying Off Thousands of Workers Again, Based on Q1 Earnings Call: under the guise of "workforce rebalancing" we are again seeing that IBM plans to pay people (severance) to leave
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 27, 2026: IRC logs for Monday, April 27, 2026
Gemini Links 28/04/2026: Good Sunrise Viewing and Self-hosting from Home: Links for the day[1;5C
Microsoft Insiders: If You Don't Take the Lousy Severance-Like Offer, They'll PIP You Out (Microsoft Signals to People Over 40 That They'd Better Vacate the Place): Microsoft targets its most experienced (read: expensive) workers
"AI" 16 Times in One 'Article'. The Register MS Got Paid to Post This Spammy, Promotional Piece of Slop.: Pay closer attention to who pays and who gets paid
Links 27/04/2026: Chernobyl Disaster at 40, "Heartbreaking" Decline of Australia: Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/04/2026: Gopher Catchup, MNT Reform, and Injuries: Links for the day
Red Hat Circling Down the Slop Drain: IBM, governed by slop fanatics, is going to do a lot of damage
Slop is an Addiction, Its Users Find It Addictive: please do not tolerate people who slop
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part VII - Secrecy at the EPO (Regarding Cocaine and Nepotism) Has Undermined Trust in Management: If Europe's second-largest institution is run by the "Alicante Mafia", does this mean that other key European institutions are "Mafia"?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 59 Out of 200: Mentioning the Fact Alex Graveley Arrested and Charged for Strangulation in Texas is "Reckless" and "Malicious", According to His 'Hired Guns' in London: it was framed as "malicious"
Links 27/04/2026: Strikes, Corruption in Spain (Spanish PM Sanchez' Wife), and YouTuber Faces Jail Time: Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/04/2026: Gopher Catch-up, Year of Contentment, and Path to Freedom: Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 26, 2026: IRC logs for Sunday, April 26, 2026
Journalistic Malpractice: Helping Microsoft Paint 'Voluntary' Layoffs (Before PIPs) as "Buyouts": What does this tell us about today's media?
The Man IBMers Regard or Already See as Likely Successor of Krishna (or Next CEO of IBM) is a Slop Fanatic: How dangerously misguided
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part VI - Management of the European Patent Office (EPO) Covered Up Cocaine Use, Even Colleagues Not Informed: the self-described "fu--ing president"
SLAPP Censorship - Part 58 Out of 200: 5RB and Brett Wilson LLP Helped Garrett and Graveley Make Equivalent of GAFAM NDAs Superficially 'Enforceable' in the UK, Using Threats: laziness results in many hours and high lawyers' fees
Who Controls Fedora? IBM and GAFAM.: Don't for a moment believe that IBM understands GNU/Linux. We are quite certain nobody in IBM's Board of Directors uses it.
State of Slop About GNU/Linux: As the incentive to publish is reduced (competing with slop is no fun), the effort/money invested in stories goes down
Links 26/04/2026: Korean Inflation, GLP-1 Drugs Linked to Cognitive Impairment, Lithuania's Public Broadcaster LRT Besieged: Links for the day
Hopefully Smooth Sailing in OS Upgrade: There are some contingencies at hand
Links 25/04/2026: "Horrible Economics of AI Are Starting to Come Crashing Down", More Restrictions Placed on Social Control Media: Links for the day
Getting Aggressive Suggestive of Loss - Part IV - Shutting Down My Existence: Would anyone out there tolerate such messages sent from burner accounts?
Gemini Links 26/04/2026: Gemini Movie Database (or GeminiMDB) and Star Trek III: Links for the day
Weeks Before Linux Removed Over 100,000 Lines of Code Due to Slop 'Bug Reports' Microsoft Paid 'Linux' Foundation to Advance Slop in the Name of 'Security': What can possible go wrong? Both for security and for stability.
Tracking Ages of People: To stay "safe" tell us your age
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 25, 2026: IRC logs for Saturday, April 25, 2026

On the GNU/Linux 'Popularity Contest'

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