Linux has surpassed 5% desktop market share in the US (5.03% in June 2025), per StatCounter, driven by privacy concerns, rising costs of Windows/macOS, and user-friendly distros like Ubuntu. Community celebrates amid gaming and enterprise boosts, though challenges like software gaps persist; analysts eye 7% by 2027.
do the majority of people know how to install an OS these days at all? like even windows, could the average computer user do that?
Like I think if given an installation usb and given a pc preconfigured to boot from USB, then yeah I think most modern installer wizards are idiot proof enough these days for the average computer user… but only if they were driven to install it - I.e. they were motivated and cared enough to read and understand what was on the screen, otherwise I think many would see “format installation volume” and just switch off or panic.
But for the average user to find a distro, download the correct edition, make a live usb, configure their bios for booting from usb, sort missing drivers etc, no. I very much doubt the average user could do that, let alone be educated to and motivated about the possibility in the first place.
Yeah for mass adoption someone’s going to need to figure out how to make it as easy to install Linux as it is to install Windows. It’s not exactly difficult to do rn but it’s a lot more involved than the average computer user is going to be able to hack, which will put a limit to the number of people who are willing to adopt.
(Not to pick on you specifically)
No. This has been true for a decade already. Install Windows from scratch and it sucks too. It will be missing essential software and drivers. It will have tons of absolutely STUPID default settings selected. For mass adoption we need to seize the factories where consumer electronics are produced. There is no alternative. Until then, computers and mobile devices will ship with this garbage and that is what people will use.
The sticking point is not how easy it is to install, or the quality of the software (or how difficult to use and shitty the stock software is). The sticking point is that people are spending hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on a machine and want it to work “as intended.” They don’t want to do anything they are conditioned to think might void the warranty. They’ll just tell themselves “oh, it works fine I guess.”
It is easy (enough) to spend $1,000 on a laptop, unbox it, set the instruction booklet on fire, and wipe the drive before even peeling the plastic film off. Most people simply consider this a ridiculous thing to do.
Absolutely. When people can actually buy a device with Linux installed, they love it. See Steam Decks.
HP dev one kinda flopped
But they really went out of their way to make it a “separate special thing only for developers”. They didn’t even sell it on hp.com
Yeah, that’s kind of a running theme with pre-installed Linux. You can’t just go to the store and buy one, it’s always some weird sale they hide in a closet.
I mean fair, I mostly agree, but it’s not really true that it’s as straightforward to install any kind of Linux as it is to install Windows. Not everything is Arch but it will take several extra steps compared to what Windows requires and the documentation can be overkill for your average user or weirdly judgemental towards users who aren’t familiar with Linux at times. A lot of this would be fixable with better education that teaches people how and why to mess with the tech, but obviously that’s not happening under capitalism either.
I know how to google “how to install Linux?” And follow the instructions. That count?
You are around the top 5% or less of the population when it comes to computer literacy.
This is spectacular news
No, the people who know how to are in the 5% range, though this article referencing a study from 2016 is likely outdated, but the computer literacy rates are likely even worse now.
I believe part of the reason Linux is getting the 5% market share isn’t necessarily because a lot more people are using Linux, but because people are switching to Chromebooks and Android tablets and abandoning their desktops, taking off the share of Windows and Mac.
The only problem with personal computing was that it was too flexible and expandable. Far better to have 8 sort of ok at some things and good at one thing devices that last 3-5 years instead.
chromeOS is in the same category as Linux, Mac and Windows, and sits relatively flat if not declining at like 1.5%
Android tablets maybe but honestly don’t think those are huge sellers either. People with only a phone is probably more significant IMO.
Yeah more likely smartphones, Chromebooks and Android tablets were just a couple examples I was giving and not intended as the only devices people are switching to.
Also ChromeOS will be combining with Android into a single platform apparently. Some ChromeOS devices currently report as Android, too, so that may explain the decline in the ChromeOS market share. The number of Chromebooks shipped in 2025 Q1 increased by ~10% since last year.
I don’t know if I know how to install windows at this point. The last time it was from a CD-R with the 25 character key written on it in Sharpie. Do they sell Windows installer USB sticks so the three people who are enthusiastic about Microsoft get a physical object? Then what, boot holding the key it says to hold to get into the bios, tell it to boot from USB and follow the prompts from there?
I think at this point you just activate it electronically. You can download the installation media straight from Microsoft.
I downloaded my latest windows iso from the archive. Then there is a tool called Rufus that copies the iso into a USB an adas the bits that recognize it as a bootable drives.
You can also get windows ISIS from your favorite torrenting site.