GamingOnLinux updated their Steam Tracker with February’s data: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/
Linux, English Only went from January’s 7.59% to 8.27%. There’s a huge influx of Chinese users in this month’s data.
Yeah looking at their history graph, Linux drops every February/March due to Chinese New Year. But looking at their English graph, Linux has gained users not lost users. There are more active Steam users right now (mostly in China) which causes the percentages to be lower.
I see Chinese new year’s resolutions are quite opposite of western. Screw workouts, more gaming!
That’s so interesting :0
It’s possible it’s just normal sample variance. The hardware survey isn’t exactly a census.
It’s also possible that the hype simply died down. Windows 11 forced updates have been done and forgotten, internet has moved on to the next thing, and people who tried switching to linux started encountering small issues and inconveniences with new games or the system and moved back to Windows.
I can very well imagine that someone who switched “just for the memes” will give up once a first inconvenience pops up, and it eventually will no matter how you look at it.
Two theories I saw are that it’s an influx of Chinese machines, and/or it’s natural fluctuation and the tendency is still of growth. I theorize it could also be most companies going back to being active by February and people including those without extra machines having to use Windows to do their jobs.
Oh is it this time again? Every several months there is an influx of Chinese devices and this discussion happens. It’ll likely be up again next month. Have fun with the wild speculation I guess
SteamDecks have been sold out in multiple countries for a few weeks. Could be slowing adoption?
Edit: But I think I recall SteamOS getting a separate line in the stats, so probably unrelated?
Steam Decks are now sold out, so Linux has probably slowed down a lot. I doubt it represents a decrease in users so much as a decrease in growth of users.
A little bit off-topic, but I don’t know if I’m too dumb to understand the survey results’ presentation or if there is something wrong.
- Why is SteamOS Holo excluded in the Linux list when the table is unfiltered, while in the “Linux only” filtered table it seems to be the most popular OS with 23.83%?
- For the Arch-based distros, e.g. Steam OS Holo (+23.83%) or Arch Linux (+9.07%), the “change” is exactly the value of the current “percentage”, so the percentage of the compared value is 0. So I guess they have new entries in the data without the history of the old entries? Is there any explanation for that?
Am I missing something? And does it even say anywhere how many people were asked and participated in the survey?
Linux just isn’t that good.
In English language installs, Linux went up from 7% to 8%. The dip is due to an influx of Chinese users. Happens every year during Lunar New Year.
What’s not “that good” about it?
If that was the argument, Windows would by definition below it in the survey anyway,
Let me rephrase: After months of constant nagging by Linux users, Windowsers briefly tried it and found that their personal needs aren’t well met by either OS.
Who’s nagging? I promise you nobody gives a fuck what OS you use on your computer.
I promise you that quite a few people do, and they all use Linux. Source: My actual life.
Well, the hypers have pushed technical distros like CachyOS to casual users, requiring them to go to terminal to install apps instead of pushing people toward user-friendly distros with GUIs that would make their computers and apps even easier to manage than on windows.
That’s how we lose: by overestimating the tech-savviness of people and calling them stupid when they don’t get it, as if everybody had a degree in computer
engineeringsciences.We are the stupid ones. We are toxic.
Unless you have specific wants (which casual users mostly doesn’t), you don’t need terminal to install most apps on CachyOS.
@BaraCoded @cm0002
I’ve seen it and it’s so weird why would they recommend arch-based distro to beginners. I don’t know much about Cachy itself.
Immutable distros like Bazzite are the way, a beginner should not touch the os beyond installing some flatpaks.
Even Mint or Ubuntu would be better, just because they have large communities and many guidesI think it’s because the linux community hyped it, or they saw it in distrowatch’s top 5? Or they have a computer science background and don’t have much difficulties with technical stuff?
100% agree new users should go for immutable, hand-holding distros. Bazzite seems perfect for that.
Computer engineering is typically hardware and low level software design which doesn’t really fit the analogy you’re going for.
Case and point right here with that correction.
LMFAO, I do try to be friendly to noobs…but I am naturally a pedant and so when not dealing with noobs I let the pedant out a bit more. But I do agree with the sentiment that the power users are not welcoming.
“ComPUtEr EnGiNeeRiNg Is TyPIcaLLy HardWAre AnD Low LevEL SOFtwAre DesiGN”
Yeah, sure. J’en ai pas grand-chose à faire, puisque l’anglais n’est pas ma langue natale et que je fais de mon mieux avec ce que je sais, mais je désignais ce que tu désignes. Maintenant, démerde-toi avec la traduction.
You’ve just made my point for me, man/woman.
Google figured out the translation for me lol…and yes I know I made your point… although as I said in another comment I do try to be noob friendly…that just only applies to noobs.
From what I’ve seen, casual users didn’t have problems with the casual tasks in the terminal, but with some hot mess behavior of CachyOS, e.g. how the Python update was handled.
Still, the CachyOS hype killed the Linux hype.
No it didn’t. Most new Linux users are still going with distros like Mint or Bazzite.
Yet, the majority of influencer videos about linux during that period praised only CachyOS, and I bet most of them reverted back to windows when they got enough of their Matrix roleplay with the terminal.
You’re in a bubble in a bubble in a bubble. I think.
the majority of influencer videos about linux during that period praised only CachyOS
Proof? Because the majority of ones I saw recommended Mint consistently.
and I bet most of them reverted back to windows
So no proof, just personal biases then.
I’ve never understood the Cachy hype tbh. Nothing against it, but if you’re going for user friendly Arch, Manjaro seems easier and has been around longer. And why hype Arch in general? Arch is Arch, but hyping it for new users is just a mistake. For moderate to experienced users, if you want to use Arch there’s a specific reason, you don’t need to be convinced. Does everyone just like feeling badass for picking hard mode?
Unfortunately, yes, people love to despise others on artificial pretenses, missing the big picture which is the necessity to liberate as much people as possible from windows.
Manjaro is a good entry point, yes! Bazzite seems very cool as well!
Yeah, I do have to say that the Linux community has been improving though.
I tested Bazzite for a while, I liked it. I ultimately settled on Fedora KDE. I could see myself going back to Bazzite if I stop dual booting Windows for gaming and random programs. But…maybe by then I will have upgraded my GPU, and I’ll be going AMD if so, and there’s therefore less reason to go with Bazzite since I’ll have proper AMD drivers no matter what. I could also envision openSUSE Tumbleweed if I wanted to live more dangerously but not go with Arch-based.
Oooh I see. I made mine full AMD to go full linux. (And I admit I went for Manjaro 10 years ago and never went back. Also very tempted to go for Bazzite) I hope the nvidia drivers will get better for linux, I’ve heard they made some great progress lately!
I got Nvidia working but had to sign the drivers to get them to gel with Secure Boot. Hopefully won’t have to do that every major update but we’ll see.
