Linux

The original image said windows where this would be accurate but I doubt it applies to the average linux user

thanks for the red circles

I actually do. All the time. And I think you should too. Don't understand why people seem to think there's something wrong with that.

Well, I do. In fact I've installed Linux on 4 classmate's laptops, after insisting for some time.

People don't have any reason to recommend Windows because it's the regular OS everyone already uses.

Linux may be an improvement for a lot of people's use cases but a vast majority of them don't even know it exists and its not just for servers and stuff. Mac people probably do this too.

People do this all the time.

You don’t tell people that you use Arch in random conversations? /s

Really, this seems to be the best way to spread Linux adoption to me. I would bet that Linux got at least a good few users from the Steam Deck coming with it pre-installed. Big way to show people that for most things the average user doesn't need to go into the command line to use their system for what they need as well. Of course, continued improvement in the software included in the most popular distros would really boost Linux adoption as well. I've seen plenty of people say they'd make the switch - if only they could use MS Office or Adobe software on it. Alternatives like LibreOffice, Thunderbird, Kdenlive and the GIMP have come a LONG way since I first made the switch around 2009, but especially the Adobe software still outclasses the competition when it comes to features. MS Office isn't as hard to let go of, especially since you can still use Office 365 Online on Linux and LibreOffice is closer to having all the OOTB features of MS Office than the other programs are to Adobe, but you have to convince people to give it a try first and a lot of employers still require MS Office for work.

I will also say, though, that it was only due to Windows Vista otherwise bricking my laptop back then that I even made the switch. I'd heard of this mysterious OS named Ubuntu so I thought I'd give it a try to save my laptop before I bought a new one, especially since I was living abroad at the time and didn't want to deal with the hassle of buying a computer with a foreign language version of Windows on it. So I had a friend burn me a copy of Ubuntu 8.10, it worked like a charm, and I only ever since ran Windows at home when dual-booting for a couple years for gaming purposes before Proton became a thing. I didn't even know Ubuntu was Linux until I'd installed it and started learning how to use it in earnest. Really showed me how even then Linux wasn't so difficult to use for the average computer user.

break the "Linux is complicated / incompatible / for developers" stigma

This is entirely on Linux developers and users.

Try searching "how to x on Linux" and tell me you're not immediately sent into the CLI.

That's when you know you've won!

@azimir @urska

I'm happy your kids are into Linux! It's better to raise on then windows in my opinion.

Agreed. Both things need to happen when they can.

If you live with the applications available on Linux ( or prefer them as I do ) then you can use Linux in the workplace.

At the same time, some “professional” applications are going to need to start targeting Linux. Some do. More need to.

There is an implied contract above. If you need professional applications and they become available on Linux, you have to use them ( and pay for them ).

Windows and MacOS are products. Linux is a technology and common human knowleadge.

Exactly. If critical mass is achieved inorganically, it would result with a reverse in uptake & possibly even a revolt against it.

You can lead a horse to water... (but a pencil must be lead)

make sure the hardware really works

Also make sure the software really works, one of the main issues with Linux adoption by hardware manufacturers is their lack of dedication to it. In Brazil, for example, most brands that ship with a Linux distro (except for DELL, which ships with Ubuntu) ship with basically digital waste (unmantained, poorly developed distros) just to make the hardware cheaper, because they know people will get it to just install a pirated copy of Windows in it.

This is an extremely sheltered view. Most people don't even know what an operating system is, and they assume that it is an unalterable component of the computer they purchased at Best Buy. They don't have a last straw because as far as they're concerned there isn't anything they can do about it other than perhaps switching to a Mac.

High Fives India, Well Done!!!

Forced financial constraints? Because I am an Indian.

Linux being more popular means more applications of higher quality. I guess this does not matter to you. For those of us that would prefer more high-quality applications, Linux popularity matters.

The more people, the more donations, the more devs, the more user bug reports, the bigger communities, more communities, more brains, more software support, more game support, more likelihood of using linux at work, less microsoft and apple bullshit, ...