Posted on 05/14/2025 9:55:49 AM PDT by ProgressingAmerica
Numbers don't lie
Recently, however, I was looking for web search engine popularity numbers. The usual sites people use for these numbers, such as Statcounter, as Ed Bott recently pointed out, have real problems. So, I went to the most reliable source I know of, the US federal government's Digital Analytics Program (DAP).
This site gives a running count of US government website visits and an analysis. On average, there are 1.6 billion sessions in the last 30 days, with millions of users daily. In short, DAP gives a detailed view of what people use without massaging the data.
According to the source data, in 2025, Linux users made up 5.4% of visitors. That proportion is way above any other legitimate numbers I've ever seen.
.....
1. Windows isn't Microsoft's priority
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2. Linux gaming is viable now
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3. Linux is not hard to use
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4. Installing Linux desktop software is easy
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5. Linux is much safer than Windows
(Excerpt) Read more at zdnet.com ...
Maybe add the end of W10 support?
If more users move to Linux, the hackers will follow.
I’ve always wondered too how many people running Linux are spoofing their user-agent data.
Linux is available for free.
Linux is far more stable.
Linux is more secure.
“”Linux is available for free.
Linux is far more stable.
Linux is more secure.””
Linux doesn’t force users to “update” every month with useless downloads that very often causes some other app to stop working.
I think this is a combination of Linux becoming more user-friendly and users tired of Microsoft shaking cash out of them while holding them upside down (their virtual blackmail crap).
I think it was the rise of the smart phone (many using Android i.e. Linux) which also helped create an inevitable toppling of Windows as the OS monopoly.
For a small group, it was also security, since MS readily cooperates with the US government. This is a smaller group because most Americans today just go along with anything they are told. Most people are compliant and want no trouble they just want to fit in. Most people today accept the broad government and corporate intrusion in their private sphere. It’s become normal, acceptable.
It’s a known fact that MS gives the US government IC the keys to the back-doors on everything:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-23285642
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna52454247
When you use Windows, you’re basically using an OS that is Swiss cheese regards safe guarding your privacy from the US IC.
True, but.... a prudent Linux user keeps their system updated voluntarily. And there are reminders from time to time.
Linux package updates are issued continuously because there are thousands of people constantly updating them. The distro sites (e.g. ubuntu.com) have the approved/curated releases of the packages. If you want to stay on top of things, especially security patches, you update your system yourself when it's convenient.
Or if you are forgetful, you can tell the system to do it for you.
It's very rare that a package update breaks anything, although it's not impossible.
True-
I have a system running Mint that I have not rebooted since 2022. Try that with Windows. Hahaha
“If more users move to Linux, the hackers will follow.”
It is extremely harder for them to do this with Linux. If everyone moved to Linux the hackers would pretty much be out of business.
“I’ve always wondered too how many people running Linux are spoofing their user-agent data.”
I don’t quite understand what you are eluding to with this?
Have you been keeping it patched up to date with at least the security patches?
You can leave a Linux machine running without a reboot for long periods, as long as you're content to continue running the same version of the kernel. But if you're prudent, you update the software packages fairly regularly, to take advantage of the security fixes. They almost never require a reboot, although if the package is a system service you do need to restart that particular service, which is no big deal. In fact the recent Linux releases will prompt you for a service restart after package update.
I have servers that run for years between reboots. But I install the security updates regularly. Word to the wise, and all that....
No, I think it means the ascendancy of the handheld smart phone/mobile over the PC.
https://research.com/software/guides/mobile-vs-desktop-usage
Statista revealed that in the third quarter of 2024, 98% of global web access came from mobile users and 97.8% came from smartphones (”Share of users worldwide accessing the internet in 3rd quarter 2024, by device,” 2025). Meanwhile, laptops or desktops accounted for 58.3% of global internet access. The same report also found that 92% of global web users watch videos on mobile-dedicated applications.
Yes. I think, though, that Danie_2023's point was the lack of "forcing" an update--especially on the vendor's timetable.
Also, any update can be a partial update--no need to update packages you don't want to. (Personally, I don't see a reason for a partial update, but I don't know everyone's situation).
I have one machine with my original first ever Linux install that I still use now and then. Mint 18.3 I loaded about nine years ago now, I have updates turned off and have never updated it once since it was loaded. Runs as good as it did new... :)
The operating system hackers, yes.
The social engineering malware hackers, no. And they are 90+% of the bad guys these days.
It's MUCH MUCH easier to get a user to spill the beans, than to hack even a Windows system. If everyone moved to Linux, the social engineering percentage would simply increase to 99.9%.
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