Operating System Market Share Worldwide Jan 2024 - Jan 2025

StatCounter ^ | Jan 2025 | statcounter.com

[dayglored]

> I still have a copy of the original text game, Adventure, on punch cards. XYZZY, Plover, Plugh, Fee Fie Foe Foo!

I originally played Adventure ("ADVENT") on a PDP-11 (actually an LSI-11) running RT-11 with 8" floppies, and a VT-100 serial terminal. Late 70's.

There are a number of websites (I don't recall the URLs offhand but Google will) that have the original Colossal Cave Adventure running, some of them with a VT100 terminal interface for verisimilitude.

[Openurmind]

I know one thing. The industries efforts to make Linux look bad is still not going to take away all those problems with Microsoft...

It is a psyops effort to claim we don’t have a choice, so may as well just bend over and submit to MS.

[Poser]

The View room was always my favorite. We played on these:


Until ADS580 became available. But then, Atari, Nintendo and Intellivision showed up.

[daniel1212]

I know one thing. The industries efforts to make Linux look bad is still not going to take away all those problems with Microsoft... It is a psyops effort to claim we don’t have a choice, so may as well just bend over and submit to MS.

Rather, most just go with the flow, and do not care to find out how to overcome the negative aspects of MS, and enhance it, while those who oppose MS often spurn objective analysis. Good to have freedom to choose.

[daniel1212]

I still have an original Windows DOPOD stylus pen phone from 2006 bought in HK. Pretty cool. Lots of extra batteties.

And an AOL free dial-up trial disk?

[daniel1212]

The only problem has been the time, or 2 that I experienced a hardware failure. It has become difficult to reinstall XP since Microsoft no longer activates it.

I wondered about that myself.

[daniel1212]

Here is the deal... They can’t even claim to know how many Linux desktops are actually out there. And here is why. There is a record of EVERY MS and OS X install out there. This is NOT true with Linux. Because all they can do is track “downloads”.... a Linux user can distribute that one same download onto 20 computers if they like.

Plausible - as they do with Windows in China*, but your premise needs substantiation, and if use was solely or mainly obtained they way you presume, then it would be hard to explain the use of Linux-driven severs and their websites, as well as in foreign countries, etc. and underestimate the likes of Google as well as Chicoms.

Research finds:

NetMarketShare doesn't simply count PCs which connect to its network of over 40,000 websites using HitsLink Analytics and SharePost. Its methodology is to "collect data from the browsers of site visitors" and it then weights the data by country. "We compare our traffic to the CIA Internet Traffic by Country table, and weight our data accordingly. For example, if our global data shows that Brazil represents 2% of our traffic, and the CIA table shows Brazil to represent 4% of global internet traffic, we will count each unique visitor from Brazil twice."

StatCounter claims its numbers are derived from raw browser hits from racking code, which is installed on more than 2 million sites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Counter

Perhaps the most unbiased numbers are from the federal government's Digital Analytics Program (DAP). DAP's numbers come from the billion visits over the past 90 days to over 400 US executive branch government domains. That's about 5,000 total websites. These visitors appear to be largely US citizens. You can see this from the most popular websites: The US Postal Service, the IRS, and Medline Plus. - https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-many-linux-users-are-there-anyway/

Google can usually determine what operating system you are using when you access their services, as your device sends information about itself, including the operating system, to Google servers through "device identifiers" which allow them to customize your experience based on your device. When you access a Google service, your device automatically sends details like your operating system version, browser type, and device model, which Google uses to identify you and tailor the experience. While Google can identify your operating system, they claim to use this information primarily for improving service functionality and not for personal profiling without your consent. - Generative AI is experimental.

Bing can identify what operating system you are using based on information gathered from your browser when you search, including details like your device characteristics and browser configuration; this helps them tailor search results to your specific device and system.

Key points about Bing and operating system detection:

When you use Bing, it collects information like your IP address, location, browser details, and the time and date of your search.

Purpose of detection:

Knowing your operating system allows Bing to optimize search results based on your device capabilities and potential compatibility issues. Privacy considerations:

While Bing can identify your operating system, you can manage your privacy settings to control what information is collected and how it is used. - Generative AI is experimental.

• In 2024, the majority of Linux users will be between 25 and 40 years old, representing 62% of the total user base.
• North America and Europe account for 58% of Linux users.
• Meanwhile, Asia holds around 25% of the Linux user base, driven by tech hubs in India and China.
• According to Linux Statistics, in 2024, approximately 75% of Linux users had a bachelor’s degree or higher, and many worked in technology fields.
• Based on profession, almost 40% of Linux users are software developers, followed by administrators or IT professionals (30%) and students learning technology-related subjects (15%).
• In 2024, male users dominate the Linux community, representing 88% of the total user base and 12% of female users.
• Moreover, 35% of Linux users are employed in cloud computing and DevOps roles, and 20% are involved in cybersecurity.
• More than 15,000 professionals earned Linux certifications in 2024, a 12% increase from 2023
• The majority of Linux users have annual incomes between USD 60,000 and USD 120,000. (Source: thebusinessresearchcompany.com) https://www.coolest-gadgets.com/linux-statistics/ (lots of Linux stats)

* Ballmer told Fox Business on Thursday that, when he left Microsoft a few years ago, 90% of Chinese companies were using Windows, but only 1% were paying for it...hat proved lucrative for the company, because it meant Microsoft could fend off the threat of the free alternative to Windows, the Linux operating system, by slashing its prices in China in order to get people there to convert to paid Windows users. Note that the Linux threat has always been particularly prevalent in China, as the government has enthusiastically backed local versions of the open-source OS.- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yes-chinese-piracy-lost-microsoft-123104842.html

[daniel1212]

and if they were so bold as to include a category of "Servers", things would look very different.

Research shows:

96.3% of The top 1,000,000 web servers use Linux. (ZDNet) - https://www.enterpriseappstoday.com/stats/linux-statistics.html

• Linux statistics in 2024 report that Linux powers approximately 91.5% of the world’s supercomputers and 70% of web servers worldwide.
• Linux runs on 92% of virtual machines in cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.
• Over 32 million developers work on Linux projects, mainly because of its use in cloud computing and AI.
• About 85% of businesses use Linux because it is flexible and saves money in production environments.
• As of 2024, almost 82% of smartphones worldwide use Android, which runs on the Linux kernel, showing Linux’s global influence. - https://www.coolest-gadgets.com/linux-statistics/

[dayglored]

> Research shows: ...

Yep, and a Big Thank You! for posting that research data.

I don't know this, but I'd be willing to bet (and would be fascinated to know) that the number of machines - metal and VM - running all versions of Linux (minus Android) exceeds the number of machines - metal and VM - running all versions of Windows including Windows Server.

I doubt it's possible to ever count reliably, since a huge number of machines are invisible behind corporate and AWS/Azure firewalls.

But it does make me wonder...

[dennisw]

 

https://www.groupon.com/deals/campaign-0-718188752

Only $10 via Groupon ---  Windows 11 key

[Openurmind]

There are so many holes in that method I don't really know where to start, so I will start here and it should be plenty:

"StatCounter claims its numbers are derived from raw browser hits from tracking code, which is installed on more than >2 million sites<."

Response:

[dayglored]

Something about that Groupon offer doesn't smell right. Selling Windows activation keys has been an "under-the-radar thing" for a long time, and it's often been a rip-off, or at least a disappointment, when all the facts are known.

I don't have any specifics, just a feeling that there's both more and less to their story than we see here.

Caveat emptor.

[dayglored]

"252,000 new websites created every day"

Seriously? Somebody's real frickin' busy with the auto-generating HTML machine.

[Openurmind]

Well if you think about it, that isn’t really that much when you look at global population numbers. and not everyone is getting them built yet...

“362.4 million domain name registrations have been made as of Q2 of 2024. According to the same report, domain name registrations increase by 1.6% yearly.”

https://www.digitalsilk.com/digital-trends/how-many-websites-are-there/

[Openurmind]

So I was wrong about my earlier estimate of them tracking 25% of websites, it is only 2%.

[ansel12]

A lot of us downloaded it multiple times but never ended up switching to it.

[Openurmind]

Yeah, I’m sure there is some of that too. But those like myself make up for it. I have downloaded probably at least 50 different Distros and newer versions of Distros. I have test driven a lot...

[ansel12]

So counting downloads greatly inflates the perception that people are using it.

[dennisw]

I only use Windows 11 for my desktops and laptops. I never use my Samsung phone for banking and internet.
I finally got a 10” Android tablet. So I will get to see the internet the Fisher-Price way. The clown world way. Experimenting of course.

[dennisw]

You can always do an AI search to see if the Groupon offer is legit. I saw a very good OptiPlex deal, but it has Ubuntu installed by Dell. So I would have to buy a Windows 11 license.
For $10 I would give Groupon a shot.