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433 points Sporktacular | 3 comments | | HN request time: 0.646s | source
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015a ◴[] No.36995730[source]
> But before you declare this a triumphant moment for desktop Linux, it's important to note that some of these Linux users are not, in fact, using Steam on a desktop. The Linux version "SteamOS Holo" 64-bit is the most popular reported, at just over 42 percent of the Linux slice of pie. That indicates that a huge portion of these Linux users are actually playing on Valve's Steam Deck portable, which runs Linux.

There's such a deep seeded, systemic bias against linux that it actually can never win, to any degree or magnitude, because the moment it starts winning we just move the goal-posts for the flimsiest of reasons to ensure it can't quite claim that victory.

Linux is obviously and clearly the most popular operating system kernel on the planet. Oh, no, that's no good a measure, servers are messy, let's refine it to most popular consumer operating system kernel? Oh... it, could also reasonably claim that title? No no, no Android, that doesn't count. Nope, No Chrome OS either, you can't have that, that's, well, that is linux, but its not. Just nice, pure, desktop linux, yes, perfect, arch linux, kde desktop, that'll never trend up and thus is the perfect new-new definition of desktop linu--wait hold up, I'm getting word this is, not possible, its actually SteamOS? Nope, kill it, that's not desktop linux either, kill it.

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1. FeepingCreature ◴[] No.36997547[source]
Okay, I'll push back against this and say it's actually true for Android, because phone kernels only rarely contribute improvements upstream, so while they're growing the userbase they aren't really improving any ecosystem but their own. I don't think that's the case for SteamOS though.
replies(1): >>36999876 #
2. lolinder ◴[] No.36999876[source]
I think you're just proving OP's point. Linux is FOSS, which means it has a bewildering variety of different Linuxes with different characteristics. They're all still Linux, but they're not homogeneous like Windows so none of them meet everyone's platonic ideal of Linux.

It's likely the only thing everyone can agree is Linux is whatever Linus has on his machine.

replies(1): >>37003547 #
3. ric2b ◴[] No.37003547[source]
> It's likely the only thing everyone can agree is Linux is whatever Linus has on his machine.

What if he has more than one computer and doesn't have the same setup on all of them?