The state of Linux in 2022: A viable alternative to Windows and macOS?

No ratings yet.

Linux is a free, open-source operating system based on the Linux kernel, which is maintained by the Linux Foundation (Linux Foundation – Decentralized Innovation, built with trust), and the GNU utilities, which are maintained by the GNU project (Stallman, About the GNU project – GNU Project – Free Software Foundation). However, Linux is not a single operating system but a collection of multiple distributions consisting of different bootloaders, package managers, desktop environments, login managers, etc., bundled with the core Linux kernel and GNU utilities. It is the third most popular desktop operating system behind Windows and macOS, commanding a desktop market share of 2.42% as of June 2022, up from 0.88% in January 2013(Desktop Operating System Market Share 2013-2022).

Although this is a huge improvement, the market share of Linux still pales compared to Windows and macOS, which commanded a share of 76.33% and 14.64%, respectively, as of June 2022(Desktop Operating System Market Share 2013-2022). The primary reasons for this disparity can be summarized as follows:

1. Operating System installation source: Most desktops and laptops come pre-installed with Windows due to partnerships between OEMs (Operating Equipment Manufacturers) who assemble them and Microsoft. Apple desktops and laptops come pre-installed with macOS since Apple wants more control over end users’ hardware and software experience. But no multinational organisation provides any financial incentives to OEMs to install Linux. Hence, end users must search for Linux distributions and manually install them. Since most users are already comfortable with Windows and macOS and do not have the technical prowess or inclination to install Linux, the number of Linux users is naturally low.
2. The technical difficulty of using Linux: Even if users are willing to put the effort into installing Linux on their computers, as mentioned earlier, most computer users have used Windows and macOS and are uncomfortable with the increased technical complexity of using Linux. They are uncomfortable using a Command Line Interface and miss the traditional layout and features of Windows and macOS.
3. Quality control, Hardware and Software support: Since the Linux kernel is maintained by volunteers and not a single corporation, as is the case for Windows and macOS, there are many issues with operating system stability, hardware and software support. Many regressions (Fixes being undone) occur when the Linux kernel and open-source software are updated, and issues may take a long time to be resolved. This will lead to a lot of user frustration. If the user is technically adept and has a lot of free time, they can fix some issues themselves, but this is not a viable alternative for most people.
4. Absence of important applications and games: If users are willing to put up with the aforementioned issues, have the technical prowess to fix those issues, or do not face issues with their particular hardware and software configuration, they may still find many important applications missing. Popular software such as the Microsoft Office suite and Adobe suite is not present in Linux. When searching for applications on the internet, most of them only support Windows due to the operating system’s prevalence. For many paid software, the existing small installation base and a large number of distributions make it financially infeasible to support Linux. Most popular AAA games are only released for Windows, with only a few released for macOS and Linux. Most games use the proprietary DirectX protocol, which Microsoft developed, which results in difficulty running those games on Linux.
5. Lack of standardization: Due to a large number of Linux distributions with varying properties, there is no standardization regarding user experience and support. Larger distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch Linux have a relatively large user base and thus enjoy maximum support and standard features. However, more niche distributions may face a lack of available software, unfixed bugs, lack of support for software issues, etc., resulting in a poor user experience.
6. Selecting a distribution: Even among the larger Linux distributions, there are various choices with varying pros and cons that are difficult for users to evaluate. This would lead to choice paralysis. The user may invest a lot of time and effort into learning a Linux distribution before discovering whether it suits them.

However, many of these underlying issues are being addressed to a greater extent as of 2022:

1. Partnerships and WSL: OEMs such as Dell and HP have started to ship laptops preinstalled with Ubuntu, the most popular Linux distro(King, 2021). A copy of Linux is also pre-installed in Windows starting from Windows 10 as “Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)”. Hence, it is easier than ever to get acquainted with Linux.
2. User-friendly distributions: Over the past few years, there has been a tremendous improvement in the desktop user experience of Linux, and distributions such as Ubuntu, Elementary OS, and Zorin provide excellent support and make the transition from Windows or macOS easy. Hence, the problems of transitioning from Windows or macOS and selecting a distribution have been mitigated to a great extent.
3. Corporate kernel contributions and improvements in procedures: Linux is the operating system used in all 500 of the top supercomputers in the world (Prakash, 2020) and is used in 96.3% of the top million web servers (Vaughan-Nicholas, 2015). This is due to the extreme customizability and versatility of Linux. Hence, many corporations and research institutions have incentives to improve the Linux kernel and accompanying open-source software. As of 2020, the percentage of corporate contributions to the Linux kernel has increased significantly, with major contributions from companies such as Intel, RedHat, IBM, SUSE, Google, Samsung, AMD, Broadcom, Huawei, etc. (2020 linux kernel history report). These companies wish to improve their hardware and software compatibility with Linux and improve stability to benefit their personal use cases. There has also been an accompanying improvement in kernel maintenance and update procedures to reduce instances of instabilities, hardware and software errors, and bugs. Thus, the desktop Linux experience today is vastly superior to several years ago and is still improving.
4. Improvements in application compatibility layers: Linux has a software known as wine (wine is not an emulator) which creates an application compatibility layer to allow Windows programs to be executed on Linux. This software is also the basis for Proton, a game compatibility layer developed by Valve software. Valve owns the largest PC gaming marketplace in the world, Steam, and they have also launched a handheld computer known as the Steam deck, which runs on the Linux operating system. Hence, the number of windows applications and games which can be run on Linux is rapidly increasing, reducing the requirements of using other operating systems.

In short, Linux is currently in its best possible state and still undergoing rapid improvements. The aforementioned issues are not completely fixed, but at the present rate of improvement, Linux will be a viable alternative to Windows and macOS within the next few years.

References:

Linux Foundation. (n.d.). Linux Foundation – Decentralized Innovation, built with trust. Linux Foundation – Decentralized innovation, built with trust. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.linuxfoundation.org/

Stallman, R. (n.d.). About the GNU project – GNU Project – Free Software Foundation.  [A GNU head] . Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.en.html

Statista Research Department. (2022, July 27). Desktop Operating System Market Share 2013-2022. Statista. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/218089/global-market-share-of-windows-7/

King, B. (2021, November 25). Where can you buy a preinstalled linux laptop? MUO. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.makeuseof.com/linux-laptop/

Prakash, A. (2020, November 20). Linux runs all of the top 500 fastest supercomputers. It’s FOSS. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://itsfoss.com/linux-runs-top-supercomputers/

Vaughan-Nicholas, S. (2015, October 15). Can the internet exist without linux? ZDNET. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.zdnet.com/article/can-the-internet-exist-without-linux/

The Linux Foundation. (2020, September 4). 2020 linux kernel history report. OpenSistemas. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://opensistemas.com/en/2020-linux-kernel-history-report/