 One of the most common topics that comes up in the Linux community is how can we make Linux more popular? How can we gain desktop market share especially because Linux of course just pills and comparison as far as desktop market share To the leader in that space, which is Microsoft Windows how can Linux compete against Windows on the desktop and one of the common things that you hear people say within the Linux community is Hey all Linux needs to do to gain that market share is just to be like Windows To imitate Windows to mimic Windows to trick users into thinking that Linux is Windows Right because if I give them a computer and it has Linux pre-installed and they think it's Windows Then they'll be all right, right? We have to con them we have to scam them into thinking that Linux really is Microsoft Windows And that's the way to get that desktop market share that we seek and I think that is a completely ridiculous Argument I think the people that make this argument. They really haven't thought this through why does Linux exist as I mean Linux fundamentally is Completely different than Microsoft Windows because of the free and open source nature of it the development model the philosophy the Ideology to polar opposites Linux and Windows are like heads and tails of a coin They're completely opposite ends of the spectrum so naturally Linux can never be like Windows Windows can Never be like Linux. That's that's just in their very nature. So the idea that we're gonna have Linux all of a sudden mimic Microsoft Windows imitate Microsoft Windows become exactly like Microsoft Windows Well, if it ever did become that then that means everything changes the philosophy the ideology the Development model free and open source software all of that We've just thrown all of that out the window and we're just essentially trying to be exactly like Microsoft Windows Well, then why the hell did I leave Microsoft Windows to come over to Linux, right? You guys I'm sure most of you guys that are using Linux probably use Microsoft Windows prior to your Linux career if you will right you had reasons to leave Microsoft Windows behind real reasons whether it be a privacy concerns security That the fact that Microsoft often spies on its users, you know Just the proprietary nature of Microsoft Windows how you're kind of locked in to this vendor Operating system and they're always serving you ads and you know, they're they're data mining you and all of this malicious stuff that Microsoft Does to its customers that's probably why you came over to Linux and now people say well Linux should just be more like Windows and we gain users. No Yeah, we may gain some users from the Windows crowd But all the current Linux users we would all quit we would all leave because no longer would this be an attractive Operating system for us. The reasons we are here. They're no longer viable at that point. We are happy We are ecstatic that Linux is nothing like Microsoft Windows. That's why we're here Now I do agree with these people that make this argument to a point that you know if Linux was more like Windows We'd have more users. I absolutely do believe that but at the same time is market share everything We're not concerned about being the most popular kid on the block, right? That's not What Linux is about that's not what the Linux community is about. We're here because it's a better product, right? It's a better operating system. It's a better Software model as far as free and open-source software, right? It fits our lifestyle, you know, it fits our Ideology our core beliefs. That's why we are here. We don't care about being the most popular if you have to sacrifice Fundamental beliefs of yours to actually become more popular. Would you do it? I know I wouldn't and really I think that's why Linux is not as popular as most people want it to be and I also think That's why Linux will never be as popular as what most people within the Linux community want it to be But that's fine. I actually think Linux market share is perfect where it's at I'm not saying that we don't need to gain users or if we lost users would we be in trouble? No, I'm just saying We have a really large Linux community around the world, right? There's you know hundreds of millions of devices actually billions of devices if you count some of the mobile operating systems running Linux Linux is never going away Linux is not in danger, right? If anything Linux actually is growing in popularity actually at a very fast rate But do we need to be a 90% desktop market share like Microsoft Windows? No, again That's just a number I also think that those within the community that want the Linux desktop Linux desktop environments to imitate Windows to mimic Windows to be almost an exact clone of Windows so these Windows users can just sit down at a computer and They just know everything because everything's in the same place as window function look and feel everything's the same Heck the wallpaper may be the same right the icon set may be the same But does that actually do anything for us if we have to trick users into using Linux But secretly they're still using Windows in my opinion I think that's deceptive and honestly it's shady as hell and I think because the fundamental Operating system is so different than Windows and it can never they can never be the same right the Linux kernel so different than the Windows NT kernel because the development model the fact that it's open-source software that it slides under the GPL and all of this stuff Just again two polar opposites that can never you can't reconcile those differences right as a complete dichotomy right to Completely opposite opposing differences of opinion and because of the philosophy behind it is so radically different I actually think that the functionality of the hard desktop environments should also be Radically different. I don't mind the fact that most of our desktop environments on Linux don't really mimic Windows that faithfully You know, they do some different things certainly GNOME does not really look and feel like Microsoft Windows and though we have several Desktop environments available on Linux that do kind of mimic the Windows 7 slash Windows 10 workflow look and feel I think that going forward as we see more and more window managers more and more desktop environments that come on the scene I really hope more Developers try to go in a different direction right try to push the boundaries try something new We shouldn't be stuck in the mud down there with Windows doing the same old tired thing that we've been doing for 30 or 40 years Which is what Windows has been doing right and Windows really fundamentally Windows hasn't changed much since the early 1990s Right, it's the exact same operating system that it was 30 years ago Linux is not about doing the same old thing over and over again We're not about being stuck in the mud and Linux really the Linux ecosystem. We don't care about backwards compatibility, right? We like to break things all the time So I'm actually happy that some desktop environments are actually out there doing their own thing, right? They're they're kind of pushing the boundaries and sometimes to the point where it is off-putting to some users But that's okay, right? You got to throw things at the wall see what sticks sometimes and that's what I love about this community Ultimately though when it comes to Linux desktop market share I don't care if we only have 2% of the desktop market share or 92% of the desktop market share It doesn't matter. I'm not using Linux because of a number of statistics some kind of metric, right? I don't care what desktop market share Linux has That's that's not why I switched to Linux and that's not why I'm using Linux now I use it because it fits my needs is because it suits me personally I don't care about the desktop market share Linux is is me right and I am Linux That's why as long as I am around and as long as Linux is around I'm riding with Linux and for those that think that Linux has to gain more users Or it has to be the most popular desktop operating system, and if it's not it's somehow an inferior product I would once again urge you guys you don't have to validate your software choices on what other people are using, right? If you're trying to do that Then you have some issues mentally that you need to work out and I'm not joking and I'm not trying to insult people But everything you do in life your choices in life If you know you are on a right path and the choices you make are the right choices for you keep on that path Don't worry about what other people are doing if you're constantly worried about what other people are doing You're never going to succeed at anything in life. Now before I go. 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