Comment by Fonzie!@ttrpg.network on Linux back at 4.04% on the Desktop. Windows went below 73%

It peaked at 4.05% in March. The last 2 months it went just below 4% as the Unknown category increased. For June the reverse happened, so 4.04% seems to be the real current share of Linux on Desktop as desktop clients were read properly/werent spoofed.

In all seriousness, I think government bodies switching to Linux (UK’s, China’s, some Indian states’) attributes the most to this.

Even if that’s the case, it’s telling of Linux’ maturity.

No I think it’s the Steam Deck. It’s like half of all actively used Linux machines.

Half of the Linux machines on Steam, not the entirety of Linux.

Yes sorry you’re right

A very important distinction

Source? Last I checked, the Steam Deck was very much in the minority even when narrowed down to just desktop Linux.

Source is the Steam hardware survey set to show Linux data only. He forgot to mention the statement is only true for Steam Gamers, not for all of Linux desktops outside of Steam.

~ https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/?platform=linux

I believe the Steam Deck would be a significant portion of the Linux desktops, but Steam’s survey might be a biased source, still

What does significant portion mean to you?

I can imagine it’d affect statistics enough to see a clear change

I confused it with Steam statistics sorry

no, the statistics are based on browser agents, very few steam deck users browse the Internet on their devices. it’s also only half the Linux devices on steam, not of all Linux desktops

But that’s not really a Desktop is it? If we’d count mobile device we’d also have to include Android and then the situation would look completely different.

Steam deck has a full fat kde desktop on the stock os

I could install a full fat kde on the entertainment system of a car - still wouldn’t call it a desktop PC.

You can plug in a keyboard, mouse, and monitor

We don’t include Android here. What I meant is that the Steam Deck does count in that statistics.

Steam Deck is a desktop. It is exactly the same PC hardware and software you are using on your desktop PC. It runs the same games and is software compatible. Steam Deck is a desktop PC.

Android has a different hardware (not x86 compatible), is focused on phones, its eco system of software is not compatible with PC and in reverse does not run your PC software. Android based smartphones are not a PC.

But how many use it for browsing, which I imagine this data is from?

Valid point to be honest, but the answer is probably more than you think. I have a PC and still used the Steam Deck to browse the web too, not at least to install stuff. Also searching something while playing is useful too. Its made to be docked to bigger screen as well.

While you are probably right, my point was its still a PC, because he compared it to Android. And why this is hugely different. His point was to exclude Steam Deck, because it is not a PC, just like we would exclude Android. This data from the stats probably does not make a difference if its a Steam Deck or not (nor can it tell it? because browsing is the same as on PC, its an Archlinux and regular browser after all). On the other side it can definitely tell if its Android and exclude it.

So regardless if you think people browse the web with Steam Deck or not, this data should not be able to tell the difference between most distributions and Steam Deck, as its just a normal PC with Firefox (or other web browser) from the point of the stats. Just my assumption.

So your definition for “desktop” is if it’s an x86 compatible architecture? Seems pretty random to me. Btw, there are x86 android device. IMO a desktop is something on the top of a desk to do typical “office work”. PCs, Macs, Laptops, etc. but calling a SteamDeck game console “Desktop” is pretty dishonest I think.

PC in the first place means x86 architecture. Desktop is the operating system, here a Linux desktop or Windows OS. Nothing random here. Steam Deck is a Desktop PC with form factor of a handheld. Just like any other Laptop is a Desktop PC in a notebook form factor. It runs, plays and uses the exact same hard and software as a Desktop PC. Calling Steam Deck PC not to be a Desktop is pretty dishonest. Also saying desktop PC must be on a desk for typical office work is random too.

Also this is all about stats. Don’t forget, this is not your opinion or my opinion. I am speaking from the stats perspective, as the Firefox browser (or any other browser) is just a Desktop PC from the perspective of the stats.

If you say I am pretty random and being dishonest, then first, you are discounting others opinions, secondly did not even understand the purpose of my reply. Maybe you should watch out your language next time before responding if you want further discussion. I hope my reply here made it crystal clear.

The names are pretty clear and are about form factor. Desktop is something on top of a desk. Laptop is something on top of your lap. Hand-held is something you hold in your hand.

The steam deck is a hand-held game console - doesn’t matter what OS is it uses. It’s true that most stat tracking sites count it as “desktop” but not because it’s a desktop computer but because the user agent looks similar to desktop user agents.

If I install Android on a tower PC it doesn’t randomly become a smartphone even though all browser trackers would register it as a smartphone.

And Valve using a “typical desktop OS” on their handheld console doesn’t magically turn it into a desktop PC.

Connect the Steam Deck to a compatible dock and you can quite easily use it as a desktop. At the end of the day, it’s still an x64 based PC that’s just handheld.

I’m not sure that’s really a good argument. I can connect an android smartphone to a monitor, keyboard and mouse and call it Desktop. It’s also just an arm64 or x64 based PC just handheld.

A Desktop PC IMHO is a device that is used for everyday “office” work and neither android smartphones nor steamdecks are that - but laptops for example are (IMHO)

It is. I use it as such regularly. Keyboard+mouse+screen = browsing firefox as usual. Works quite well. Libreoffice, okular, signal desktop… I’ve used worse computers in recent years, steamdeck desktop experience is better than many 4 to 5 year old cheap laptops with win10 or win11.

In Steam maybe. But this is StatCounter which is website visits. I doubt many Deck users are browsing the web.

For some reason I think a lot of them (probably even more than half) have tried browsing the web or at least using the desktop mode at least once.

Oh that is a good point, why didn’t I think of that!

I’m fairly sure it’s deficiencies in StatCounter’s measurement that’s accounting for it. Statistical noise, basically.

It’s probably even higher than that. These stats are mostly based on website visits I believe. And many Linux users are also privacy-minded and might spoof their OS in the browser. I bet a large portion of the Unknown is actually Linux too.

It’s hard to tell, as there are so many things that influence it. A huge factor is selection bias, as only a small number of website embed StatCounter, and that’s very likely to not be a representative sample. I’d bet that the influence of that is magnitudes larger than of user agent spoofing.

And a portion of the “Windows” as well. Hiding in plain sight and all.

China is actually down. India is high but not increasing

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