There's always arguments across many angles on what exactly Linux needs to succeed to become more mainstream and the answer, as we've long said, is pretty simple.

The biggest push may indeed come from the Steam Deck. A PC in a handheld form factor, that allows you to hook it up to a monitor for a full KDE Plasma desktop experience. Very exciting. If we see a lot of people enjoy it and the Steam Deck is a success, you can be almost guaranteed that more devices will come along and slap SteamOS 3 on it and then also have a KDE Plasma desktop available.

  • dogmuffins@lemmy.ml
    4·
    3 years ago

    Desktop usage is only kept afloat by their use in business.

    That’s like saying accounting software is only “kept afloat” by its use in business. Sure, there’s more business use than personal use, but it’s business use will continue to grow.

    Do you seriously think there were more desktop users in 2006 than there are now ?

    Linux didn’t become mainstream, and now it’s completely moot. Even if you want to disagree with me emotionally, surely you see the writing on the wall?

    You seem to think I’m pining for some kind of linux-desktop utopia, which isn’t the case at all. I’m not saying I want linux to conquer the desktop, just that the desktop isn’t dead.

    Personally I think the last 20 years in computing has demonstrated that opensource is the best model for server software, while proprietary is the best model for desktop software. If linux desktops were a better product (in ways that matter to most users) then it would have gotten more traction.

    • DPUGT@lemmy.ml
      1·
      3 years ago

      Do you seriously think there were more desktop users in 2006 than there are now ?

      If you’ll let me do plus-or-minus on the year 2006 and the “now”, then that’s almost certainly (going to be) true.

      You seem to think I’m pining for some kind of linux-desktop utopia, which isn’t the case at all.

      I think rather, that you think this is a winnable race when the Earth just opened up and swallowed all of the race cars and yours is about to fall into the abyss.

      It’s just over. I’ve seen too much from random yahoos about how their primary computing experience is a phone. And it’s not as if those people are going to work and sitting down at an office computer, they work at Arby’s or whatever. The other explanation is that there’s an orchestrated conspiracy to mislead me into believing the desktop is dead by a team of millions of propagandists writing subtly about how to do common computing actions on Android, or that the desktop has just came and gone, like dumb terminals before them. Like teletypes.

      Personally I think the last 20 years in computing has demonstrated that opensource is the best model for server software

      Probably, but that didn’t stop Microsoft and dotnet from conquering some large fraction of that market. God knows why.