14 DAY TRIAL // Windows continues to be the top operating system on the desktop, with market share analysts putting it at more than 90 percent share, followed by macOS and Linux.
And while Linux is only the second alternative to Windows according to these stats, it’s no secret that the last few years brought a substantial increase, with many more users choosing to switch to Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or another distro than before.
The Windows 10 launch sparked more criticism against Microsoft, and the company’s aggressive upgrade campaign certainly didn’t help. There were users complaining that Windows 10 installed on their systems even though they didn’t specifically ask for it, and part of them decided to give up on Microsoft products entirely and switch to Linux.
There were also claims that Microsoft was using Windows 10 to spy on its users, and once again, all this criticism pushed more users to the Linux side.
Your say: Windows or Linux?
More than a decade ago, the main reason for users to jump ship and embrace Linux was security, as Windows was the preferred target of malware writers and hackers across the world.
And it all happened for a reason: Windows was the number one operating system and although it was so widely adopted, Microsoft’s security efforts lacked the efficiency that the company is aiming for these days.
In the last few years, however, the security gap between Linux and Windows doesn’t appear to be so significant, and those users who decide to switch camps seem to have other reasons than security.
We’re not going to present any market share statistics because they’re more or less irrelevant in this long-distance rivalry between Windows and Linux, and users’ voice is a lot more important, mostly because they could represent a better signal of what’s to come for the two platforms.
And that’s why we’re asking you: is Linux the right alternative to Windows? Is giving up on Windows for Linux a good decision given Microsoft’s recent updates to the operating system? Should Microsoft be worried about the transition of some users to Linux? Express your thoughts in the comment box below.