Top 5 Reasons Why Linux isn't Popular | Linux Market Share

This video gives the Top 5 Reason Linux isn't more popular among the masses. I break down the current and past market share. I then go into the reasons for each point on why Linux isn't growing. .

[geoffk]

Sorry, here are the *real* top reasons:

1. It doesn't come preinstalled. How many users ever re-install their OS? Most users that I know can barely change their screen background. Expecting users to reinstall a new OS is always going to be a major obstacle. They'll just use whatever they got.

2. Lack of commercial software. Users want to know that pre-packaged commercial applications are available. In many cases (e.g. music software) free equivalents are not readily available. Or they need to use something from work. And these can't just be "ported over". It's proprietary commercial software. If the software company doesn't offer a Linux version, then you're hosed.

3. Lack of hardware support. This has gotten much better, but, if you have a brand-new PC, than it's likely that something won't have a proper driver out of the box. For a non-technical user, this is the end of the story.

4. Lack of gaming support. This has gotten a lot better lately, but, if you're a gamer, Windows is still the obvious choice.

5. Lack of business support. People take work home, and having a different OS on your home computer is a nuisance at best.

6. Image. Windows is "mainstream". MacOS is "cool and trendy". Linux is "technical, nerdy and difficult". These are not really true, but perceptions are what counts.

7. Lack of familiarity. Most users have never even seen a Linux PC and are scared of screwing up their system with something that they don't know or understand.

It all boils down to lack of support. In business, Linux is hugely popular as a server OS, because skilled sysadmins have no problem administering, installing and maintaining it. But non-skilled home users are intimidated. And rightly so in many cases.

[RahmatGunturH]

Don't try Linux guys, I got stuck and use Linux as daily driver. And never satisfied by windows anymore. I feel like a nerd :(

[drkjk]

Reason #6, the condescension from Linux users is suffocating. It's a great hobby, I get it. 40 years ago these same type of people were scoffing at other's that they couldn't or wouldn't take the time and effort to build their own motherboard and computer.

[kelvynabreu]

Your reason number 2: "hey I am smarter than you" and "if you don't know this, you're stupid" mentality.
This is the biggest reason why it took me soo long to jump into linux. It was just too hard to find friendly help.
I gotta say, Linux mint community has been different in that regard.

calling stupid people asking in your community, and then complain about not enough people using linux to have support for hardware is what makes sense to them.

Even more so, people using one distro call out on people using another distro.... like "ubuntu is for noobs", "arch is for experts", "linux mint is for newbies".

You don't see windows 7 users hostiles to windows 10 users, or mac ppc users hostiles to mac intel users... they just don't care and use what they want to.... that is the way it should be in linux.

[taith]

As linux user I do agree, if you'd make analogy to cars, mechanician tells you: that element you need, just build it, here is documentation how that part looks in other car, and your car documentation and here is molding press, GOOD LUCK! (as compile it from the source)

[dierkrieger]

I've been a Linux user for over 10 years, my problem, GAMING GAMING GAMING.

[oschiri]

I'm an IT pro and used SCO and XENIX back in the days. I try a Linux distro every year. Linux made great progress and Windows got worse all the time. But still: I always gave up using Linux on my main PC. If I could start computing from scratch, well yeah, something like Mint could really work. But I always get stuck somewhere. So I spend hours and hours in search for a solution instead of productive works. Then I reach for the Windows 7 DVD... and ahhh, it's not good, but it gets the job done.

[thereallantesh]

The number one reason that Linux is not more common is because the majority of end users will simply use whatever operating system comes installed on their computer. Heck most users don't even really understand how to use some of the basics of their operating system. They know how to use programs, and that is it. I work in an office environment, and have for many years. It is amazing how many people I come across who can't even perform a simple file transfer from within Windows Explorer. To think a user like this would ever be able to install an operating system is quite comical. So unless the day comes where Linux systems are commonplace on store shelves you will never see the adoption rate go up.

[Xyxox]

Linux is incredibly popular, just not on the desktop.

[armagedon]

One thing that Linux doesn't lack is the abundance of opinions on that subject.

[DavidIstre]

You are the main reason why I felt comfortable enough to start using Linux. I don't feel like you've been trying to get people onto Linux "at any cost", but you are honest about the user's experience.

[shadowolf]

Another problem would be that Linux has too many distros which are spread out and most use different ways of doing things or being able to install things etc etc, generally they are not universal and that is a problem.

[Jurmeh]

All of you Linux programmers that create a million different flawors of a graphical user interface should combine power and instead of moving the menus left and right, up and down, you should develop wine to the extent that the wine would be capable of running any program written for Windows out of the box. That would be a real game changer. People simply do not use Linux because they can not use their favorite programs written for Windows.

[MerikRelian]

I've been working with computers since I was an early teen (windows 95 days) and to me it was just always the way. Recently, I got Linux Mint 19 on my laptop (partitioned with windows 10) and I find that Linus is SO much faster! It just boots up and goes. I'm still learning about the system but it seems like for an average user, it should work perfectly fine in nearly all cases. it's mostly just a bit of learning subtle differences....but yeah so far I'm a big fan of Mint.

[jscorpio]

I want to like linux. I like the ideas behind it and the philosophy. I install it and try it out at least once a month, but after headaches upon headaches just trying to get simple things working like wifi on a MacBook or a netgear wireless adapter on a tower PC, or a graphics card, and it STILL doesn’t work. Or I finally get something to work and then linux fails to boot, it’s just too much of a headache. And then, I don’t know if it’s just me or what but every time an app crashes, which happens a lot, the entire OS locks up. Then I have to force shutdown the computer.
It’s like every linux developer starts working on a software and gives up half way through.
I think the main problem is that every linux developer has their own idea of what they want linux to be, which can be a good thing in some respects, but it also causes a constant reinvention of a barely working wheel instead of a what could be the best OS in the world if the entire community came together and made what already exists even better and more complete and usable.
If that could be achieved, I’d ditch Mac and Windows in a heartbeat because while I don’t like supporting giant greedy corporations, I still want my computer to “just work” and so far, Mac and Windows are the only ones that have achieved that.

[williammiller]

That was a fair evaluation. I have been using Linux exclusively for a few years but for some of the reasons you mentioned I find it necessary to go back to windows from time to time. When I do go back to windows I’m annoyed I can’t wait to go back to Linux when the task is done.

[guilherme]

Great video. The lack of marketing makes a difference, a good number of people do not even know that Linux exists.

[elgranpichiricky]

Reason #5 very much, I tried to transition from Windows, ive tried it a lot of times, the last of which i found that whatever i tried, with my limited computing skills, the computer didn't run as flawlessly as it does on Windows out of the box. It was buggy, it looked awkward as though i hadnt installed any graphic drivers, it showed me multiple errors when i tried to install apps both from apps store and the terminal through tutorials. I love Linux but i just don't have a use for a computer that works just barely, and i feel frustrated because I don't have any computer skills to contribute, but i can't imagine why all the smart community of Linux have not been able to make the OS work decently for beginners, where as the dummies from Windows, even though they aren't acknowledged as particularly smart people, have actually made it work

[Nine-Signs]

In my opinion,

Most users don't want to type in lines of text or spend a day reading a forum in order to find the right instructions to make something happen / work as it should nor spend a day looking for an app that will work that does the same job as the apps they know on windows.

Windows tries to be all things to all people. Hence quality suffers.
Linux is some things to some people. Hence quantity suffers.

Middle ground required.

[redstickham]

Great video. The fragmentation thing reminds me of the early 1980s in home computers when we had Commodore, Apple, Atari, TI, DOS, and others out there, making it hard for the user to decide what to buy and the software companies to decide what platforms to write software for. Some platforms had lots of software available, while others had very little. Installing software on Linux is also a pain sometimes. Sometimes the repositories don't have the most up to date version of something if they have it at all and if there isn't a packaged version out there, then the user has to compile from source, which I've had numerous problem with in the form of missing dependencies. If there was a standard version of installing software across all distros like there is in Windows, maybe more commercial software vendors would take a chance on Linux and then more users and more hardware vendors would follow suit. My ham radio laptop uses Ubuntu Mate and I've used Mint in the past and think that both are good OSes, it's just the issues mentioned in the video that keep Linux from getting significant market share. Just my opinion.