How do you make Linux more popular?

- The original image said windows where this would be accurate but I doubt it applies to the average linux user
- thanks for the red circles
  
  Extremely important stuff here
  
  The red circles convinced me to enlarge the picture to read it.
  
  I'm confused, is the image about Linux? I don't see it says Linux anywhere in the red circles. /s
- I do too. Its just for fun. BTW you should check out _____.
  
  Every time one of my friends has issues with windows, I tell them to install a real OS.
  
  When you tell people to use Linux and they have any issues or something is unclear, they'll ask you every time. Not sure how many people I could support simultaneously.
- Well, I do. In fact I've installed Linux on 4 classmate's laptops, after insisting for some time.
  
  You are a true friend.
- People don't have any reason to recommend Windows because it's the regular OS everyone already uses.
  Linux may be an improvement for a lot of people's use cases but a vast majority of them don't even know it exists and its not just for servers and stuff. Mac people probably do this too.
- People do this all the time.
- You don’t tell people that you use Arch in random conversations? /s

With the amount of fuck-ups from Microsoft, this might not be necessary, but:
The average user doesn't want to install the operating system or doesn't care about it as long as they can do their things, and those who care can easily do so today. Thus, IMO, advertising to the end user is a waste of resources.
Focus on permeating it in governments, institutions, and OEMs to increase market share and break the "Linux is complicated / incompatible / for developers" stigma, then organic adoption out of these environments will grow - at least among people who can actually use it with the supported software.
- Really, this seems to be the best way to spread Linux adoption to me. I would bet that Linux got at least a good few users from the Steam Deck coming with it pre-installed. Big way to show people that for most things the average user doesn't need to go into the command line to use their system for what they need as well. Of course, continued improvement in the software included in the most popular distros would really boost Linux adoption as well. I've seen plenty of people say they'd make the switch - if only they could use MS Office or Adobe software on it. Alternatives like LibreOffice, Thunderbird, Kdenlive and the GIMP have come a LONG way since I first made the switch around 2009, but especially the Adobe software still outclasses the competition when it comes to features. MS Office isn't as hard to let go of, especially since you can still use Office 365 Online on Linux and LibreOffice is closer to having all the OOTB features of MS Office than the other programs are to Adobe, but you have to convince people to give it a try first and a lot of employers still require MS Office for work.
  I will also say, though, that it was only due to Windows Vista otherwise bricking my laptop back then that I even made the switch. I'd heard of this mysterious OS named Ubuntu so I thought I'd give it a try to save my laptop before I bought a new one, especially since I was living abroad at the time and didn't want to deal with the hassle of buying a computer with a foreign language version of Windows on it. So I had a friend burn me a copy of Ubuntu 8.10, it worked like a charm, and I only ever since ran Windows at home when dual-booting for a couple years for gaming purposes before Proton became a thing. I didn't even know Ubuntu was Linux until I'd installed it and started learning how to use it in earnest. Really showed me how even then Linux wasn't so difficult to use for the average computer user.
- The thing is, without a unified GUI it's impossible to get an answer to "how to X on Linux" that doesn't involve the CLI (and that'll work for everyone). Even the ones that do are often distro-dependent.
  People can still get things done by searching for "how to X on
  <distro>
  using the GUI".
  
  CLI can be good. The benefit of CLI is that it is fairly easy to build GUI front ends on top of a solid based.
  Not to mention CLI makes "quick fixes" easier.
- Your partially missing the point. Linux is unlikely to be something someone who doesn't like computers is going to use. It is something people who are power users and computer lovers will use. Its stolen the market share from the old school windows power users.

I'm a die hard Linux user. I don't spend much time telling people about it outside of actual tech conversations that should include the topic. I did raise my kids with a lot of Linux desktop use on their machines. They uniformly find the Windows 10/11 experience to be horrible, so I guess I've managed success on that front.
- @azimir @urska
  I'm happy your kids are into Linux! It's better to raise on then windows in my opinion.
  
  The crazy moment was when one kid was about 10 years old and he busted open the terminal without promoting to get something done. He already knew it was faster and more powerful so he just started learning the tools.
  I danced a little jig in my head once I realized what had just happened.
- That's when you know you've won!
  
  Or you know Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot

There's a circular reasoning happening that's causing Windows to stay dominant. Why isn't professional software being developed for Linux more? Because it doesn't get used in the workplace. Why doesn't Linux get used in the workplace? Because it doesn't have professional software support.
You need to break one of these things to succeed.
- Agreed. Both things need to happen when they can.
  If you live with the applications available on Linux ( or prefer them as I do ) then you can use Linux in the workplace.
  At the same time, some “professional” applications are going to need to start targeting Linux. Some do. More need to.
  There is an implied contract above. If you need professional applications and they become available on Linux, you have to use them ( and pay for them ).
- Yes I've observed small examples of this at various places I've worked where the devs want to use linux but the company want everyone on windows or macOS.
  The problem is that enterprise software like RMM which the companies usually need for compliance/security/insurance reasons don't have working linux versions. It's particularly intractable because most devs think of this software as basically being malware so you're never going to get a coordinated effort to assist the SAAS companies with compatibility/integration.

Linux isn't competing with Windows or MacOS.
It doesn't follow the capitalist model of a market, and that's a good thing.
- Windows and MacOS are products. Linux is a technology and common human knowleadge.
- I think I don't even want Linux to become too popular. It will attract the wrong kind of attention. First, being more targeted by attackers it may become less safe. Most importantly, I don't even know how but I know that if Linux becomes a huge market for home users, corporations will look at it and go "uh, big market sitting there let's monetize it" and there is absolutely no way Linux won't become shittier in more ways than one when thousands of big corporations out there are trying to get their hands on Linux users and our data in multiple different ways. Again, I don't know how it will happen but I don't like having this kind of attention on Linux.
  
  I don't see how that could happen. You can always choose another distro, or make your own if absolutely necessary. But I understand why you're concerned.

You don't. It's already happening. Slowly but steady.
- Exactly. If critical mass is achieved inorganically, it would result with a reverse in uptake & possibly even a revolt against it.
  You can lead a horse to water... (but a pencil must be lead)

Do we need to do anything? Microsoft updates do the bulk of the work - surely everyone has a last straw?
- This is an extremely sheltered view. Most people don't even know what an operating system is, and they assume that it is an unalterable component of the computer they purchased at Best Buy. They don't have a last straw because as far as they're concerned there isn't anything they can do about it other than perhaps switching to a Mac.
  
  Hopefully most have a tech literate friend within their circle, and the wherewithal to test their assumptions. It falls to the tech literate create the alternatives and preach the values of software freedom.
  
  ...and yet Linux is a thing
  Linux was very obscure for a long time and now has moved to less popular. Honestly I think many tech savvy people will switch and the rest will be supported by some company making a product based on Linux.

Hm it's probably "bundle with the hardware, make sure the hardware really works and there's a price incentive vs Windows".
As long as you have to actively migrate (including backing up, losing access to several commercial apps) and could end up in the situation that your hardware isn't 100% working or you're workflow isn't really supported?
- make sure the hardware really works
  Also make sure the software really works, one of the main issues with Linux adoption by hardware manufacturers is their lack of dedication to it. In Brazil, for example, most brands that ship with a Linux distro (except for DELL, which ships with Ubuntu) ship with basically digital waste (unmantained, poorly developed distros) just to make the hardware cheaper, because they know people will get it to just install a pirated copy of Windows in it.

Ask India, they hit 15% Linux desktop use
- High Fives India, Well Done!!!
- It's not like pirating Windows is hard or expensive.
  
  Quite possibly. North America still has too much disposable income to start making OS decisions based on pricing

Why does Linux need to be more popular? This isn't some NRM with a proselytizing mandate. Use whichever OS you prefer and let others do the same.
- Linux being more popular means more applications of higher quality. I guess this does not matter to you. For those of us that would prefer more high-quality applications, Linux popularity matters.

Linux is the most used kernel on the planet - and it’s not close. Just the Android phones are enough to get a comfortable lead. Add the embedded systems. Add the servers. The competition is severely trounced.
The few desktops left and right are just slivers of the complete domination that Linux exerts over commercial operating systems.
- That's kind of why it is so good. It comes from a solid base that's well used and tested. Compare that to GUI first.

I guess they mean "how to make buggy messy often usermade Desktop distributions more popular."
As Linux itself is insanely popular, it's everywhere and runs everything. From the vast majority of server and network infrastructure to most phones.
- The Linux desktop is great for people who need a system that works with them. It is a little trickier explaining that to someone.
- System76 (a laptop maker "rebrander") is making their own desktop. Can't think why ASUS, Lenovo or Dell could not contribute to some desktop or maintain their version.
  
  Because they'd need to support it or hire an assload of developers to bugfix and contribute to the projects they include in their distro.
  And that's something those companies don't like doing.
  System76 is a hardware vendor specifically created to cater to the Linux sphere.

Pretty much the entire internet runs on Linux already.
For personal users I think a stable, well supported, secure and privacy focused version will help. Also, it helps if this is the version your "computer-guy" uses, the guy that you (or your mom) call(s) when your computer is broken.

Why, though? Like, why should we care?
- The more people, the more donations, the more devs, the more user bug reports, the bigger communities, more communities, more brains, more software support, more game support, more likelihood of using linux at work, less microsoft and apple bullshit, ...

As someone who uses Linux as a daily driver for both work and home, I have this very easy trick on making Linux more popular:
I don't.
- I want it to be better for me. Everything else just happens to benefit others. Do to others as you would want to be treated or something like that.

Why?

It’s 2006 and the year of the Linux Desktop
https://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/articles/Ah_the_change/2006_The_Year_of_the_Linux_Desktop
- All jokes aside Linux has grown a lot since the. Just need to keep pumping out good releases, integration and reducing the jank that used to be a thing

I absolutely recommend my preferred flavor of Linux to friends that don't run the same distro I do.

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I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.

Please don't.

Another “Steam Deck is the reason” failure to cover the fact that once Steam Deck dies out it’s users also leave. Valve has awful hardware history and Steam Deck itself only runs games because they are the ones paying for Proton. It should not be controlled by a company that is known to make you lose your games.
- It should not be controlled by a company that is known to make you lose your games.
  Are you referring to the fact that Valve promotes digital game distribution (which is a very fair view), or are you talking about some incident where Valve removed games from people's libraries? Because if it's the second one, then I would really like to hear about it.
  
  Yes Valve has removed games, CSGO is gone, Artitic card game is gone, TF1 gone, etc. they are part of the Corporate World.
- Why would you think that the Steam Deck dies out? Isn't it a huge cashcow to Valve compared to the Steam Box and the Steam Controller?
- Valve money pulled Linux gaming a decade forward.
  Gamers is what will make Linux go mainstream, mark my words.
  Not even a corpo shill, check comment history but valve has been pro consumer while holding the market share. Most other companies are actively working against their customer base for some idiotic reason. Next up subscription toilet.
  
  Valve has subscriptions you think CSGO loot and DOTA are free or something? Let me remind you that CSGO is also dead and replaced with CS2 with zero chance of playing the original. TF2 is never ever getting a update. TF1 is dead. Valve is part of the corporate system.