[walrus01]

> Windows is probably the most important piece of software in the entire world

It's absolutely not. The amount of things that use the Linux kernel for critical network and infrastructure projects, that are mostly hidden to the public... Or that are built on a foundation of something with a clear Linux heritage.

Windows is probably the most visible important piece of software with a GUI.

[voidfunc]

This is such an incredibly pedantic HN answer.

Let's just say they're both insanely important to our continued functioning digital existence. Without working Linux or Windows we are quite fucked.

[walrus01]

95% of what I see many ordinary users do with a computer these days is mediated from within a browser window (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox). Those browsers seem to work just fine on MacOS or a Linux desktop.

[danparsonson]

The point isn't what's possible, it's about the way things are now. Most people with a desktop or laptop machine run Windows on it. Could Linux do everything they want from a computer? Sure, almost. Are they actually using Linux? No - ergo, Windows is still massively important. Not to mention the countless organisations whose IT departments are heavily invested in Windows desktops and all the related supporting infrastructure. Of course they could all change, but they're not going to do it any time soon. Yes Linux is awesome and everywhere but, for example, just a few weeks ago one of my (software developer!) colleagues scoffed when I mentioned Linux and asked if anyone still uses it - while Linux silently runs almost everything around us, Windows is still much more visibly present in most peoples' lives.

[mulmen]

I don’t see how the GUI makes Windows less important. Windows is everywhere.

[marcodiego]

> Windows is everywhere.

Not on the cellphone, smartv, router, supercomputer, webserver or tablet I use. Actually, they all run the same (with some customization) kernel.

[exporectomy]

The comment was about importance, not popularity. Those aren't mainly used for important work. If people are paying you to use the software, it's probably important to them.

[marcodiego]

> Those aren't mainly used for important work.

Tablets, smartphones and smart tvs have been of increasing importance on education activities, specially after the pandemic. My router is used for ALL my internet traffic, important or not. Webservers... basically most of what most things people do online. And supercomputers are right now doing high relevancy tasks like running climate models, simulating protein folding, drug interactions and improving vehicle's safety.

I'd disagree those aren't mainly used for important work.

[mulmen]

Are schools that use Windows tablets doing important work?

[rovr138]

That’s a very small, and biased, sample size.

[marcodiego]

That very same kernel runs on the majority of smartphones, tablets, smart tvs, servers, routers and 100% of the biggest super computers out there. This very same kernel literally flies on Mars. Although my sample size is small it is not biased neither are the referred market segments.

[kroltan]

And while Mars and supercomputers are cool and important for society and humanity in general, there is also no denying of the immediate impact that Windows has in most human-interfacing applications.

Supermarket checkouts, public services, small-scale logistics, health, just plain old office workers, and so on.

An undeniably large slice of companies and public sectors that do not have a dedicated IT staff rely on Windows-based computers to organize and operate their activities. Outages to those probably have more direct impact on actual everyday people going about their lives than an outage in a Mars rover or lack of WiFi access.

Just to be clear I'm not playing teams here, *nix-based systems are ridiculously important too, but the open-source base is arguably a more - democratic? healthy? stable? I lack of a better word - development process, and its importance does not lessen the importance of other systems.

[mioasndo]

The only place windows is competitive is desktop - a small and shrinking piece of the market.

[marcodiego]

This! People must stop acting like computer = desktop.