[al_borland]

I think it has more to do with Linux becoming more viable on the desktop for the average user thanks to web apps and Electron. Developers can drive some trends, with them typically being the one in their group people go to for advice, but if developers alone haven’t tipped the needle by now, I don’t see that changing, especially when so much development these days isn’t being compiled.

Last time I setup a Linux box I was pleasantly surprised I could get a lot of the stuff I was used to, thanks to Electron. While I prefer native apps, having an official app that has feature parity to Windows and macOS will always win out, and I don’t think the average user even knows the difference.

The biggest weakness of Linux on the desktop going mainstream always seemed to be the lack of commercial software. That’s where OS X shined with developers. It was a Unix system that could also run Photoshop and Office, without hoping Wine worked, or relying on converting file types to maintain compatibility with the rest of the world… and hoping that worked.

The more native apps don’t matter, the better I see Linux doing.

I think his has also helped Windows. I remember several years ago trying Windows again for the first time in a long time. It felt mostly the same has 15 years prior. Looking around for app recommendations, and it was the same stuff from 15 years ago with the same UIs for the most part. No one was adopting the changes MS was trying to push. Electron comes along and now developers are putting their app everywhere, when for a while it seemed like it was mainly phone, macOS, and web. Windows and Linux users were seemingly expected to just use the web apps. While Electron may technical be the same under the hood, having something local for often used and mission critical apps is very nice.