Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by pessimizer 637 days ago
Desktop and laptop sales are declining, but that's probably because they're all fast enough now and there's no reason to replace them unless they break. That's actually more room for Linux, because the big two OSes are gradually going to leave those people behind. Most people are going to have fairly new phones in their pockets and super-old laptops at home.

Anecdotally I've been getting a lot of calls from normies afraid of surveillance and now AI in the OS (both Mac and Windows), asking how to switch to Linux. The ones on Windows also very much hate Windows.

I have a feeling that Microsoft and Apple will not mind this, Linux desktop share getting that high is in fact a comforting, Firefox-sized claim that consumers have other, freer, functional options. It also allows their most disgruntled users to leave rather than become obsessively angry with an OS they've been trapped with.
2 comments
surgical_fire 637 days ago
> Desktop and laptop sales are declining, but that's probably because they're all fast enough now and there's no reason to replace them unless they break.

This, and a lot of people got new desktops/laptops during the pandemic.

I actually got my laptop in late 2019, and it is still running smoothly. Back in thr day a 5 year old laptop would be ancient. Now it still runs fine everything I want on it.

I also think current hardware is lasting for a longer time than before. I remember I used to have a lot more issues with faulty components after a few years of use, etc.

link
monkeyfun 637 days ago
Another thought, though I'll fully disclaim I didn't look into data on sales:

What's being counted as desktop sales?

Because I would suspect that more gamers and hobbyists than ever are simply putting together mid and high-end PCs themselves out of parts, rather than buying prebuilt.

It's been made trivially easy even for the totally inexperienced and uninformed by simply copying popular youtube guides, and I suspect the pandemic chip shortage price hikes greatly increased consciousness about prices even after it muchly recovered.

link