Have You Ever Considered Switching to Linux? [MakeUseOf Poll]

Linux has been with us for a quarter of a century, and the fact it's still going strong is testament to its lasting appeal. However, the open-source operating system has never quite broken out into the mainstream on desktops, with a market share sticking at around 2 percent.

That small minority of users are passionate about Linux, as evidenced by the number of readers who regularly visit our Linux section. But it's still a minority, no matter how the figures are presented. Which led us to wonder whether Linux is doomed to remain a niche operating system.

Peak Apple

To answer this week’s question please scroll down the page until you see the poll staring back at you. But first, we need to look at the results from two weeks ago, when we asked, “Do You Think Apple Has Peaked?”

Out of a total of 367 votes, 39.5% chose "Yes, but their downfall will take a long time," 16.9% chose "No, but they will peak eventually," 12% chose "Yes, and they'll slump fast," 11.7% chose "Who cares?!," 10.9% chose "Apple's future is unpredictable," and 9% chose "No, they'll keep on growing forever."

The votes are so spread out it's difficult to draw many conclusions from these results. A slight majority believe Apple has indeed peaked, although the rate of the company's downfall is still up for debate. It could take years, or it could take decades, but surely nothing lives forever.

More interesting is the astonishing nine percent of people who believe Apple is invincible, which suggests that fanboys are alive and well, even here on MakeUseOf. And then there are the 11.7 percent who don't care but chose to vote regardless. Bless 'em.

Comment Of The Week

We received a lot of great comments, including those from withheld, macoszero, and Hildegerd. Comment Of The Week goes to Dave (no relation), who earns our admiration and affection for this comment:

I believe that Apple has stopped being innovative and is now just tinkering, doing the small stuff, marking time. I stopped buying Apple hardware as a conscious choice based on cost and benefit, and have not regretted that decision, though I continue to use OSX as a hackintosh until what I assume will be an eventual return to Windows when MS gets their act together again. Windows is not as pretty but it’s a better OS IMHO.I think history will show that Apple was the greatest bubble of all time and after Jobs, their success was based on nothing much more than an ability to dumb-down the technology to attract fashionistas by the million. Case in point: The iPad. Comes in with hype. No keyboard required. next thing, 3rd-party keyboards come into existence to fill the obvious gap: 80% gadgetry and fashion hype, 20% usefulness. Bubble’s already bursting. The Apple watch? Puhlease, it’s just ugly and needs an iPhone to be useful. It’ll appeal to joggers I expect..

We chose this comment because the idea that Apple is in itself a technology bubble is a rather original and intriguing one worth exploring in greater detail. This also comes from someone who formerly bought Apple hardware but has now stopped doing so. Which could be the shape of things to come.

Long Live Linux

Those people who use Linux tend to love Linux, and won't have anything negative said about their operating system of choice. They have formed a cohesive community that is passionate about the product it has chosen to support. If only that community was larger thanks to more people using Linux.

We want to know whether you personally have either switched to Linux or ever considered doing so. If Yes, what operating system did you abandon in favor of Linux? If No, why has Linux never been on your radar? Please answer the question honestly to help us compile usable results.

Please vote in the Poll above, and then explain in the comments section below why you voted that way. If you have switched to Linux then let us know why you did so, and which distro you chose? If you have never even contemplated switching to Linux, then what prompted that decision?

The more information you can provide with your comment, the more accurate our conclusions can be based on the results. In other words, voting in the Poll tells us something, but adding detail in the comments section below tells us a whole lot more.

The best Comment Of The Week will win our everlasting admiration and affection. At least until we all meet back here again this time next week when we’ll have a new question awaiting your input.

Image Credit: Adam Harvey via Flickr