While the desktop is not Linux's claim to fame, Linux still offers a huge number of distributions that can make your desktop computer work just like you'd want. Credit: Shutterstock Windows clearly dominates our desktops, but Linux just managed to cross a milestone of its own. According to StatCounter, Linux has a little over 4% (actually 4.03%) of the desktop OS market. Check out StatCounter’s graph, and you’ll notice a slowly rising line near the bottom of the graph that represents Linux. StatCounter StatCounter’s data suggests that more people are using Linux on their desktop systems. Maybe because it’s free (most distributions anyway). Or maybe because there are several hundred distributions to choose from, one is bound to suit your fancy. In any case, this is good news for Linux. At the same time, as most everyone understands, the desktop is not Linux’s claim to fame and likely never will be. Linux runs on network servers, as well as devices that are so small that they don’t seem to fall into the “computer” category (running “Android,” the Linux-based mobile OS). And, of course, Linux is dominant among the world’s fastest supercomputers. (Linux powers all but one of the supercomputers on the most recent Top500 supercomputer ranking). Related content how-to Making bash aliases easy to manage Aliases provide an easy way to reuse complicated or often-used commands. By Sandra Henry-Stocker Mar 21, 2024 4 mins Linux how-to Determining leap years on Linux Leap years are not quite as regular as we might have believed. A fairly simple Linux script can tell you whether a year will be a leap year or not. By Sandra Henry-Stocker Mar 18, 2024 4 mins Linux how-to How to ensure users periodically update their passwords on Linux Requiring password changes is a common security practice, and Linux systems admins can use the chage command to view and change password expiration information. By Sandra Henry-Stocker Mar 14, 2024 3 mins Linux opinion Why is Linux so spectacularly successful? Open source code makes a lot of difference when it comes to how you can tailor an OS, adjust it to meet your needs, and fit it to the required tasks – whether large or huge. By Sandra Henry-Stocker Mar 04, 2024 3 mins Linux PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe