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End of 10 is a campaign to move people over to Linux with Windows 10 support ending (www.gamingonlinux.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/linux@programming.dev
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[–] 61 points 1 year ago (12 children)

I need Linux users to understand that Windows folks don't stop using an operating system just because the support ended

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  • [–] 27 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I think that's because they don't understand or don't care about the risks. Annoyingly I was in the process of making my own version of this campaign when it launched but I was aiming to explain why someone should care that the os is no longer supported and why its a problem first, then suggesting what to do about it. Options weren't exclusively Linux but I realise buying a new device isn't always an option either so some people will absolutely keep using 10. It's not about getting to 100%, just enough that you can make a difference or keep devices out of landfill.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I know. I was going to post, "and how's that campaign going?" There was a bit of a spike months that was pretty clearly due to Steam and the Steam Deck, and TBH Linux is undercounted because Linux users are, as a group, less likely to share accurate telemetry and to masquerade as other OSes, but still. I'm not seeing a giant market share spike. I'd expect the refugee population to be less likely to masquerade and to show up clearly a Linux.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Linux users are, as a group, less likely to share accurate telemetry and to masquerade as other OSes

    I'm going to assume you meant "more likely" on masquerading, but I do want to point out, Linux users also tend to be more proud of their choice and to want to contribute to the statistics, want to be represented. Maybe those numbers effectively cancel out, but I doubt they significantly lean towards underrepresentation for the reason you mentioned.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    "Less likely to share accurate telemetry, and to masquerade"

    I am sometimes overcautious about comma usage. In this case, it made my meaning ambiguous.

    Much of the telemetry is gathered from web sites harvesting browser self-identification. I would guess that a larger percentage of Linux users are concerned about privacy, and use plugins and settings that obfuscate browser identification, which most do, because browser identification is one of the key analytics fingerprinting that trackers gather. You don't? Use blockers and privacy settings, I mean.

    And, while Microsoft and Apple undoubtedly know about nearly every single installation that is online at any given time, Linux users of most distributions have to actively turn on telemetry. For many distributions, you have to go out of your way to seek out, install, and activate telemetry software. Additionally, unlike Microsoft and Apple, there is no one single source of truth for Linux installations, even for people who set up telemetry; which organization are these Linux distributions phoning home to?

    A great many Linux users are also privacy advocates, and we steer well clear of tracking, telemetry, and analytics. A great many of us show up as Microsoft or Apple computers; I'd guess a far larger percent, and greater total number, than Apple or Windows users who show up as Linux. Steam is probably the biggest single contributor to accurate telemetry to impact Linux since advertisers popularized analytics.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    You “need” that?

    In the absolute, you are wrong. Some will. Some have. I have migrated a few myself.

    The end of support is a problem for Windows users and therefore an opportunity for Linux supporters.

    Will a large fraction of Windows users migrate to Linux? Probably not. That said, more will move if we educate them and offer our assistance. Even a small migration of Windows users would be a significant increase in Linux Desktop users. If 5 percent of Windows users migrated, it would double the number of Linux users. So, moving even a small percentage of Windows users would be a major success.

    Why does that bother you?

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    The irony is that you migrated them, they did not do this themselves.

    Tons of people do not have an "IT guy" in their family of friends who would do such a thing for them. And they don't care enough to learn how to install any operating system, let alone one they don't know anything about.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    Not immediately, but eventually... When the the thing stops working correctly (because/or it is infected with entirely new and exciting viruses), they will take it to someone to fix and get told they have to upgrade and it will be pitched entirely as "your computer is a worthless paperweight, please buy a new one". A campaign like this is there to plant the seed so that when those people get told, they might remember that they have options.

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