Can we say that the market has spoken?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_syste...
I look forward to the day that windows is mostly a UI over WSL and things like the regsitry become a distant memory.
The idea of a market works if it costs ~0 to enter a market, consumers have an infinite access to knowledge and infinite time to make a decision BUT make it in 1s when at the store, and also enough money so as to not be a problem. Basically, consumers have all the power and vendors have none.
Nothing is really a market, and operating systems definitely shows it.
Huh, why not?
You don't see them in stores because there is not enough demand for them, and because stores are dying anyway. Very easy to find them online to buy.
Dial up was widespread well into the early 2000's, and even then ADSL started to spread slowly.
> You don't see them in stores because there is not enough demand for them
There is no demand because, again, the market is a lie. One OS is forced to consumers, on the computers they buy in the stores, they use at school, they use at work. That's exactly what I'm saying.
> Very easy to find them online to buy.
Computer literacy of the population is not comparable to the one of people on HN, so no, I wouldn't say it is as easy as buying a linux computer online than buying any computer offline.
> Dial up was widespread well into the early 2000's, and even then ADSL started to spread slowly.
Cable became common in the early 2000s, and even if you couldn't get it at home you could go somewhere that had decent speed, certainly to download a 600mb ISO.
Not bothering to address the rest of your contrarian points.
I keep trying to communicate this whenever people are attempting to manifest an Invisible Hand to control bad behavior. More people need to be aware of this.
I like your succinct point. I wish there was something so short and understandable for an even fuller picture. Like including that for a marked to price things in a way that works for societies, consumers need to choose long term over short term gains and that the price needs to not make economic externalities of human rights or destroying the climate.
Microsoft aggressively abused its monopoly position in order to make sure that Linux would never win in the desktop market, and then inertia took over, so no we can't say that the market has said anything useful