I switched to Linux. :3
Samesies :3
Pretty much every one in tech at my company has switched from a Windows OS to Linux or Mac in the last year. Almost no one who knows that there is a working alternative is choosing to use Windows in their personal life.
I switched after 30+years on Windows/DOS. I got my mom to switch, one (or two) of my brothers have switched, my little niece’s first computer is running Linux. In the span of a year, my family went from 100% windows machines to about 70%. Hell I got my friend in another state to switch to linux, and he’s really running with it. Microsoft has a lot of momentum, they can endure these losses by relying on their business platform, but unless they commit to making a clean, light, privacy-focused, secure and stable OS, we will probably see the last Windows in the next decade.
They seem to have forgotten that businesses and home users want mainly the same things - stability, ease of use, common sense settings. Business users also want network management tools, but a lot of home users do, too. The problem is, no one is getting what they want with Win11. I don’t know how Microsoft thinks that’s going to end, but I only have one home computer that uses Windows anymore, and I’m switching it to Linux soon. It’s Win10, so it isn’t terrible, and I both can’t and don’t want to upgrade it, but I have a year before security updates stop. I also plan on getting another computer or two into my home in the near future for self-hosting, and I’m not considering Windows for them, either.
Me too. I had a custom gaming computer, but windows didn’t support it for windows 11. It took me awhile to find the right distro. I dealt with the same thing on the Linux side with people telling me I just had to replace all my hardware for Linux compatibility. Finally found CachyOS and it’s been one of the first times everything just worked on my computer.
I had already switched, I just nuked my old windows partition that I was keeping around for literally one program. Then I got some standalone DJ decks, and the program to export MP3/WAV/OGG/FLACC to work with them only runs on windows, so I got a win10 m$ surface 5 for £30 and it’s only jobs are to format stuff for the decks, read totally legally sourced manga, and practice hiragana/katana/kanji.
And… honestly? I’ve got my whole music library formatted and transferred to a usb for the decks… probably going to wipe it and install Nobara or something with the Surface Kernel Patch preloaded…
One of us, one of us!!!
Linux Mint gets the job done and I needn’t anything else. Long live the penguin!!
Pretty sure the drop had more to do with PC price increases from the AI-driven component shortages than the quality of Windows.
Two things can be true!
Hardware prices are particularily problematic for Window users who need to buy a new computer because Windows 11 is not compatible with their not-so-old computers.
Price too high so people building pcs chose to save $130 or whatever the fuck it costs now
Also linux just straight up works better in every conceivable way for my purposes
I don’t agree - Windows 11 was already really shit and losing popularity, then high prices may have put off some people who were thinking of upgrading their hardware to run it.
i was using windows 10 because I primarily use my workstation for gaming, and ten years ago linux gaming wasn’t great. Then Steam pushed the envelope, but I was too lazy to switch. All windows 11 had to do was not be shitty, and I probably would have upgraded.
Now, I’m back on linux; my rightful home.
Microsoft’s Windows OEM revenue fell 27% in the July to September 2026 quarter
Important info omitted from the title
this is the sales to dell, hp, lenovo, acer and shit… new pc sales cratering affects it, sure, but this sliver of revenue is barely a footnote on microsoft’s books.
I mean the windows 10 kill certainly pushed me… to linux.
Should have switched sooner. Didn’t realize what I was missing out on.
It was the push I needed to switch entirely to Linux.
It was already a long time coming, but I kept finding reasons to hold on. Windows 11 was just a line in the sand for me, felt like I was being asked to download malware.
Same here. Switched to Zorin OS and have zero regrets.
That Windows sales are crashing could also simply be because of the crashing PC market. People are buying fewer PCs and Notebooks, which often come with Windows preinstalled.
That is the primary cause of this. Mac sales have decreased, but they’re taking a greater market share
I’d bet this isn’t even a Windows thing, more like computers are unaffordable as home units and companies are letting their fleets age longer than usual trying to get out from under current RAM pricing.
Yep, SMB’s are holding on longer. And a few enterprises where there’s tens of thousands of machines, could be enough to impact those sales figures.
I have friends in the SMB IT space and ALL their clients are delaying desktop/laptop upgrades.
I see the same in large enterprises. People are still using 5-6 year old machines (still fit for purpose).
I think the mass migration to linuxtopia accounts for maybe 2-3 of that 27%, but the bulk of it is just declining PC sales.
Higher AI adoption, slower job market, fewer new hires, less need for new leases, smaller orders from vendors. The boom of the 2010s is over, and AI isn’t going to fill that gap (literally just said it’s the cause of it).
I used to dual boot, not anymore. MS won!
Edit: Just to be clear, I only use Linux now.
Why are y’all hating on Microslop? They are awesome! They gave me the biggest gift of all with Windows 11. A high-speed-ticket to Linux freedom after 30 years of Windows. Fuck Microslop.
Lots of people have systems without windows 11 requirements: TPM or are on processors that arent supported by windows 11. Microsoft made a choice to force a lot of people to buy new computers and it didnt work out for them. Its not that people made a choice to hold out, they got left behind by msfts idiotic product choices.
Sales? Who’s paying for a windows license?
Most people who by computers are. It’s usually baked into the price of the hardware.
At least, it used to be. I don’t touch that stuff anymore, so maybe it’s different nowadays.
full price? idiots and companies. however the oem keys cost like 5 bucks.
Masgravel free
I paid like 5€ for mine. Not sure about the details, but something about the EU stopping MS from preventing second hand software sales (I think), so you can get them super cheap. Bought the key like 5 years ago and zero issues whatsoever. At that price it’s not even worth pirating.
I did switch. To linux.
i forked up my debian forky install… twice… but it still has been a better experience than Windows 11
Yeah. It’s one of the reasons I don’t like suggesting people dual boot. Use an old computer if you need both, or just swap over.
Though, I did use a pair of pci-e cards with nvme drives inside that I would physically swap when I was transitioning.
I switched to linux in 2018 because windows 10 sucked too
