14 DAY TRIAL // The Linux desktops are on the rise by a significant percentage, but they are still nowhere near the undisputed leader in this category, Windows. At least not yet.
According to the data provided by netmarketshare.com, the Linux desktops have registered a surge in 2013. They started the year at 1.21% in January and ended at 1.73% in December.
If we do the math, that is also a little more than 30%. If Linux were a business, its owners would be very happy. Given the fact that Linux is actually completely free, the only ones left to be happy are the users.
The data from netmarketshare.com doesn't say why and it's difficult to ascertain the reasons for this huge increase, but it might have to do with the fact that a lot more games are now available for Linux, with the help of Steam.
The next year will see the release of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and SteamOS from Valve. These two distributions might greatly influence the number of Linux PCs by the end of 2014.