By my count, Linux has 11% of the desktop market. Here's how I got that number

Linux hit 11%? The internet lit up. The ZDNET writer did some math-jitsu: count “unknown” PCs as Linux, add Chromebook numbers (ChromeOS runs on Linux under the hood), and suddenly the penguin is pounding on Windows’ door. Cue the comments. Skeptics like driggs say it’s fuzzy math, accusing the author of “pretending” unknowns are Linux and tossing in Chromebooks to juice the score. xadhominemx says the figure “feels an order of magnitude too high.” On the other side, Animats drops the classic meme — “the year of Linux on the desktop” — and adds a geopolitical twist: governments distrust US cloud control and want out of Microsoft’s ecosystem. Meanwhile, JumpCrisscross clowns Microsoft’s new “agentic OS” pitch, joking Apple could run billboards on that alone. Actual switchers show up too: fantasizr spent a holiday installing a lightweight distro and says it covers web apps and basic dev. The receipts? Zorin OS claims 1M downloads, 78% from Windows users; StatCounter shows steady growth; the US government’s DAP data puts Linux at 5.8% on desktops, and a hefty chunk if you include Android. The vibe? Equal parts victory lap, math fight, and meme fest — with Windows’ recent stumbles fueling the popcorn.