Trends in Linux distributions
Distro Walk – Current Distro Trends
Bruce fires up DistroWatch's search engines to reveal what's trending in Linux distributions.
Distros may have caught up with proprietary operating systems around the end of the first decade of the millennium, but that does not mean they no longer evolve. Technological innovations and social trends in free software mean that there is always something new. For this reason, every few years I like to fire up the search engines on DistroWatch [1], which has been listing distributions since 2001, to pick out the latest trends (Figure 1). The last time I did this was in 2021, so I figured it was time for another look.
Distro Statistics
In the first days of 2024, DistroWatch lists 958 distributions. Of those, only 274 are still active. Given that many distros are derivatives, while others are personal projects or the work of a handful of developers, this low survival rate is unsurprising. While distributions come and go, there are always new ones to replace them. Although 47 distros are listed as dormant (meaning they might be revived), 637 are officially discontinued. Surprisingly, since the last time I looked at the statistics in 2021, the number has declined by only one. By contrast, in 2014, 285 were active, and 323 in 2011. Today, the decline has more or less stabilized, no doubt because of such trends as tiled desktops, the everyday use of containers, the rise of distros for specific hardware manufacturers, and immutable distros. Compared to the 2010s, the last few years have been an era of technological innovation.
Yet if technological innovation continues to produce new distributions, the most popular distributions show little change. As shown in Figure 2, eight out of DistroWatch's Top 10 with the most page views have not changed since 2021, with only Garuda and elementary OS slipping out and Zorin and openSUSE entering this list. These changes probably reflect temporary popularity due to major releases more than any enduring status.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
KaOS Linux 2024.05 Adds Bcachfs Support and More
With updates all around, KaOS Linux now includes support for the bcachefs file system.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils New Iteration of the Stellaris Laptop Line
The Stellaris Slim 15 is the 6th generation and includes either an AMD or Intel CPU
-
KDE Releases Plasma 6.0.5
The latest release of the Plasma desktop has arrived with several improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Gnome OS Adopting systemd-sysupdate
Gnome OS is about to undergo a major under-the-hood change that promises enhanced security.
-
Endless OS 6 Now Available
After more than a year since the last update, the latest release of Endless OS is now available for general usage.
-
Fedora Asahi 40 Remix Available for Macs with Apple Silicon
If you've been anticipating KDE's Plasma 6 for your Apple Silicon-powered Mac, then you're in luck.
-
Red Hat Adds New Deployment Option for Enterprise Linux Platforms
Red Hat has re-imagined enterprise Linux for an AI future with Image Mode.
-
OSJH and LPI Release 2024 Open Source Pros Job Survey Results
See what open source professionals look for in a new role.
-
Proton 9.0-1 Released to Improve Gaming with Steam
The latest release of Proton 9 adds several improvements and fixes an issue that has been problematic for Linux users.
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.