• gaylord_fartmaster@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    16
    ·
    8 months ago

    You don’t honestly believe that, right? Like you’re aware that the Steam hardware survey only includes Steam users that have it installed and choose to participate in the survey? There are way more computers and servers running Ubuntu than there are steam decks.

    • woelkchen@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      8 months ago

      You don’t honestly believe that, right?

      Context is computers dual booting Windows and Ubuntu, so obviously consumer hardware and not servers and also not multiple containers on one device. There are millions of Steam Decks sold already and Steam Deck is consumer hardware which means that there are millions of individual devices running SteamOS.

      servers running Ubuntu

      Sure there are hardcore users that run dozens of containers simultaneously and Ubuntu is quite a popular choice among those. Completely different topic from the one I’ve replied to, though.

      • metaldream@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        8 months ago

        Steam numbers are completely meaningless. There’s absolutely no way SteamOS outnumbers Ubuntu even if we limit this comparison to desktop installs. Ubuntu’s been around for a very long time and many of its users wouldn’t show up on Steam because they don’t game.

        • lengau@midwest.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          8 months ago

          If you look at just my household, Ubuntu and its derivatives outnumber SteamOS by a factor of 7:1, not even counting numerous VMs and containers, or 3:1 if you’re just counting desktops, laptops and tablets. But if you look at my steam usage, Ubuntu hasn’t shown up there in over a year.

          I probably spend 10x as much time on Ubuntu machines as I spend on my Steam Deck, but the Steam hardware survey would never surface that fact, nor is it intended to.

            • lengau@midwest.social
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              5
              ·
              8 months ago

              Sure, but it’s often a clearer way to explain why a statistic is misleading.

              In this case, my anecdote shows an example of why the steam hardware survey is not, and was never intended to be, an accurate depiction of what distros people are using overall. Instead, it’s a depiction of what distros people are using for Steam, which is the point of the statement above mine.

              Using anecdote instead of statistical data is a bad idea. But so is ignoring anecdotes simply because they’re anecdotes, as anecdotes are often one of the best ways to find limitations in statistical data.

              • woelkchen@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                8 months ago

                Sure, but it’s often a clearer way to explain why a statistic is misleading.

                Provide a better one or keep quiet.

                • lengau@midwest.social
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  5
                  ·
                  8 months ago

                  You’re being rightfully called out by multiple people for using bad statistics. That doesn’t require better statistics to do any more than doubting Russell’s teapot requires showing that it’s actually a coffee pot.

        • woelkchen@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          8 months ago

          Steam numbers are completely meaningless.

          No, they are an actual statistic, whereas you deniers just have gut feeling and literally nothing else.

          There’s absolutely no way SteamOS outnumbers Ubuntu even if we limit this comparison to desktop installs.

          [citation needed]