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"Greatest?" No. "Most popular for desktop users?" Yes.
Most common maybe. I feel most windows users aren’t actively choosing to use windows. It’s just what they are left with.
People usually choose to use Linux or Mac. As Linux is rarely preinstalled or like Mac more expensive (when it comes preinstalled) than the windows devices for sale. I’m not convinced given a fair shake, windows would have the market share it does.
Servers have highly informed people making decisions about their operating systems. When weighing the options about uptime, security, etc they rarely choose windows. Cost isn’t really a factor relative to the price and operation of the server.
Oh, no, given an actual choice (even if it were exactly the same computer at exactly the same price), Linux would likely win out eventually if MS didn't massively step up their game. Windows has way too much stupid bullshit that its userbase is noseblind to: driver fuckery, installing applications by finding files on an Internet scavenger hunt, no built-in, centralized updating of applications, having to restart your PC for your OS to update, being consistently slower and more resource-hungry, needing a dedicated antivirus, bare minimum customization, not being able to uninstall completely useless shitware (e.g. Internet Explorer in goddamn 2024) and having the bloatware you can uninstall come back after updates (e.g. Candy Crush), the amount of dark patterns during installation, licensure bullshit, this new scheme of pressuring users into OneDrive by making it the default, ads in your "premium" OS, and I could just keep going.
MS could definitely still gatekeep their Office suite and their Copilot AI (for the few people who actually use the latter), but every other software vendor would start supporting Linux if the userbase moved there, and LibreOffice etc. (already fine for the basic office stuff most people do) would get the funding and contributors to implement more advanced functionalities.
installing applications by finding files on an Internet scavenger hunt, no built-in, centralized updating of applications,
Windows has the Windows store for finding and centralizing updates. Just like installing linux apps that aren't in a package manager is a scavenger hunt without centrailized updates.
I'm glad Windows store isn't popular. I'd rather not have MS in control of my apps.
having to restart your PC for your OS to update
Consumer facing distros like Ubuntu want you to reboot after OS/Window manager updates. It's simply easier and more reliable than expecting the user to know all the dependencies of their programs.
The uninstallable bloatware has become a huge hassle for me. But consumers have become used to their iPhones with the preinstalled bloatware and apple iDrive ads built into the OS constantly nagging. So of course Microsoft copied Apple.