Summary Ubuntu installs on Windows (WSL) are growing faster than native Ubuntu installs.
[...] I expect to see more Ubuntu WSL users than “native” Ubuntu users over the coming months.
Seager says that people are sticking with Windows (usually due to employer needs) and using WSL to use Ubuntu whenever they need Linux.
And this method may end up outpacing actual Ubuntu installs.
Given how the interview is a few months old now and has only just come to light, there's a good chance we've already seen Ubuntu on Windows overtake native Ubuntu installs.
Summary Ubuntu installs on Windows (WSL) are growing faster than native Ubuntu installs.
Many devs stuck on Windows use WSL to run Ubuntu for ML/AI work.
The year of Linux may arrive, but it could be inside Windows via WSL.
So, good news for Linux fans: it seems the 'year of Linux' may finally be upon us. The bad news is, the year of Linux may not happen on Linux. A past interview with a member of Canonical reveals that the number of people installing Ubuntu on Windows in a Linux environment is rapidly outpacing native Ubuntu installs, and it may one day become the largest market share.
Ubuntu on Windows may one day outgrow native Ubuntu installs
It's a weird, but believable outcome
This interesting claim from Canonical was spotted by Windows Latest, which found the quote tucked away within an interview published on The Pragmatic Engineer a few months ago. In the full article, the publication interviews Jon Seager, the vice president of Engineering at Canonical, about what's going on with Ubuntu.
One topic Seager touches on is Ubuntu WSL installs, and he has some surprising statistics and predictions to share:
“In a year, the growth in our WSL numbers is significantly higher than the growth in Desktop usage numbers. [...] I expect to see more Ubuntu WSL users than “native” Ubuntu users over the coming months. This is especially true for anyone doing ML or AI work. We’re already hearing from lots of devs who have no choice but to get a Windows machine from their employer, but then find themselves needing to do AI or ML work. With WSL, this is a lot simpler.”
If you're a little confused as to why people are talking about Linux on Windows, don't worry; you haven't gone mad yet. When Seager says that people are installing Ubuntu more on Windows than on native Linux, he means they're downloading Ubuntu on their Windows machines and then running it via the Windows Subsystem for Linux (that's the "WSL" he often mentions in his quote).
WSL lets you set up a Linux environment within Windows and interact with it through a terminal, while still using Windows as your main operating system. Beforehand, people had to dual-boot Windows and Linux, but some people find WSL far easier to manage. Seager says that people are sticking with Windows (usually due to employer needs) and using WSL to use Ubuntu whenever they need Linux. And this method may end up outpacing actual Ubuntu installs. Yeah, it's pretty strange.
Given how the interview is a few months old now and has only just come to light, there's a good chance we've already seen Ubuntu on Windows overtake native Ubuntu installs. Still, as long as Linux keeps being used in any form, I'm happy.
