What Linux Are You Using?

Over at DesktopLinux.com, the results of the annual Linux desktop user survey have come in. With 38,500 users responding, the statistics are surprisingly homogeneous. Here's what everyone seems to be using.

Carrying a whopping 30% of the desktop install base, Ubuntu (including Kubuntu, Edubuntu, and the rest of the Ubuntu variants) is far and away the leader in the desktop Linux world. OpenSUSE follows with 19.6% of the vote, with Debian holding the only other two-digit percentage at 11.7%. I'm not surprised to see Ubuntu Linux leading the pack, but it's interesting to see such a dramatic lead, particularly with only two other distributions drawing significant user numbers.

Unsurprisingly, GNOME and KDE dominate the windowing environments. GNOME leads with 44.8%, compared to KDE's 34.8%.

The most substantial lead in the survey comes in the Web browser arena, in which Firefox holds a massive 59.6% of the user base. This shouldn't surprise anyone; Firefox is a dominant browser on Windows and Macs, too. Next up is Konquerer, the default KDE browser, with 13.7%, followed by Opera with 11.9%.

For the most part, the fact that Ubuntu leads the distros appears to automatically dictate the numbers in the survey. But when it comes to e-mail clients, people seem to be of their own mind. Thunderbird is the most popular desktop Linux mail client, with 29.6%, with Evolution holding 25%. 16.8% use webmail clients such as Gmail, while 13.5% use KMail.

Finally, DesktopLinux.com asked users to tell how they run Windows apps on Linux. 31.5%, said they use Wine, while 27.9% said they don't run Windows apps at all. 19.2% use VMWare, meaning they actually run Windows virtually on their Linux desktop.

So now we have a pretty clear picture of what the average Linux user's desktop might look like: Ubuntu with GNOME, running Firefox and Thunderbird, with Wine running Windows apps from time to time. But this is a mighty incomplete picture. I'd like to hear from you, our readers. Chime in with a comment about your own Linux box. But don't just tell us which distribution you're running. I want to know what apps you use, too. In particular, I'd like to know which office suite, which IM utility, which music player, or which graphics app you use on a regular basis. Don't be shy. Tell us about it.