Poll: Windows, MacOS, Linux -- what are you running?

What Host OS do you run?

  • Windows
  • MacOS
  • Linux
0 voters

If Linux, what distribution?

  • Ubuntu
  • Mint
  • Debian
  • RHEL
  • CentOS
  • Fedora
  • openSUSE
  • Arch
  • Gentoo
  • Slackware
  • Other (please note in comments)
0 voters

If someone doesn’t like the poll pinned, please unpin.

Please add Kubuntu or other KDE-based Linux systems to the poll.

2 Likes

I tried @RRPollack . Unfortunately, according to the forum software warning, editing a poll is only allowable during the first five minutes of posting that poll.

1 Like

Sorry, I did not include that. Perhaps we can use comments to cover things like this.

I too use KDE, but on Arch Linux – I really like KDE!

Some info on why we can’t edit discourse polls after they start:

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/can-you-change-a-discourse-pol-NyBfPmwfRPGyvKxeC4edbw

Plasma on Debian :slight_smile: 19 20

1 Like

KDE is a desktop. It is probably available on most major distributions. I prefer KDE (plasma x11) if that helps confuse the issue, Wayland stopped working for me on my old hardware) but have my wife’s account set up to use GNOME. Both are on the same machine. Probably another poll on desktop would be helpful? But then again, I’m not even sure what’s available anymore since I’ve used KDE for so long.

2 Likes

Agreed: Kubuntu is Ubuntu with the KDE desktop integrated rather than Mac-wannabe (Gnome).

Was this poll just someone’s personal curiosity, or is it intended to influence the direction of future KiCad development?

1 Like

I get challenged occasionally, mostly from manager types, who don’t think Linux is a viable option for engineers today. So, I am conducting polls in various communities to get a sense for what people doing real work are using.

So yes, this started as my own personal curiosity, but I think it should be generally useful information for any project to better understand their users.

The KiCad team has its own statistics from some sources that are far better than a forum poll :wink:
They also don’t match this forum poll. Lol

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But that isn’t what you asked . . .

Shame I’m the only Gentoo user :frowning:

engineers work in most win because of the lack of commercial software or similar non-commercial software on linux. This is the reason and not the operating system itself.

Fedora Silverblue which is an atomic distribution.

Can you point us to this information?

1 Like

This is what I often hear, yet I have used Linux almost exclusively for years now and know a number of others who have as well. The only exception for me is firing up a Win VM occasionally for LTSpice, but I’m trying to move simulations to KiCad where I can. From the poll, it appears 22% of respondents are using multiple operating systems. 67 votes responses (as of now) is not a huge number, but it is not insignificant either.

Being on the forum of a program that supports several operating systems, the statistics will obviously be different. If we take specifically by operating systems, then it turns out something like this

It also appears that Linux users are more represented here so you can conclude that Linux user have more issues . . . and that Mac users have the least issues.

Obviously that’s a nonsense conclusion . . . but just as valid as any other when you have a sample set that is here for a reason that may well skew the results.

A couple of comments that may well be relevant:

I set up a poll 2.5 years ago:

The majority of (probably) regular forum users, according to that poll, have seen more youthful days. Many would now be retired or semi-retired, hence their available time to spend on this forum. Their computer is probably also not just a work horse. It, along with electronic design, is again, possibly partly hobby and something to “play with”.
Maybe this has something to do with the use of Linux?

On the business side of things:
A business (most sizes) will generally have all computers running the one OS. By far the biggest OS for business is Windows, so the engineers in the design department get to use Windows, even if they would rather something else.

2 Likes