Source: https://linux-hardware.org/?view=os_display_server
Reporting is done by users who voluntarily upload their system specs via
# hw-probe -all -upload
this post was submitted on 13 May 2024
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No the sample size is ~5000, which is pretty OK if representative of the population (big if though)
Given that it requires self-reporting from the command line, I feel like the people that are more likely to be on the cutting edge may be more likely to report as well
To the contrary, I would expect the sample to skew more towards people who have a heavily customized X session and strong opinions about window managers while drastically underrepresenting average GNOME users who stick with the default Wayland session. Someone who likes their custom setup can still be waiting for a Wayland equivalent while casual Ubuntu users have been defaulted to Wayland on new non-nvidia installs since early 2021.
People who voluntarily report usage are more likely to be new users, experimenting with Linux distributions etc. Greybeards like me will check out new stuff every few months or years, and won't shout about it one way or another. We'll probably not send statistics when prompted, either.
This isn't prompted. To send your data, you have to install a cli tool and run it with 2 specific options.
I don't think any new users are represented in the sample.
That indeed changes things, potentially introducing much more bias. What motivation would somebody have to install this tool and run it? Is it being marketed/advertised somehow? How, where, and to whom? :-P
It collects system info that helps you troubleshoot, or check a computer's compatibility with Linux.
It offers a switch to upload your anonymized data to the web site where it's visualized and ordered for better readability, and also entered into the statistical analysis.
If I were a new user, I'd consider using such a tool. I guess I'll see myself out. ;-)
Hence the big if
I doubt it's representative of the population. Because it's from self reporting, at best it's representative of those who advocate their favourite platform, which is just a particular portion of the population. Though it would be cool to see Wayland surpass X