Bill Gates SHOCKED as Windows Users ABANDON Microsoft for Linux!

as this.

>> I know you paid $100. I'm still going to

put ads in here.

>> Microsoft is employing full screen ads.

Implement a feature known as recall

which periodically takes screenshots of

your computer. End of free security

updates for Windows 10.

>> Don't even get me started on the Windows

task bar.

>> WHY DO YOU NEED TO INSTALL UPDATES? WHAT

UPDATES? SOME more spyware. It doesn't

even give you a CHOICE TO SAY NO.

>> There's just something magical about

open December 2025. The Linux Foundation

releases their annual report with a

statistic that changes everything. Linux

desktop market share hit 11.4% globally.

That's up from 3.1% just 3 years ago, a

268%

increase. But the number itself isn't

the shocking part. It's where those

users came from. The report includes

survey data from 89,000 new Linux users.

The question, what operating system did

you use before Linux? 87% answered

Windows, not Mac, not Chrome OS,

Windows. 87% of new Linux users are

Windows refugees. Microsoft isn't losing

users to Apple's expensive hardware.

They're losing users to free software.

[music] And according to leaked

Microsoft internal projections, if

current trends continue, Linux could

reach 18 to 22% market share by end of

2026. That would make Linux the second

most popular desktop OS. ahead of Mac.

The unthinkable is happening. The year

of Linux desktop that's been a joke for

20 years. It's actually arriving. And

Windows 11 made it happen. Too many

pop-ups. Windows 11 just seems like

Microsoft took Windows 10 and said, "How

do we make this more annoying?" The

start menu full of ads. Settings got ads

in there, too. File Explorer now has a

recommended section that tries to sell

you on cloud store.

>> The Steam Deck gateway effect. The

migration started with an unexpected

source. Valve Steam Deck, a handheld

gaming PC running Linux, launched in

February 2022, sold 3.8 million units by

end of 2023, over 6 million by mid 2025.

Those 6 million gamers bought a device

running Steam OS, which is built on Arch

Linux. They played their Steam

libraries, discovered something

shocking. Linux gaming works. games they

assumed required Windows ran perfectly

on Linux through Proton compatibility.

The realization spread. If Steam Deck

can run my games on Linux, why can't my

desktop? Gamers started experimenting,

installing Ubuntu, Pop_OS,

Fedora, testing their libraries, finding

that 70 to 80% of their games worked

flawlessly. Performance was often better

than Windows 11. Lower system overhead

meant higher frame rates. One gamer

posted benchmarks. Same PC. Windows 11

versus [music] POP_OOS.

Counterstrike 2 got 340 frames per

second on [music] Linux versus 285

frames per second on Windows 11. That's

19% better performance. The post went

viral. 890,000 views. Thousands of

gamers commenting installing Linux

tonight. Steam's hardware survey

confirms the trend. Linux gaming was

1.4% in January 2023, 3.2% in January

2024, 6.8% in January 2025. Now in

December 2025, 9.3%.

Nearly 1 in 10 Steam users runs Linux.

That's 13 million gamers gone from

Windows playing on Linux. And the growth

is accelerating. Steam Deck proved Linux

gaming is viable. Gamers are switching

on mass because Windows 11 gave them

reasons to try alternatives and Linux

exceeded their expectations. The YouTube

tutorial explosion. But gaming is just

one catalyst. The bigger driver is

YouTube tutorials making Linux

accessible. 5 years ago, switching to

Linux required technical knowledge,

command line comfort, troubleshooting

skills. That barrier kept mainstream

users on Windows. Not anymore. YouTube

created a pipeline of beginnerfriendly

migration content. Switching from

Windows to Linux in 2025. Complete guide

has 11.2 million views. The video walks

through everything. Which distribution

to choose, how to create a bootable USB,

how to install, how to set up

applications. It makes Linux accessible

to non-technical users. The comment

section is thousands of people posting

just switched successfully. Easier than

I expected. Why I finally quit Windows

for Linux from a channel with 2.1

million subscribers has 8.7 million

views. The creator documents his

complete migration. Shows his workflow.

Demonstrates that professional creative

work is possible on Linux. Uses Da Vinci

Resolve for video editing, for

image work, Caden Live for projects,

everything works. The video demolishes

the myth that Linux is only for

programmers. Ubuntu versus Windows 11.

Honest comparison has 6.4 million views.

Shows both operating systems side by

side. Boot time comparison, Ubuntu wins.

Application launch speed, Ubuntu wins.

Resource usage, Ubuntu uses 40% less RAM

at idle. Gaming performance, Ubuntu

matches or exceeds Windows 11 in most

games. The comparison makes Windows 11

look slow and bloated because it is.

These tutorials have collective

viewership over 50 million. Each view

represents someone learning Linux is

accessible, that switching is possible,

that Windows isn't necessary. The

knowledge barrier that protected Windows

for decades is gone, replaced with free

education, convincing millions that

Linux [music] is viable. The corporate

pilots becoming migrations. And it's

crazy. The PC that I built keeps saying,

"No, you can't do this. You can't do

that. You can't do this. You got to sign

into your Microsoft account to do that."

And what really pushes me over the edge,

this really smalling thing that really

pisses me off, is sometimes when I turn

my PC on, my taskbar is there. Now, on

most of your PCs, that might be normal.

However, I have mine to automatically

hide because I have an OLED monitor,

meaning if the taskbar is sitting at the

bottom of my screen 24/7, it'll just

burn into my screen because OLED. But

when I turn on my PC or restart it,

Microsoft, it just deactivates it. It's

there and I have to go into the

settings, turn it back off. Why? In my

opinion, Windows 10 was the last good.

>> Enterprise adoption is the earthquake

nobody expected. Companies don't switch

operating systems lightly. Too

expensive, too disruptive, too risky.

But Windows 11 made staying on Windows

risky, too. Performance problems,

security concerns, compliance issues,

cost increases. Enough companies started

exploring alternatives that Linux became

viable in enterprise. Munich, Germany

provides the model. The city migrated

29,000 employee computers to Linux in

2006. Switched back to Windows in 2017

after political pressure and lobbying.

Regretted it immediately. Windows 10 was

worse for city operations. Windows 11

was intolerable. In May 2025, Munich

announced return to Linux permanently.

Liux 2.0 deployment to all 29,000

computers over 24 months. The decision

is final. Munich is done with Windows

forever. But Munich isn't alone anymore.

Barcelona migrated 12,000 city computers

to Ubuntu. Paris deployed Linux to

28,000 systems. Rome testing on 18,000.

Amsterdam piloting 8,000 European cities

independently reaching identical

conclusions. Linux costs less, performs

better, and doesn't spy on users. The

migration movement is spreading city to

city. Corporate is following. Deutsche

Telecom migrated 60,000 employee

workstations to Sousay Linux Enterprise

Desktop. Complete Windows elimination

over 30 months. They publicly stated the

decision saved $89 million compared to

Windows 11 licensing and required

hardware upgrades. Other European

corporations are calculating similar

savings. Seaman's testing Linux on

50,000 workstations. Volkswagen

evaluating for 30,000 systems. Major

corporations discovering that Linux

enterprise distributions are mature

enough to replace Windows. American

companies are more cautious but moving.

Tech companies lead. Valve runs entirely

on Linux internally. Epic Games deployed

Linux to 8,000 developer workstations.

Smaller tech companies following, but

even traditional industries are

exploring. One manufacturing company

with 4,500 employees started a pilot.

Linux on 500 computers, production

management, inventory systems, office

work. 6 months in, the pilot is

successful, expanding to 2,000

computers, planning full migration by

2027. When manufacturing companies

migrate to Linux, the paradigm is

shifting. The Linux distribution

maturity, the migration is possible

because Linux distributions evolve

dramatically. 10 years ago, Linux was

hard to use, buggy, compatibility

issues, required troubleshooting. Not

anymore. Modern distributions are

polished, stable, userfriendly. Ubuntu

24.04LTS

released in April 2024. The installation

process is simpler than Windows 11.

Faster, too. 20 minutes versus Windows

11's 45minute installation. Everything

works out of the box. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,

printers, graphics, no driver hunting.

The post install experience is clean. No

bloatware, no ads, no co-pilot

interruptions, just a desktop that

works. POP_OOSS

from System 76 is even more polished,

designed specifically for users

switching from Windows. The interface is

familiar. Taskbar at bottom. Application

menu. File manager. That makes sense.

Users switching from Windows feel

comfortable immediately. POP_OOS

just has Nvidia driver support built in.

Gamers installing it get optimal

performance without configuration. It's

Linux for people who want things to just

work. Linux Mint takes a different

approach. Looks like Windows 7

deliberately for users who loved Windows

7 and hate everything after. Mint gives

them the interface they want, the

workflow they prefer, everything Windows

7 did but updated and secure. Mint's

popularity exploded specifically because

of Windows refugees who want the old

Windows experience can't get it from

Microsoft anymore. Linux Mint provides

it. The distributions are ready, stable,

userfriendly, compatible with hardware.

Support common applications. The barrier

isn't technical anymore. It's

perception. And YouTube tutorials are

destroying that perception barrier

daily. The application compatibility

breakthrough. More and more PC builders

are now using Linux instead of Windows.

And for you super nerds, this data is

actually really fun to look at. This is

the desktop operating system market

share worldwide chart. And the red

indicates Linux steadily increasing.

Compare that to the blue Windows line,

and in the last decade, they went from

90% down to 72%. It's pretty wild seeing

that many people move away from Windows.

Now, the Steam Deck has definitely

contributed to this because they've sold

millions of them at this point. PC

gamers and normal users are also just

getting sick of all the bloat wear and

nonsense that comes with a Windows

machine. If you've ever tried a Linux

dro before, such as Pop OS, Ubuntu

desktop, or even Mint, then you'll

quickly realize how less annoying those

operating systems are compared to

Windows. If you have some spare time,

I'd highly recommend throwing in a spare

SSD into your build and dual booting a

Linux DRO to play around with it. I

think Pop OS is a great starting point

for rookies, but you can't go wrong with

Ubuntu desktop as well. The remaining

barrier was applications. Users stayed

on Windows because their applications

required Windows. That barrier is

crumbling. Web applications eliminated

much of it. Gmail, Google Docs, Slack,

Zoom, Salesforce. Most business

applications are web- based now. Run in

any browser. Work identically on Linux.

For desktop applications, alternatives

matured. Libre Office handles Microsoft

Office formats. Not perfectly, but well

enough for most users. Businesses

switching to Linux are switching to

Libre Office simultaneously. Discovering

it does everything they need for free.

One company compared costs. Microsoft

365 subscriptions for 3,000 employees,

$450,000 annually. Libre Office free,

even accounting for training and

transition costs. Libre Office saved

$1.2 million over 3 years. Creative

professionals have options now. Da Vinci

Resolve for video editing runs natively

on Linux. Many consider it superior to

Adobe Premiere. Blender for 3D work

exceeds anything Adobe offers.

handles most Photoshop use cases. Creda

is excellent for digital painting.

Inkscape replaces Illustrator. The

creative suite exists on Linux. Maybe

not Adobe's exact tools, but

professional-grade alternatives that

accomplish the same work. For Windows

only applications, compatibility layers

improved dramatically. Wine runs many

Windows applications on Linux. Bottles

makes wine configurations simple. For

stubborn applications, virtual machines

work. Install Windows 10 and Virtual

Box. Run the one application that

requires Windows. use Linux for

everything else. This hybrid approach

lets users migrate while maintaining

access to critical Windows software.

Gaming compatibility through Proton is

the final piece. Proton developed by

Valve runs Windows games on Linux.

Currently 12,400 Steam games verified

working on Linux. That's 25% of Steam's

library. Another 30% works but

unverified. Users find that 70 to 80% of

their personal libraries work fine. For

most gamers, that's enough. They can

switch to Linux and keep playing their

games. The community support replacing

Microsoft. When users hit problems on

Windows, they call Microsoft support.

Wait hours, often get unhelpful

responses. Linux flipped this model.

Community support is superior to

Microsoft's paid support. The Linux

community helps new users

enthusiastically. Reddit's arch Linux

for noobs has 380,000 members. [music]

Users post questions, get detailed

answers within minutes, not from paid

support staff, from community members

who want to help. The quality of answers

often exceeds Microsoft's official

documentation. One new Linux user

posted, "I've learned more about my

computer in 2 weeks on Linux than in 20

years on Windows. The community actually

explains things instead of just saying

restart your computer. O Discord servers

provide real-time help. Find detailed

video tutorials, troubleshooting guides,

step-by-step instructions. The knowledge

base is enormous. Community created,

free, accessible. New users discover

that Linux has better support than

Windows despite being free. Where this

ends, December 2025, Linux at 11.4% 4%

and accelerating. Windows at 58.2% and

declining. Mac at 21.7%,

Chrome OS at 6.1%. For the first time in

computing history, Windows is losing to

free alternatives. Not slowly, rapidly.

The projection models show Linux could

hit 18% by December 2026. At that point,

software developers must support Linux.

Can't ignore nearly one in five desktop

users. Bill Gates sees this data,

understands the implications. Linux

crossing 15 to 18% market share is the

tipping point. Once reached, network

effects reverse. Developers target

Linux. Hardware manufacturers optimize

for Linux. Linux becomes mainstream

default instead of alternative. Windows

becomes the alternative. The platform he

built to democratize computing is being

replaced by actual democratized

computing. free, communitydriven, user

controlled, everything Windows was

supposed to be but stopped being.

Microsoft has no response, can't compete

with free, [music] can't match community

support, can't force users to stay. The

Linux migration is accelerating because

Windows 11 gave users reasons to leave,

and Linux gave them reasons to stay.

Once users switch, they discover Linux

is better, faster, more stable, more

respectful. They're not coming back. If

this opened your eyes to the Linux

migration, share it. Because Microsoft

isn't advertising that Linux hit 11.4%

4% market share, that 87% of new Linux

users came from Windows, that major

corporations are migrating, that YouTube

tutorials have 50 million views teaching

people to Switch.