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Why would they have any interest in Linux on the desktop? I could see them having their own distro, but I feel like that would have to be geared towards servers

by jrs95 8y ago

Why would they have any interest in Linux on the desktop? I could see them having their own distro, but I feel like that would have to be geared towards servers.

phire 8y ago
Microsoft have shown a tendency in the past to unifying their server, workstation, desktop and even phone operating systems. I don't know if they will keep that tendency (plus, it's more likely to lead to them sticking with Windows on servers) However, if they do move towards Linux on servers they will naturally explore Linux for workstations too.
- boogiewoogie 8y ago
  Can't believe I'm saying this but I think MS could own Apple if they took on Apple in any programming realm outside of objective c/Swift if they embraced Linux desktop.
  - jrs95 8y ago
    Unified frontend development with .NET is their big opportunity for this IMO. Something like Xamarin Forms but a lot more optimized like Flutter and supporting mobile, desktop, and browsers would be incredible. Right now .NET seems pretty unpopular but a really strong front end use case could reverse that.
sjwright 8y ago
If their prediction is that if Linux starts getting a share of locked-down corporate desktops (think insurance companies, warehouses, big retail, etc) it would make sense to be playing in that field, given that it's a familiar name for people transitioning from tired old Windows XP Embedded or similar. It would be very clever for Microsoft to start offering Office 365 for Linux but only support it on their own distro. And it's understandable; getting that bucket of ugly bolts to work on Linux would be an epic hack job and probably would never be particularly stable on random distros.
signal11 8y ago
> Why would they have any interest in Linux on the desktop? Short answer: Chrome OS (also Android). Chrome OS is a Linux distribution being aggressively promoted by a large, well-funded competitor. It can already run Android apps (in release versions) and Linux applications (in beta). Ironically Visual Studio Code runs really well on Chrome OS, as do the Android versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint -- full screen like a proper laptop application[1] Microsoft's applications already run on Linux; it's really up to Microsoft to decide whose Linux distributions they get to run on. [1] https://imgur.com/a/rp0VFR4 https://imgur.com/a/rp0VFR4
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
  Considering how good a job Microsoft has done of fragmenting the UI, breaking things with frequent updates, and generally turning Windows 10 into a Goldberg-esque nightmare, it looks like they're already practicing running their own Linux Desktop Distro.
- jrs95 8y ago
  It would probably make more sense for them to support Android/Linux applications on Windows rather than trying to make Windows applications work on Linux. Especially since they're continuing to work on slimming down Windows and getting to run efficiently on ARM, I don't see why they would invest any resources into Linux on the desktop.

by jrs95 8y ago

Why would they have any interest in Linux on the desktop? I could see them having their own distro, but I feel like that would have to be geared towards servers.

phire 8y ago

Microsoft have shown a tendency in the past to unifying their server, workstation, desktop and even phone operating systems. I don't know if they will keep that tendency (plus, it's more likely to lead to them sticking with Windows on servers) However, if they do move towards Linux on servers they will naturally explore Linux for workstations too.

boogiewoogie 8y ago
Can't believe I'm saying this but I think MS could own Apple if they took on Apple in any programming realm outside of objective c/Swift if they embraced Linux desktop.
- jrs95 8y ago
  Unified frontend development with .NET is their big opportunity for this IMO. Something like Xamarin Forms but a lot more optimized like Flutter and supporting mobile, desktop, and browsers would be incredible. Right now .NET seems pretty unpopular but a really strong front end use case could reverse that.

sjwright 8y ago

If their prediction is that if Linux starts getting a share of locked-down corporate desktops (think insurance companies, warehouses, big retail, etc) it would make sense to be playing in that field, given that it's a familiar name for people transitioning from tired old Windows XP Embedded or similar. It would be very clever for Microsoft to start offering Office 365 for Linux but only support it on their own distro. And it's understandable; getting that bucket of ugly bolts to work on Linux would be an epic hack job and probably would never be particularly stable on random distros.

signal11 8y ago

> Why would they have any interest in Linux on the desktop? Short answer: Chrome OS (also Android). Chrome OS is a Linux distribution being aggressively promoted by a large, well-funded competitor. It can already run Android apps (in release versions) and Linux applications (in beta). Ironically Visual Studio Code runs really well on Chrome OS, as do the Android versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint -- full screen like a proper laptop application[1] Microsoft's applications already run on Linux; it's really up to Microsoft to decide whose Linux distributions they get to run on. [1] https://imgur.com/a/rp0VFR4 https://imgur.com/a/rp0VFR4

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
Considering how good a job Microsoft has done of fragmenting the UI, breaking things with frequent updates, and generally turning Windows 10 into a Goldberg-esque nightmare, it looks like they're already practicing running their own Linux Desktop Distro.
jrs95 8y ago
It would probably make more sense for them to support Android/Linux applications on Windows rather than trying to make Windows applications work on Linux. Especially since they're continuing to work on slimming down Windows and getting to run efficiently on ARM, I don't see why they would invest any resources into Linux on the desktop.