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Microsoft tries to make you think it’s not, but VSCode is proprietary if you download the official builds. Don’t use it! The Vscodium project [0] exists and p

Microsoft tries to make you think it’s not, but VSCode is proprietary if you download the official builds. Don’t use it! The Vscodium project [0] exists and provides builds directly from the source. This version has none of the user-hostile behavior! It also makes you realize Microsoft’s new round of EEE overreach when you see that the maintainers have to provide the extensions through their own repository and the default C# debugger doesn’t work for licensing reasons (everything else works perfectly). Don’t trust Microsoft. Use the code they give you (which is generally fine), not their proprietary products (which are generally very much not fine). [0]: https://vscodium.com https://vscodium.com

tmpfile 5y ago
It's cool they use the same source so it's always the current version. I always assume projects like these aren't current or are several versions behind.
homulilly 5y ago
Looks like they don't ship Apple Silicon builds, unfortunately.
- solarkraft 5y ago
  Ha, I considered mentioning it. Here are the Apple Silicon builds: https://github.com/tibeer/vscodium/releases https://github.com/tibeer/vscodium/releases They’re still working on making them official.
foob 5y ago
everything else works perfectly Isn't it also the case that pylance doesn't work and has some form of DRM to prevent it from being used with the open source version? I'm not saying that as a reason not to use the open source version, just wondering if Microsoft has already rounded the corner on that second "E" in EEE.
- siproprio 5y ago
  "strategic product strategy businesses feature decision" as literally said by their PM.
- smitop 5y ago
  Yes, the official VSCode binaries from Microsoft come with a binary blob to implement DRM. From the documentation (https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/wiki/Differences-between-the-repository-and-Visual-Studio-Code https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/wiki/Differences-between...): "The distribution includes a native node module that allows the extension to use a "handshake" to adhere to the license by ensuring it is being used from Visual Studio Code"
- Master_Odin 5y ago
  How is building proprietary plugins for the editor they themselves created and maintain at all part of EEE? Unless it's someway to extinguish LSP, which they also created?
stormbrew 5y ago
Sadly the main thing I use vscode for doesn't work in vscodium, so it's completely useless to me: remote projects. Without that I may as well just go back to sublime, which is lighter and faster.
- rPlayer6554 5y ago
  I assume that means it is missing the tight integration with wsl which is my primary use case.
  - jmiskovic 5y ago
    So the Linux is forcing you to use proprietary version of SW? That's wild.
  - 5e92cb50239222b 5y ago
    … or the other way around. It works fine-ish, better than using Windows directly in any case, for me at least.
  - alexeiz 5y ago
    It's not just WSL. There is "remote-ssh" for vscodium either.
    - number6 5y ago
      What does this do? Or better What is the use case? I never really worked with VSC other than the basics and I rarely connect to servers to edit files or sourcecode
      - kdmytro 5y ago
        I use "Remote - SSH" to develop on a VM. I try to keep the amount of software I run on my laptop to a minimum to keep it cooler and quieter. I have a VM on my workstation PC at home, which has a much better CPU than my laptop. The VM runs vscode backend, while the laptop runs vscode frontend, slack and a web browser.
BearOso 5y ago
And the Microsoft extensions, like for C++, fetch and run big binary analyzer daemons that do all the work behind the scenes. Use clangd and its extension instead.
wumpus 5y ago
Why don't you use an editor which has nothing to do with Microsoft? "generally fine" is not a good reason to be involved with a predatory company.
- d3nj4l 5y ago
  Because it’s hard to beat the ecosystem around VSCode. VSCode extensions take it from an OK text editor to an almost-emacs replacement.
  - wumpus 5y ago
    Funny thing, I waited a little and then added some new, great emacs implementations of everything people were saying was so great about VSCode.
    - subsection1h 5y ago
      Yeah, lsp-mode for Emacs exists because Microsoft created LSP for VS Code, so I'm glad VS Code was created even though I'll never use it. (I installed VS Code to see what the fuss was about and the first thing I wanted to do was hide the tabs because tabs are a useless eyesore in a text editor. But when I searched for a way to hide them, I read that it wasn't possible. Madness. I'll never understand how tech enthusiasts can enjoy using software that provides them with so little control.)
toastal 5y ago
Don’t trust Microsoft extends to GitHub as well. Same company and same issues. GitHub probably has even more of developer mindshare and should get equal outrage as this. At least VS Code is open source.
- speg 5y ago
  This kills me because I use and love GitHub. I’ve tried Gitlab a few times and we do use it at my day job, but I keep coming back to GitHub for personal use.
  - toastal 5y ago
    GitLab is fine and well-integrated, but it can be heavy and slow. There are alternatives. Sourcehut, Gitea, Codeberg (runs Gitea), GNU Savannah, or just plain cgit. It isn't a binary choice. I think GitHub might actually be best suited for personal projects. Projects aimed at others is now making contributors accept GitHub's proprietary ToS, vendor lock-in, and whatever experimental ways they plan to scan and profit from your code by offering it for "free".
- number6 5y ago
  Incredibly smart move from MS to buy github.
  - toastal 5y ago
    Certainly is neo-EEE as developer "influencers" claim M$ has turned a new leaf
  - malka 5y ago
    Never rely on GitHub features, like issues, wiki or actions. While the repo itself cannot lock you in, theses can.
thiht 5y ago
Or just disable telemetry and be done with it.
- peakaboo 5y ago
  This is your first day on earth? You sound like you have no experience how these tech companies grow and consume everything in their path. "Just disable it"... Sure. :)
Jugurtha 5y ago
For reference, "EEE", especially in the context of Microsoft, stands for "Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish|Exterminate". Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguis... From Wikipedia: >"Embrace, extend, and extinguish" (EEE),[1] also known as "embrace, extend, and exterminate",[2] is a phrase that the U.S. Department of Justice found[3] that was used internally by Microsoft[4] to describe its strategy for entering product categories involving widely used standards, extending those standards with proprietary capabilities, and then using those differences in order to strongly disadvantage its competitors.

tmpfile 5y ago

It's cool they use the same source so it's always the current version. I always assume projects like these aren't current or are several versions behind.

homulilly 5y ago

Looks like they don't ship Apple Silicon builds, unfortunately.

solarkraft 5y ago
Ha, I considered mentioning it. Here are the Apple Silicon builds: https://github.com/tibeer/vscodium/releases https://github.com/tibeer/vscodium/releases They’re still working on making them official.

foob 5y ago

everything else works perfectly Isn't it also the case that pylance doesn't work and has some form of DRM to prevent it from being used with the open source version? I'm not saying that as a reason not to use the open source version, just wondering if Microsoft has already rounded the corner on that second "E" in EEE.

siproprio 5y ago
"strategic product strategy businesses feature decision" as literally said by their PM.
smitop 5y ago
Yes, the official VSCode binaries from Microsoft come with a binary blob to implement DRM. From the documentation (https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/wiki/Differences-between-the-repository-and-Visual-Studio-Code https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/wiki/Differences-between...): "The distribution includes a native node module that allows the extension to use a "handshake" to adhere to the license by ensuring it is being used from Visual Studio Code"
Master_Odin 5y ago
How is building proprietary plugins for the editor they themselves created and maintain at all part of EEE? Unless it's someway to extinguish LSP, which they also created?

stormbrew 5y ago

Sadly the main thing I use vscode for doesn't work in vscodium, so it's completely useless to me: remote projects. Without that I may as well just go back to sublime, which is lighter and faster.

rPlayer6554 5y ago
I assume that means it is missing the tight integration with wsl which is my primary use case.
- jmiskovic 5y ago
  So the Linux is forcing you to use proprietary version of SW? That's wild.
- 5e92cb50239222b 5y ago
  … or the other way around. It works fine-ish, better than using Windows directly in any case, for me at least.
- alexeiz 5y ago
  It's not just WSL. There is "remote-ssh" for vscodium either.
  - number6 5y ago
    What does this do? Or better What is the use case? I never really worked with VSC other than the basics and I rarely connect to servers to edit files or sourcecode
    - kdmytro 5y ago
      I use "Remote - SSH" to develop on a VM. I try to keep the amount of software I run on my laptop to a minimum to keep it cooler and quieter. I have a VM on my workstation PC at home, which has a much better CPU than my laptop. The VM runs vscode backend, while the laptop runs vscode frontend, slack and a web browser.

BearOso 5y ago

And the Microsoft extensions, like for C++, fetch and run big binary analyzer daemons that do all the work behind the scenes. Use clangd and its extension instead.

wumpus 5y ago

Why don't you use an editor which has nothing to do with Microsoft? "generally fine" is not a good reason to be involved with a predatory company.

d3nj4l 5y ago
Because it’s hard to beat the ecosystem around VSCode. VSCode extensions take it from an OK text editor to an almost-emacs replacement.
- wumpus 5y ago
  Funny thing, I waited a little and then added some new, great emacs implementations of everything people were saying was so great about VSCode.
  - subsection1h 5y ago
    Yeah, lsp-mode for Emacs exists because Microsoft created LSP for VS Code, so I'm glad VS Code was created even though I'll never use it. (I installed VS Code to see what the fuss was about and the first thing I wanted to do was hide the tabs because tabs are a useless eyesore in a text editor. But when I searched for a way to hide them, I read that it wasn't possible. Madness. I'll never understand how tech enthusiasts can enjoy using software that provides them with so little control.)

toastal 5y ago

Don’t trust Microsoft extends to GitHub as well. Same company and same issues. GitHub probably has even more of developer mindshare and should get equal outrage as this. At least VS Code is open source.

speg 5y ago
This kills me because I use and love GitHub. I’ve tried Gitlab a few times and we do use it at my day job, but I keep coming back to GitHub for personal use.
- toastal 5y ago
  GitLab is fine and well-integrated, but it can be heavy and slow. There are alternatives. Sourcehut, Gitea, Codeberg (runs Gitea), GNU Savannah, or just plain cgit. It isn't a binary choice. I think GitHub might actually be best suited for personal projects. Projects aimed at others is now making contributors accept GitHub's proprietary ToS, vendor lock-in, and whatever experimental ways they plan to scan and profit from your code by offering it for "free".
number6 5y ago
Incredibly smart move from MS to buy github.
- toastal 5y ago
  Certainly is neo-EEE as developer "influencers" claim M$ has turned a new leaf
- malka 5y ago
  Never rely on GitHub features, like issues, wiki or actions. While the repo itself cannot lock you in, theses can.

thiht 5y ago

Or just disable telemetry and be done with it.

peakaboo 5y ago
This is your first day on earth? You sound like you have no experience how these tech companies grow and consume everything in their path. "Just disable it"... Sure. :)

Jugurtha 5y ago

For reference, "EEE", especially in the context of Microsoft, stands for "Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish|Exterminate". Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguis... From Wikipedia: >"Embrace, extend, and extinguish" (EEE),[1] also known as "embrace, extend, and exterminate",[2] is a phrase that the U.S. Department of Justice found[3] that was used internally by Microsoft[4] to describe its strategy for entering product categories involving widely used standards, extending those standards with proprietary capabilities, and then using those differences in order to strongly disadvantage its competitors.