6 ms·

I can see linux eclipsing all the current OS's, it already happened with smartphones, IOTs and the other little things (i forgot how they are called) Only rema

I can see linux eclipsing all the current OS's, it already happened with smartphones, IOTs and the other little things (i forgot how they are called) Only remaining piece is the desktop segment macOS has a unix environment, so it'll stay relevant (for how long?) windows has WSL, it's slow, i don't see myself using it since the host OS is a giant piece of shitty crap MS missed a chance with Win11, they could have went full steam ARM with a Linux Distro, 100% native Android support, 100% cloud native support, 100% unix support as a host OS, i wouldn't use it myself because i despise the company and its culture, but i can see potential, and i smell a huge missed opportunity Amazon it getting it right, even thought it's exclusively targeting for cloud usages Marketing wise it's great and consistent with their offering

Icathian 5y ago
While I would love for this to happen, I just don't see it at all. There are literally millions of Windows workstations or laptops across corporate campuses in the US, because at the end of the day what 95% of white collar workers need to do their jobs is MS Office and *maybe* one industry-specific LoB app.
- charcircuit 5y ago
  Isn't MS Office a web app now?
  - mixmastamyk 5y ago
    Yes, and considering the google office, that percentage is a lot lower currently.
rch 5y ago
Last I checked, WSL wasn't available for Windows Server, unfortunately.
- paranoidrobot 5y ago
  What's your use-case for WSL on Windows Server, if you don't mind me asking?
- cpach 5y ago
  It is now! https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-on-server https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-on-serv...
  - my123 5y ago
    WSL1 only, not WSL2.
    - tim-- 5y ago
      You have been able to run WSL2 on Windows 10 Insider builds for a long time now (since 2019?). Is it still not possible to switch WSL versions for a Linux distro running on Windows Server?
      - my123 5y ago
        > Is it still not possible to switch WSL versions for a Linux distro running on Windows Server? Yeah, on Windows Server WSL2 is explicitly made not accessible.
willbw 5y ago
For Linux to conquer the desktop you'd need for it to beat out Windows or Mac for market share. For it to do that you'd need it to be have competitive usability for everyday people, and this is still far off. When I use my linux box at work I have to google for things like, "how do I enable this resolution for my monitor which isn't showing up" and then punch in a bunch of commands into the terminal. The advantages of windows and mac these days are that a lot of stuff 'just works' and secondly that due to their 20-30 year history their desktop application ecosystem is much richer and also much more widely used. User interfaces are also more friendly in general. There's no technical reason why these faults cannot be overcome, but there are significant hurdles in getting a third OS to gain major market share from the incumbents MS and Apple. The reason they have market share in servers is because the experience is better to develop on and it is free. The reason they have market share in mobile is that it was free and Google could build on top of it, and secondly that mobile was a brand new market so there were no incumbents with decades of history. I don't see those conditions replicated for desktop, especially when you consider that desktop is in decline and therefore less attractive to spend capital on. If you want to make Ubuntu as nice as MacOS I think you need a private company willing to spend money and time in a concerted effort to get it to that point, which IMO won't happen.
- AstroDogCatcher 5y ago
  > If you want to make Ubuntu as nice as MacOS I think you need a private company willing to spend money and time in a concerted effort to get it to that point, which IMO won't happen. Canonical employees would like a word with you.
  - willbw 5y ago
    Maybe they can do it if they 10x their revenue.
  - nix23 5y ago
    Really and what would the say? Sorry for the blocking "App Store"? The bs we started with mir and never finished ubuntu touch? That all our "home made" code is proprietary?
ElectricalUnion 5y ago
For a historical take - UNIX to Plan 9: > Compared to Plan 9, Unix creaks and clanks and has obvious rust spots, but it gets the job done well enough to hold its position. There is a lesson here for ambitious system architects: the most dangerous enemy of a better solution is an existing codebase that is just good enough.[1] Linux might be "better"; unfortunately Windows is just "good enough" for most people to not care. [1] http://catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html/plan9.html http://catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html/plan9.html
deleted 5y ago
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Icathian 5y ago

While I would love for this to happen, I just don't see it at all. There are literally millions of Windows workstations or laptops across corporate campuses in the US, because at the end of the day what 95% of white collar workers need to do their jobs is MS Office and *maybe* one industry-specific LoB app.

charcircuit 5y ago
Isn't MS Office a web app now?
- mixmastamyk 5y ago
  Yes, and considering the google office, that percentage is a lot lower currently.

rch 5y ago

Last I checked, WSL wasn't available for Windows Server, unfortunately.

paranoidrobot 5y ago
What's your use-case for WSL on Windows Server, if you don't mind me asking?
cpach 5y ago
It is now! https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-on-server https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-on-serv...
- my123 5y ago
  WSL1 only, not WSL2.
  - tim-- 5y ago
    You have been able to run WSL2 on Windows 10 Insider builds for a long time now (since 2019?). Is it still not possible to switch WSL versions for a Linux distro running on Windows Server?
    - my123 5y ago
      > Is it still not possible to switch WSL versions for a Linux distro running on Windows Server? Yeah, on Windows Server WSL2 is explicitly made not accessible.

willbw 5y ago

For Linux to conquer the desktop you'd need for it to beat out Windows or Mac for market share. For it to do that you'd need it to be have competitive usability for everyday people, and this is still far off. When I use my linux box at work I have to google for things like, "how do I enable this resolution for my monitor which isn't showing up" and then punch in a bunch of commands into the terminal. The advantages of windows and mac these days are that a lot of stuff 'just works' and secondly that due to their 20-30 year history their desktop application ecosystem is much richer and also much more widely used. User interfaces are also more friendly in general. There's no technical reason why these faults cannot be overcome, but there are significant hurdles in getting a third OS to gain major market share from the incumbents MS and Apple. The reason they have market share in servers is because the experience is better to develop on and it is free. The reason they have market share in mobile is that it was free and Google could build on top of it, and secondly that mobile was a brand new market so there were no incumbents with decades of history. I don't see those conditions replicated for desktop, especially when you consider that desktop is in decline and therefore less attractive to spend capital on. If you want to make Ubuntu as nice as MacOS I think you need a private company willing to spend money and time in a concerted effort to get it to that point, which IMO won't happen.

AstroDogCatcher 5y ago
> If you want to make Ubuntu as nice as MacOS I think you need a private company willing to spend money and time in a concerted effort to get it to that point, which IMO won't happen. Canonical employees would like a word with you.
- willbw 5y ago
  Maybe they can do it if they 10x their revenue.
- nix23 5y ago
  Really and what would the say? Sorry for the blocking "App Store"? The bs we started with mir and never finished ubuntu touch? That all our "home made" code is proprietary?

ElectricalUnion 5y ago

For a historical take - UNIX to Plan 9: > Compared to Plan 9, Unix creaks and clanks and has obvious rust spots, but it gets the job done well enough to hold its position. There is a lesson here for ambitious system architects: the most dangerous enemy of a better solution is an existing codebase that is just good enough.[1] Linux might be "better"; unfortunately Windows is just "good enough" for most people to not care. [1] http://catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html/plan9.html http://catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html/plan9.html

deleted 5y ago

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