> Just wait for the day some new killer Linux apps encourages, or even requires, WSL rather than native Linux to run properly, or to run at all.
Why that would exist? If you wanted an app that could only run in Windows, you could write it for Windows. Nothing has changed here.
The only reason to use WSL is because you want to use Linux software or you have a Linux server environment and you want to use Windows as your Workstation environment for development.
> just as WINE has killed Windows on many desktops where the real thing wasn't necessary.
Except, of course, this is running an actual Linux kernel. So really it's just putting Linux in Windows and running them side-by-side. If anything, it makes moving to Linux easier if somehow this becomes even more popular.
The thing is, your attitude is stuck in the 90's and Microsoft's isn't. They used to write software for many different platforms and they're starting to do that again. Microsoft definitely cares less now if you run their software on Android, iOS, Windows, or even Linux. They're going to make money off of you either way.
>> The thing is, your attitude is stuck in the 90's and Microsoft's isn't. They used to write software for many different platforms and they're starting to do that again. Microsoft definitely cares less now if you run their software on Android, iOS, Windows, or even Linux. They're going to make money off of you either way.
I think it's more of a market position change rather than an attitude change.
Microsoft had significantly more market share in the 90's and used that market share to get their way no matter what. Desktop computing was the dominant way most people used computers and Microsoft was king.
The rise of cloud computing and mobile caused Microsoft's dominant position to slip. They lost the cloud to Linux. They lost mobile to Apple and Android. They still have majority on desktop computing, but that too is under assault from Chromebooks in education and non-Windows tablets for "consumption-heavy" and casual computing.
>> They used to write software for many different platforms and they're starting to do that again. Microsoft definitely cares less now if you run their software on Android, iOS, Windows, or even Linux.
They have to. If they don't embrace other platforms they would dwindle. If Microsoft software was only available for Windows, many consumers would rarely use their products. Office 365 exists so Microsoft Office can live on as a web application and there-by be available for practically all devices.
>> They're going to make money off of you either way.
Exactly. They have adapted quite well and have demonstrated remarkable resilience and versatility. However I believe that they were compelled to change due to a loss of dominance rather than a change of attitude.
> I think it's more of a market position change rather than an attitude change.
I think the market position changed long before their attitude did. Microsoft's protective attitude towards Windows ultimately cost them mobile.
> The rise of cloud computing and mobile caused Microsoft's dominant position to slip. They lost the cloud to Linux. They lost mobile to Apple and Android.
They didn't lose the cloud to Linux -- that makes no sense. Cloud competitors are Google and Amazon. Microsoft's cloud market share is growing more than 50% every year. While it still much less than Amazon, Microsoft is in a solid position. Linux accounts for more than half the servers on Azure and I'm sure Microsoft is perfectly ok with that.
> They have to. If they don't embrace other platforms they would dwindle. If Microsoft software was only available for Windows, many consumers would rarely use their products.
A second ago, you were arguing that Microsoft is going to make Linux obsolete and you now seem to be arguing the opposite.
> However I believe that they were compelled to change due to a loss of dominance rather than a change of attitude.
I'm not sure how that is relevant or how either one of us could know the minds of the top executives at Microsoft. But either way, it means that Windows is definitely not Microsoft's primary focus as it was throughout the 90's and 2000's. WSL is part of that strategy and not some obsolete EEE scenario.
>> They didn't lose the cloud to Linux -- that makes no sense.
What I meant by "they lost the cloud to Linux" is that most server computers running in the cloud are not running Windows, they are running Linux.
>> Linux accounts for more than half the servers on Azure and I'm sure Microsoft is perfectly ok with that.
Azure is doing great as a cloud service, but the fact that more than half of the servers are not running Windows only underscores the change in strategy due to the loss of market share and dominance.
Microsoft executives in the 90's would not have been okay it. In their view, all computers must run Windows and any other operating systems were competitors.
>> A second ago, you were arguing that Microsoft is going to make Linux obsolete and you now seem to be arguing the opposite.
I am not sure how you got this from my comments. I was only speculating the Microsoft's attitude change was out of necessity rather than benevolence.
>> I'm not sure how that is relevant or how either one of us could know the minds of the top executives at Microsoft.
They were pretty vocal about their views on Windows and Linux at the time. Take these Steve Ballmer quotes for example:
"When we tell the story about what's happening today with browsers ten years from now, I want the thing that replaces Windows to be Windows."
"Linux is not in the public domain. Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches. That's the way that the license works."
"I've got my kids brainwashed: You don't use Google, and you don't use an iPod"
"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance."
"Let's face it, the Internet was designed for the PC. The Internet is not designed for the iPhone. That's why they've got 75,000 applications — they're all trying to make the Internet look decent on the iPhone."
"Whatever device you use... Windows will be there. … Windows will be everywhere on every device without compromise."
"We are in the Windows era — we were, we are, and we always will be."
Why that would exist? If you wanted an app that could only run in Windows, you could write it for Windows. Nothing has changed here.
The only reason to use WSL is because you want to use Linux software or you have a Linux server environment and you want to use Windows as your Workstation environment for development.
> just as WINE has killed Windows on many desktops where the real thing wasn't necessary.
Except, of course, this is running an actual Linux kernel. So really it's just putting Linux in Windows and running them side-by-side. If anything, it makes moving to Linux easier if somehow this becomes even more popular.
The thing is, your attitude is stuck in the 90's and Microsoft's isn't. They used to write software for many different platforms and they're starting to do that again. Microsoft definitely cares less now if you run their software on Android, iOS, Windows, or even Linux. They're going to make money off of you either way.