Microsoft joins the Linux Foundation - Platinum Member

[GoodBytes]

Not the most exciting news ever, but shows more of the company turn around of its mentality.

In the recent years, we have seen Microsoft opening things up. We have finally an updated version of Office on Mac's, and being updated, we have Office on Android and iOS devices, we have Linux subsystem in Windows 10 and updated with improvements and Ubuntu version that it uses also updated every now and then. We had Visual Studio Code on Linux and MacOS, a new version of Skype, ChakraCore is on Linux and Open Source, same for .NET Core. Azure can be setup for Windows Server or Linux with complete support. And, Microsoft announced Visual Studio on MacOS (probably Linux version is in the works) a couple of days ago. In comparison, Exciting times, but there is a reason for this.

 

Microsoft used to be totally closed to all. Where Microsoft software only ran under Windows. The problem with this model is that hurt the company a lot. People won't get Windows Phones for Office, as we have seen. It only open doors for competition to grow and ultimately replace Microsoft Office solution, not to mention lack of sales. And as mobile app development is growing, including back-end development, Windows is no longer a choice for many startups. They pick MacOS due to the Ubuntu back-end, which allows easy installation of web technologies to allow them to develop their app while continuing in being in a nice GUI environment with MacOS, and avoid Linux. Windows is a pain to set things up for this, and is very limited on that front as it was never designed for it. MacOS was also never designed for it, but lucky them, I guess, the back-end is Unix. So, Microsoft new strategy is to open things up, and that is what they are doing. Linux sub-system integration, with the command line panel improvements, is exactly a work in progress as answer to MacOS being the OS of choice for back-end mobile app development.

 

 

 

 

Continuing with the company efforts in its new direction, Microsoft announces that not only it is joining the Linux Foundation, but it will be a Platinum Member.

 

Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, said:

Quote

Microsoft and the Linux Foundation may have had our disagreements in the past, but one thing we've always agreed on is that developers are super-important. [With Microsoft it will allow to] better able to collaborate with the open source community to deliver transformative mobile and cloud experiences to more people. [...] What I want to say is a) we'd like to welcome Microsoft to the Linux Foundation, but b) as the largest employer of software developers in the world, and working on all these projects in open source, Microsoft's already there. [...]

My final thought to you would be: if Microsoft loves Linux, on behalf of the over 800 members of the Linux Foundation... we love you too.

 

Source: https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-joins-the-linux-foundation-as-a-platinum-member

 

[Unhelpful]

15 years after Ballmer called Linux a cancer  still, a lot can happen in 15 years. Like Ballmer not being the CEO.

[tlink]

scary, thats some big money thats moving cogs inside a fundamental part of the open source community. this could be great i mean i would love a more open source windows and better compatibility between my windows games and linux platform but i fail to see how that would benefit windows so i doubt i will see anything like it. i hope the foundation fights to stay true to its core value's.

[RagnarokDel]

7 minutes ago, tlink said:

scary, thats some big money thats moving cogs inside a fundamental part of the open source community. this could be great i mean i would love a more open source windows and better compatibility between my windows games and linux platform but i fail to see how that would benefit windows so i doubt i will see anything like it. i hope the foundation fights to stay true to its core value's.

Microsoft has contributed a lot to Linux over the years (before Balmer), in fact it contributed almost as much as Redhat, from what I was told.

[Misanthrope]

Ah yes the E3 strategy: Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.

[zMeul]

I can't help but feel MS has ulterior motives for this

 

they just paid 1/2 mil USD to have a board director, but for what reason/purpose exactly?

they don't need a board member to make money out of linux, Canonical doesn't have one, Google doesn't have one

I wonder ......

[GoodBytes]

5 hours ago, tlink said:

scary, thats some big money thats moving cogs inside a fundamental part of the open source community. this could be great i mean i would love a more open source windows and better compatibility between my windows games and linux platform but i fail to see how that would benefit windows so i doubt i will see anything like it. i hope the foundation fights to stay true to its core value's.

Windows is actually not doing so well. I mean if we ignore MS efforts:

• You want to develop an app on Android and iOS -> Get a Mac
• You want to do back-end web development -> Get a Mac or run Linux.
• You want to work on an IoT device /  embedded system -> Run Linux.

Windows is stuck in the PC space that is dying, being replaced by mobile phones for most users. And more and more developers are indeed buying Macs or running Linux as pointed right above. Windows Phone is not picking up anything. This is shrinking Windows marketshare. It is in a path of a slow death. I mean, just imagine all game devs makes a Linux version of their game... Apple returns to be Enterprise friendly (to any level), OR Android implements Continuum, and voila, Windows is pretty much dead. It is in Microsoft best interest to make Windows the go to platform to do things.

[ThinkWithPortals]

Why is it that whenever a piece of news comes out about Microsoft, it's always you posting it?

[GoodBytes]

7 minutes ago, ThinkWithPortals said:

Why is it that whenever a piece of news comes out about Microsoft, it's always you posting it?

'cause no one else does it? (Edit: Actually zMeul did it but I was faster than him). The forum is prominently Windows user base, and Windows/Microsoft news is rarely reported. I think it is good to know what news comes out of the OS people use everyday on their system.

 

[tlink]

17 minutes ago, RagnarokDel said:

Microsoft has contributed a lot to Linux over the years (before Balmer), in fact it contributed almost as much as Redhat, from what I was told.

yes but contributed to what purpose? redhat has vast interests in keeping linux open sourcee and well functioning, i don't see how microsoft has that interest. they have the larger userbase, why would they want cross compatibility? they also have a pretty strong foothold in servers for small to medium businesses from what i know, maybe they want better optimization between server platforms? better standardization? maybe thats it, linux is what the core of the internet runs on so it probably is important to have some form of input over that.

[tlink]

18 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

Windows is actually not doing so well. I mean if we ignore MS efforts:

• You want to develop an app on Android of iOS -> Get a Mac
• You want to do back-end web development -> Get a Mac or run Linux.
• You want to work on an IoT device /  embedded system -> Run Linux.

Windows is stuck in the PC space that is dying, being replaced by mobile phones for most users. And more and more developers are indeed buying Macs or running Linux as pointed right above. Windows Phone is not picking up anything. This is shrinking Windows marketshare. It is in a path of a slow death. I mean, just imagine all game devs makes a Linux version of their game... Apple returns to be Enterprise friendly (to any level), OR Android implements Continuum, and voila, Windows is pretty much dead. It is in Microsoft best interest to make Windows the go to platform to do things.

well yes but how do they want to achieve this trough the linux foundation?

[mrchow19910319]

48 minutes ago, tlink said:

scary, thats some big money thats moving cogs inside a fundamental part of the open source community. this could be great i mean i would love a more open source windows and better compatibility between my windows games and linux platform but i fail to see how that would benefit windows so i doubt i will see anything like it. i hope the foundation fights to stay true to its core value's.

I know nothing about linux and windows platform.

But this somehow, reminds me of EA purchasing crytek's crysis series and how it destroyed it.... 

 

I might  be wrong though. Torjan horses incoming????

[ThinkWithPortals]

33 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

'cause no one else does it? (Edit: Actually zMeul did it but I was faster than him). The forum is prominently Windows user base, and Windows/Microsoft news is rarely reported. I think it is good to know what news comes out of the OS people use everyday on their system.

 

Just wondering. You must work at Microsoft or something, you're always right there with the MS news

[jagdtigger]

11 minutes ago, mrchow19910319 said:

I know nothing about linux and windows platform.

But this somehow, reminds me of EA purchasing crytek's crysis series and how it destroyed it.... 

 

I might  be wrong though. Torjan horses incoming????

Its a possibility, i cant see any reason why MS would be interested in linux...

[mrchow19910319]

1 minute ago, jagdtigger said:

Its a possibility, i cant see any reason why MS would be interested in linux...

We've seen this too much. Business technique. Slowly but surely put you to death.

Like a frog in the warm water. 

 

[jagdtigger]

10 minutes ago, mrchow19910319 said:

We've seen this too much. Business technique. Slowly but surely put you to death.

Like a frog in the warm water. 

 

Maybe, but dont forget that linux is totally open source. They cant sneak in any code unnoticed...

[GoodBytes]

24 minutes ago, ThinkWithPortals said:

Just wondering. You must work at Microsoft or something, you're always right there with the MS news

I wish. Actually, because I provide analysis and speculations on many news items related to MS, if I did work at MS I won't be able to say anything as I would be probably behind lots of NDA's, and would be a fool to risk my job for news items.

[GoodBytes]

47 minutes ago, tlink said:

well yes but how do they want to achieve this trough the linux foundation?

It allows them to be closer, make themselves more visible to open source and Linux communities, allowing projects to kick-off (like .NET Core), and in turn have software that runs on Windows, that can connect to the Linux subsystem and other technologies, so that Windows is always considered.

 

[GoodBytes]

15 minutes ago, mrchow19910319 said:

We've seen this too much. Business technique. Slowly but surely put you to death.

Like a frog in the warm water. 

 

The problem is that Linux can't be killed. Assuming Microsoft does. They have a magic wand and poof Linux is gone...

What do you think will happen? The next day, Minux (or whatever you want to call it), will be released, and people will just switch. Open Source projects can't be killed. Even if Microsoft somehow takes charges and destroys Linux... that will be only Microsoft branch of Linux. It wont' affect MintOS, Ubuntu, RedHat, etc.

[mrchow19910319]

1 minute ago, GoodBytes said:

The problem is that Linux can't be killed. Assuming Microsoft does. They have a magic wand and poof Linux is gone...

What do you think will happen? The next day, Minux (or whatever you want to call it), will be released, and people will just switch. Open Source projects can't be killed. Even if Microsoft somehow takes charges and destroys Linux... that will be only Microsoft branch of Linux. It wont' affect MintOS, Ubuntu, RedHat, etc.

Okay..... that is why I said "i don't know anything about linux or windows".... 

[tlink]

16 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

It allows them to be closer, make themselves more visible to open source and Linux communities, allowing projects to kick-off (like .NET Core), and in turn have software that runs on Windows, that can connect to the Linux subsystem and other technologies, so that Windows is always considered.

 

thanks for explaining, what you described is not as scary as it could've been luckely.

[Devin92]

maybe linux user will see ads and warning windows from now on forcing them to upgrade......

[Ronda]

Well, when I'm setting up my next VM host, maybe I'll consider using Hyper-V instead of KVM as my hypervisor. Consider it, laugh to myself and dismiss it, but consider it still.

[GoodBytes]

3 hours ago, Ronda said:

Well, when I'm setting up my next VM host, maybe I'll consider using Hyper-V instead of KVM as my hypervisor. Consider it, laugh to myself and dismiss it, but consider it still.

Hyper-V is currently best used to run Windows OSs.

[Sintezza]

lol nice try Microsoft...