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Confirmed: Microsoft and Canonical Partner To Bring Ubuntu To Windows 10 (zdnet.com)
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols reports for ZDNet: According to sources at Canonical, Ubuntu Linux's parent company, and Microsoft, you'll soon be able to run Ubuntu on Windows 10. This will be more than just running the Bash shell on Windows 10. After all, thanks to programs such as Cygwin or MSYS utilities, hardcore Unix users have long been able to run the popular Bash command line interface (CLI) on Windows. With this new addition, Ubuntu users will be able to run Ubuntu simultaneously with Windows. This will not be in a virtual machine, but as an integrated part of Windows 10. [...] Microsoft and Canonical will not, however, sources say, be integrating Linux per se into Windows. Instead, Ubuntu will primarily run on a foundation of native Windows libraries. Update: 03/30 16:16 GMT by M : At its developer conference Build 2016, Microsoft on Wednesday confirmed that it is bringing native support for Bash on Windows 10. Scott Hanselman writes: This isn't Bash or Ubuntu running in a VM. This is a real native Bash Linux binary running on Windows itself. It's fast and lightweight and it's the real binaries. This is a genuine Ubuntu image on top of Windows with all the Linux tools I use like awk, sed, grep, vi, etc. It's fast and it's lightweight. The binaries are downloaded by you - using apt-get - just as on Linux, because it is Linux. You can apt-get and download other tools like Ruby, Redis, emacs, and on and on. This is brilliant for developers that use a diverse set of tools like me.
The only reason I'd ever bother with Ubuntu is to get away from Windows. I don't want them together.
So what the hell does "Ubuntu will primarily run on a foundation of native Windows libraries" mean? "Ubuntu" is an OS with the Linux kernel and pre-configured utilities, programs and drivers put on top of that, but TFS is indicating that "Ubuntu" in this case is not including a kernel, utilities, or drivers. Unless this is an extremely mangled, obscure, and moronic way of saying that Windows 10 will be including a Linux compatibility layer sponsored by Ubuntu.
"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." - Lt. Col. Carlos A. Keasler
you don't need the kernel
I'm pretty sure that if you don't have the Linux kernel, you don't have Linux at all.
I tried to tell you but you didn't listen! Microsoft is getting involved in things like FOSS and Linux so they can subvert it.. just like they're doing here. Why the actual FUCK would you even do what they're offering here instead of just running Ubuntu instead? So you can still be spied on by Microsoft even using some pseudo-Linux OS-on-Microsoft's-leash? This makes ZERO sense.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
I can already run most windows apps under Linux, except for Office....
LibreOffice is getting better and better....
Linux tools/desktops and Ubuntu are getting better and better....
Run Ubuntu apps on Windows...
It's Microsoft trying to stay relevant. If they really wanted to be relevant they'd offer Office on Linux.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Yes, but they're talking about Ubuntu, not "Linux". Ubuntu can be whatever Canonical wants it to be, but even allowing for that loophole, they certainly can make a Ubuntu that feels like Ubuntu but eschews Linux in favor of another kernel.
It actually would be relatively easy for them replace Linux with the FreeBSD kernel, for example. Windows is a harder project, but it's do-able.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
I suppose that since April Fool's day is two days away that this is not a joke. That said, Canonical has completely lost their collective minds. It started with Unity, then Mir, and now "ubuntu minus Linux". Seriously guys. What the hell IS ubuntu if it is not Linux? Unity for windows? Barf.
I don't get it...Ubuntu - minus the kernel - presumably minus device drivers - minus the windowing system. Isn't that pretty much just the shell, the various CLI tools...and apt-get...right? Pretty much all of the GUI-based tools are already ported to Windows - GIMP, Inkscape, LibreOffice, browsers...I can't think of any 'big' gui-based tools that I don't already have in Windows. All of the CLI tools and shells are there in Cygwin already...so we're left with...what? apt-get? Cygwin's installer is 'setup' - not quite as handy as apt-get - but hardly a huge deal. There is already a project called 'cyg-get' that does what apt-get does in the Cygwin world.
Yet TFA says that this new thing isn't anything like Cygwin.
Seems to me, it's exactly like Cygwin.
Maybe it's a kind of reverse-WINE? So Linux binaries can run under Win10 without recompiling.
TFA could be a lot clearer about what's going on here.
www.sjbaker.org
If I recall correctly, the reason we call our usual distros like Fedora GNU/Linux or Debian GNU/Linux or Arch GNU/Linux is because the GNU part is the userspace stuff and the Linux part is the kernel.
Since the Linux kernel has been replaced with the Microsoft Win64 OS Kernel they could call it "GNU/MS-Win64". There is one huge problem with this.
It's the perfect definition of an oxymoron because GNU which in itself is the very definition of Libre Digital Freedom versus the very opposite that is Microsoft vendor restriction, lock-in hiding source code wherever Microsoft sees fit. Note how they haven't released it as open-source yet. Note they haven't released MS-Win64 as open-source yet either.
Consumers beware of Microsoft. I could understand Canonical's position. They're hurting for cash it seems. It reminds me of all the people working for Trump's propaganda machine to for him. They must have been paid a lot of money to help Trump gain so much reddit.com space and along with those paid to throw mud at Trump's opponents. It this case it's Microsoft doing their best to pay money for making Microsoft look like they love Linux when in fact and behind the scenes they are extorting people for patent violations because they are using Linux or using anything not Microsoft-based they haven't paid MS a levy/tariff for. Microsoft also likes to make all the other non-Microsoft affiliated GNU/Linux distros look less appealing by hiring people to throw mud at those non-Microsoft affiliated GNU/Linux distros. After all GNU/Linux is not aligned with Microsoft's ambitions of Canonical UBUNTU/Win64.
I wouldn't recommend anything Microsoft to anyone. That implies I won't recommend GNU/MS-Win64 or Canonical UBUNTU/Win64 to anyone anytime soon.
BOTTOM LINE: MICROSOFT IS NOT COOL. GNU/LINUX IS.