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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.
As if thousands of Linux fans suddenly cried out in pain.
I fear something terrible has happened.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." - Lt. Col. Carlos A. Keasler
I'm keenly awaiting their VBA backend for GNU Emacs Lisp, so it can finally take its rightful place inside Word!
I guess the point is that you don't need the kernel or drivers because the Windows kernel can actually provide the necessary services. You might want user-space utilities, obviously. But a way of running Whatever-ix userspace apps on Windows would be rather nice. No more weird/costly ports of UI toolkits?
Ezekiel 23:20
MS had SFU/Interix, which they dropped.
Could this be a port of Ubuntu to that, much as Debian ported their OS to FreeBSD and the HURD?
What you hear in the ear, preach from the rooftop Matthew 10.27b
Surely they just need to port systemd so it can run on the NT kernel?
LINE Is Not an Emulator
reason defies logic
The only thing keeping me on my mac is the heavy integration of native *NIX tools for the command line.
Yes I could install cygwin (it's a mess), I could use putty (has limitations) for ssh, or other apps that mirror the functionality of *NIX CLI tools, but none work as good as having everything built into the core of the OS.
If this allows me to open up a cmd.exe and ssh to systems right off the bat, I'm scrapping the macbook and getting a surface pro.
Wheel of Time: Book by Book and Sumview (summary review) Bigdady92 style: http://bigdady92.blogspot.com/
The only reasons people use Windows is because (a) it's familiar to office drones, and (b) legacy Win x86 applications. The only reasons people DON'T use Linux desktop are basically the inverse of the above: (a) it's not familiar to the tech-retarded who have a psychological block to learning anything new, and (b) it won't run legacy enterprise cruft. So what Microsoft is proposing is that they use their shitty unstable insecure spyware base OS that will nevertheless (a) have the Windows desktop and (b) still run legacy enterprise cruft, and try to graft an actually usable OS on top of it by having Ubuntu's CLI utilities run on top of it. Perhaps a slight improvement, but I doubt it'll sway very many people from just using Linux.
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.
Exactly. If this is indeed a true story and not an april's fool joke (which may be very well possible), then this is only done in order to promote windows. Microsoft is the strong party here, not canonical.
Microsoft is doing a giant PR campaign about how much they love Linux, and when the cameras are off, they behave like a patent troll, claiming to have patents on Linux technology, and forcing companies to pay them money.
It reminds me of Homer quote
"Soon I will have a miracle hybrid, with the loyalty of a cat and the cleanliness of a dog"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stJ3XKExTdM
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!
Well ya, Linux is just the most commonly used kernel in the GNU operating system.
A lot of developers use Macs because of the Unix foundation and the nice interface. It makes it easy to develop applications and put them on a linux web server. I think Microsoft is doing this to provide a familiar Unix foundation for developers, and making it Ubuntu compatible may make it easier to use than the Max OS X.
Could call it Microsoft Eunuchs.
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"
Is it April somewhere already?
Windows? Why waste my time with this deceased carcass?
#!/usr/bin/wine
;;
;;
;;
#
# Start/start telemetry daemon in Microsoft Ubuntu
#
# Copyright Microsoft (r) 2016
#
CONFIG="/Program Files (x86)/Micorosoft/Telemetry 2016/etc/Teleme~0.ini"
. "$CONFIG"
case $1 in
start)
if [ x"$telemetry_enabled" = "xyes" ]; then
"/Program Files (x86)/Micorosoft/Telemetry 2016/sbin/Teleme~0.exe" -o StealthMode=yes -o IgnoreUserConfig=yes
else
sed -i -e 's|telemetry_enabled=.*|telemetry_enabled=yes|g' "$CONFIG"
$0 start
fi
stop)
$0 start
*)
echo "usage: $0 start"
esac
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.
Well they're currently working on a set of libraries called LINE, which stands for LINE is Not an Emulator. The point of the project is to allow poor Windows users to have access to some of the great software that has been available on Linux for forever. This should also allow some businesses who have been hesitant to make the transition to Windows finally jump in feet first.
Windows : a better Linux than Linux!
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.
Ironically, there's no actual Linux (as in the kernel) to be found here. Just userspace stuff.
I suppose one thing I could think of is for ease of porting/cross-platform development. If you have a Windows developer who needs to either write or port an application to support Linux systems, then this might be a convenient solution. I can't imagine that this is really targeted at anyone other than developers. I mean, if a user was interested in running Ubuntu, then as you indicated, they'd just run that OS directly rather than on top of Windows 10.
Keep in mind that Microsoft is focused on cloud and services now, but they also want to keep Windows relevant as a development platform, because that's needed to ensure that developers can easily integrate Microsoft cloud services into their products. That's why they've gone to great lengths to give Visual Studio multi-platform capabilities. You've also seen them take steps in the same direction but with a different tact - porting their own libraries and apps to different platforms.
So, I don't believe the primary point of this is to keep Windows 10 relevant. Windows already has a virtually unbreakable lock on the desktop OS market. If anything, this slightly weakens Windows by providing easy access to a competing OS. My feeling is that this is a move to keep Visual Studio and the Microsoft Azure cloud ecosystem relevant by giving developers an easy way to create and test cross-platform applications using Microsoft-provided tools.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
URINE Really Is Not an Emulator?
Don't worry, it's a trap. A future version of systemd will assimilate Windows.
For god sake, I hope Microsoft threw a dump-truck full of money on Canonical's door because otherwise, bad news for them.
All this does is piss off existing Linux customers, bridges a few muddled though mostly gutless windows swappers from booting Linux (Who would probably just use something like VirtualBox with seemless mode and get 100% of the same features / performance). The OS integration layers for UNIX in Windows has existed since NT. Microsoft clearly doesn't give enough sh*ts enough to invest serious money into it, so why waste your time chasing a market that simply doesn't exist? You better be counting your millions or else I'd be seriously sad for you.
Bye!
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.
Why Linux, anyway? If you can have Debian/kFreeBSD, you can have Debian/NT.
Ezekiel 23:20
Congratulations. You're the only Slashdot poster so far who has come to the correct conclusion as stated in the TFA. This move is targeted for developers and for sysadmins who manage Window systems that want to run a Ubuntu docker container natively rather inside a VM manager like Virtualbox. I'd say you post deserves a +insightful mod, but apparently the Slashdot nabobs of negativism are having too much fun getting their hate on..
What's funny is that I did read about the first half of the article, and then posted. When I went back and read the rest of TFA, I had a head-slapping moment, as it was exactly as they indicated there. I'm not really sure "insightful" is deserved for simply repeating what the article already indicated, but I suppose I'm glad I guessed correctly.
It does sort of sound like an April Fool's Day joke though, doesn't it? Ten years ago, would anyone have seriously predicted that Windows would be "infected" with Linux? Ballmer must be spinning in his chair right about now.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
I'm updating my Windows 10 recommendation from "Avoid like the plague" to "Avoid like candy from a stranger in a van."
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
Here is a better - somewhat more technical - write-up from Ubuntu folks.