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Microsoft Releases New Tool To Get More Distros on Windows (zdnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the further-commitment dept.

Microsoft has released a tool to help Linux distribution maintainers bring their distros to the Windows Store to run on Windows 10's Windows Subsystem for Linux. From a report: Microsoft describes the tool as a "reference implementation for a Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) distribution installer application," which is aimed at both distribution maintainers and developers who want to create custom Linux distributions for running on WSL. "We know that many Linux distros rely entirely on open-source software, so we would like to bring WSL closer to the OSS community," said Tara Raj of Microsoft's WSL team. "We hope open-sourcing this project will help increase community engagement and bring more of your favorite distros to the Microsoft Store." WSL helps programmers build a full Linux development environment for testing production code on a Windows machine.

8 of 216 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe they can first fix Win10 so updates work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have one computer now that been trying to get Win10 1709 for over 3 months. Keeps getting 83% done then bows off, reloads old version of Win10, then starts at it all over again starting with the download. There is no way to stop it or control it.

    You want Linux to run on such a broken system? My Linux boxes are going on over 100 days of uptime (moved from one room to another). Maybe Win10 should be a subsystem to Linux? At least I know Linux is stable enough to run a subsystem.

  2. So..., we can trust Microsoft now? by Mr+Foobar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I mean, when /. first started, it was all "embrace, extend, extinguish" with MS using a Borg Gates avatar.
    Is this the "embrace" part or the "extend" part of that whole process? Or can we really trust them?

    --
    -> I dislike sigs...
    1. Re:So..., we can trust Microsoft now? by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Is this the "embrace" part or the "extend" part of that whole process? Or can we really trust them?

      Microsoft is a publicly traded corporation controlled by a board, so anyone who trusts them (regardless of their history) really could not get any dumber. However, they could seem dumber if they ignored Microsoft's history, which proves conclusively that no one should trust them.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:So..., we can trust Microsoft now? by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 4, Insightful

      One _single_ act doesn't magically negate the 20 years of why Microshaft sucks.

      Have they disabled telemetry in Windows 10 yet? Why was ON in the _first_ place??

      Can I buy an license for Windows 7? Forced upgrades are bullshit.

      Can Explorer show me folder sizes yet? This isn't fucking rocket science, just basic computer science.

      There are numerous technical reasons why Windows is still crap.

      Microshit's "innovation" is total joke.

    3. Re:So..., we can trust Microsoft now? by StormReaver · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Microsoft could cure Cancer and they'd still be considered the most evil ever around here.

      When Jack The Ripper claims he is reformed, and then says he wants to manage the women's shelter, it's prudent to consider past behavior.

  3. missing the point of open source entirely. by nimbius · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Open source wasnt developed as a 'feature' or a clever gimmick that people wanted as part of their computing experience. Open source was developed in direct opposition to the types of traditional licenses and restrictions placed on code and programs from Microsoft and other companies like them. The fact is Linux never needed windows support, and no one has explained the net-gain from supporting the execution of free software that has run stand-alone for decades other than the potential to sell more licenses for the proprietary OS under which it is being made to run.

    in other words, given the chance, no one is going to intentionally shell out cash to run GCC on a copy of windows.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  4. Reversed by rtkluttz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Linux on windows = stupid. Windows on linux = ok, but still stupid. Windows is a bloated, fat OS where FAR greater than 75% of its code is there to LIMIT what you can do in some way. It is always working against you and policing what you can do on your own system. Why would you allow it to be the base OS?

    --
    Digital is, by definition, imperfect. Analog is the way to go.
  5. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion