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Microsoft Open Source Tool Lets You 'Bring Your Own Linux' To Windows (microsoft.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the alternatives-to-overwriting dept.

Long-time Slashdot reader Billly Gates writes: Debian is now available in the Windows app store. It joins Ubuntu, Suse Leap, SuSe enterprise, and Kali Linux for those who cannot or do not want to bother with a virtual machine or a full install of the OS. However, it included stable 9.3. 9.4 is available from the repository if you run apt-get update and apt-get upgrade.
"Fedora is not yet available, although Microsoft has stated openly that it is working to make it so," reports Computer Weekly. And there's more: Microsoft has also provided an open source tool called Microsoft WSL/DistroLauncher for users who want to build their own Linux package where a particular distribution is either a) not available yet or b) is available, but the user wants to apply a greater degree of customisation to it than comes as standard.

4 of 135 comments (clear)

  1. Linux with added spyware by Alain+Williams · · Score: 4, Insightful

    sorry, I should have said 'Telemetry' !

    I wonder if this was at the behest of the NSA who were worried about spy-ware free Linux boxen; this lets the keep tabs on more people.

    1. Re:Linux with added spyware by Gavagai80 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      MS can't possibly lose from being able to say their product can do everything their competitors can, including running those competitors for free. The "best of both worlds, no risk" argument is just what business wants to hear. And any home user who bothers to figure out WSL is someone who was likely to have tried dual-booting anyway so they can only gain there too.

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  2. Re:Slowly letting users get used to linux by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The WSL is more for people who want Windows as a primary OS but would like a few random Linux goodies and tools. Cigwin and the like work too. But they haven’t been kept up to date at the same level as a popular Linux distribution.

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  3. Corporate IT is hostage to Windows by raymorris · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > Spending time & effort to find a way to run Linux distros inside Windows is like struggling to find a way to mount an Abrams tank on top of a Mini-Cooper.
    > What's the point outside of a few edge-cases where it may possibly be helpful/convenient?

    For the user, the point is that for 20 years Microsoft's strategy was to ensure vendor lock-in for corporate IT environments. A lot of companies therefore issue Windows desktops and won't provide Linux desktops. Microsoft did a pretty good job of making it difficult for large corporations to use anything but Windows because of all the inter-related proprietary stuff. An organization can easily run Windows or not run Windows, but if the company chose Windows it's been hard to add a few Linux desktops to the mix. Partially because everyone in corporate IT knows the Microsoft way of doing things, not cross-platform standards.

    I can be FAR more productive using Linux than Windows. Now, I can continue to use Linux, on the Windows desktop issued by corporate headquarters.