Microsoft's Linux / Open-Source Actions Of 2017

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Microsoft's Linux / Open-Source Actions Of 2017

It's been another interesting year of Microsoft open-source/Linux announcements...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Microsoft-Linux-Actions-2017

[timosa]

The issue about Microsoft products is that they often require a native client instead of relying on web standards (e.g. Office Communicator, Lync, Skype for Business, Teams?). Such clients get rarely ported to Linux.

[audir8]

All of this has made me download and try fsharp and their code IDE. Anything that helps wine should be good, but it's good to beware of embrace and extinguish.

[Michael_S]

As soon as they release Windows and Office as free software and drop all patent litigation against Android and other projects, I will declare my undying love for the company. Until then, I am thrilled about each project they release as open source but I'm not going to consider them a friend to free software.

One thing I will say - as much as I hate Apple and Microsoft, I like the fact that their business models are not built specifically around advertising and invading user privacy. I'm starting to think Google is a bigger threat to freedom and privacy than Apple and Microsoft, even though Google is so much better about releasing open source software. Of course, proprietary software facilitates invading user privacy, so in that respect Apple and Microsoft have all the same evil weapons at their disposal as Google. But the crucial difference is that Apple and Microsoft have fewer financial incentives to invade user privacy.

In my family MS causes only problems and costs. Just when my kid learned to use KdeEnlive, the kid wanted to have 20 euros/month costing adobe video editor. We had a big fight that my kid does not need it, but my wife did pay it for several months and I needed to destroy a long maintained Debian partition with win virus hoover. When my older kid wanted to play Battlefield 3, one new virus hoover machine appeared in my local network and I needed to buy a new WiFi router with VLAN support to the first floor of my steel and concrete house. Our Debian computers uses VLAN and virus hoovers can distribute viruses in their own network.

"virus hoover"? Really? I've got four desktops and a laptop in use at home. One desktop and the laptop are Linux-only, one desktop is dual-boot for gaming, and the last two are Windows-only. I haven't been hit by a virus on Windows in around ten years.

I'd prefer if it was all Linux. But in my experience if you force kids to anything they'll do the opposite whenever they can. So I'm hoping my kids will choose Linux when they get older. At the very least they're all comfortable using web browsers and Minecraft on Linux.

[eydee]

In my family MS causes only problems and costs. Just when my kid learned to use KdeEnlive, the kid wanted to have 20 euros/month costing adobe video editor. We had a big fight that my kid does not need it, but my wife did pay it for several months and I needed to destroy a long maintained Debian partition with win virus hoover. When my older kid wanted to play Battlefield 3, one new virus hoover machine appeared in my local network and I needed to buy a new WiFi router with VLAN support to the first floor of my steel and concrete house. Our Debian computers uses VLAN and virus hoovers can distribute viruses in their own network.

Sounds like incompetency. No virus causes you to have to buy a new router. Also if you can pirate BF3, you could have pirated the Adobe software too.

[uid313]

Microsoft also released a preview for their new application software SQL Operations Studio which runs on Linux.

https://github.com/Microsoft/sqlopsstudio

[Jahimself]

What I want to see from Microsoft is releasing all their windows games on linux. Especially independent ones like Ori and The Blind Forest, or future Age of empires games. But they want it in the ms store of windows 10 only, so as regard to games it is a total contradiction to what they did this year for open source.
It seems open source only interest them if it's in their own interest, because Windows 10 is the total opposite of open source and digital privacy.

[Guest]

Microsoft's image improved a lot after Ballmer lost control over everything. They are much more open now but they are also turning into another Google.

[geearf]

I'd prefer if it was all Linux. But in my experience if you force kids to anything they'll do the opposite whenever they can.

Have you tried forcing them to use only Windows?

[schmidtbag]

Sounds like incompetency. No virus causes you to have to buy a new router. Also if you can pirate BF3, you could have pirated the Adobe software too.

To be fair, some routers double as a NAS or are open enough to run other programs. But yeah, generally speaking, routers have nothing to do with viruses.