The End Days are Here...MS to sell it's own Linux distro

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You would not be 'buying' Linux, or any of the GNU or BSD Userland tools, but rather the Microsoft code added to the already F/LOSS codebase. --No the MS code would NOT have to be F/LOSS software if they modified code with BSD licencing, and if they did not modify code that was under GPL.

My point was that if you can only get the distro by buying the piece of hardware in which the software lives, part of what you are purchasing is the ability to use that distro. You are of course correct about the various ownership rights.

Anyway ..could I expect MS would be as open as Linux has been doing?
I don't think so..MS has contributed codes as minimum as possible just for their survival.

Let see where this move will lead..

Hmm...and
If Linux has compatibility that could run any games like window does,
billions of gamers would not need to use window in the first place..IMO =)

That's precisely why it will never happen. It's very easy to prevent a new device from working with free software, at least before the device becomes obsolete. Most users won't care why this happens and will happily continue to blame free software for the incompatibility.

I think this move will greatly contribute to the demise of Linux, which doesn't seem to be very far away. I see it more and more widely hated and criticized for not doing what others choose to prevent you from doing with free software. People simply don't care---they want something that just works, minimizing their need to learn anything, and without caring how much their choice holds back innovation.

I want to believe the demise of Linux is premature.
I believe Linux users on the core distros (Ubuntu, RHEL..etc..) would not be ready to replace it only to experience another horrid adventure for a long long while, based on my experience of Window 10. No single platform will ever replace every platform. I think Linux highly possibly coexists with others.

The above post was responding to only this sentence.

I agree with the rest of your opinion, you deserve to be respected =)

I doubt it. You have to consider what Linux is primarily used for, not just PCs. Besides, linux will evolve into something else.

I dunno...not too many IIS webservers out there, LAMP is still pretty dominant. Attached to this are all the developers for said sites. And massive amounts of embedded gear use the linux kernel and some subset of GNU & other utilities. Linux has never actually been popular on the desktop - except again, in embedded desktops. The percent varies but stays pretty much limited to developers & hobbyists.

Something to keep in mind is that quite a few mobile devices run Android, a Linux variant. And although Linux != BSD, both are posix-ish and that family would also include iOS.

Meanwhile, Windows is limited to...a number of failed phones & portable devices and a shrinking number of home and business PC's. The home market has been heavily eroded by gaming consoles + phones/tablets/phablets and the business one by...Linux.

Windows has done badly on mobile devices, and not that well on servers.

There reason they are doing this makes sense. If you can't beat the join them.

People have to develop the application software for these market places. People like myself. They can't do it all, so they are depending on these developers to support their platform, which mean it is has to be attractive to their clients and them.

The concerns can be completely different for the consumer market.

Windows rules the consumer
Linux rules the server level
Android and iOS rule the mobile

It's that simple.

It really is. If I may make one minor change though?
"Linux rules the server & appliance level"
Once you throw in non-tablet ARM (and similar SOC's) powered devices like DVD players and home routers, the number of Linux kernels out there skyrockets. There are a few other proprietary *nix based embedded OS's but especially at the consumer level manufacturers have found linux to be a very inexpensive way to make their hardware go.

Yes, you're totally right, I think even some TVs like Sony Bravia LEDs run some form of linux too? I am not sure.


so it would be:

Windows rules the consumer PC/Laptop
Linux rules the server level and enterprise/consumer appliances (DVD players, the majority of routers...etc)
Android and iOS rule the mobile

As for the Android vs iOS comparison, I always describe iPhone as a smartphone, easy and simple, not much customizable, while I describe Android device as a portable computer; they are really two different approaches.

Those televisions & DVD/BluRay players often run a Linux kernel, a small set of non-linux, ARM-compiled libraries and a VM to execute JAVA. All Android devices do something similar, but without the VM to run java. Instead of the "usual" GNU & similar tools & libraries, they run a set of libs created by Google. In light of this, I still consider Android to be a Linux distro, but one that is not compatible with most others.

The problem is not with Linux compatibility with running games. It's the games industry that should port games to Linux, like they do for Mac and any other platform that they want their games on, not the other way round and they will only do that if they believe there's a market for it. Some have already suggested that they might support Linux as a platform and there are at least a few Linux ports of games available.

I wonder what would happen if a small, well-regulated group got together and created a truly outstanding and groundbreaking Linux multimedia API set? If it were truly amazing *and* super easy to use from a developers point of view? Better still if it exploited some weaknesses of say, Direct-X, that won't be easily remedied any time soon.

But I fear that wouldn't be enough. Why? User base. Games and viruses are written for Windows for a reason.

Now, if there was a groundbreaking *console* that used said API set *and* all code was PC compatible *and* came out of the gate with a starter set of amazing games...that might be enough to break the inertia.