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Another example of how far Microsoft's focus has changed. Rather than focusing on products, they're focused on selling solutions.
The company has become an enthusiastic supporter of Linux Curious to know from any users out there: How well does Mono work, especially on Linux?
They all work really well on Linux. They're part of the .NET foundation (https://github.com/dotnet).
Apparently, being a platinum member entails donating $500k [1], so it's not that big a deal for Microsoft ($85B revenue[2]). And as the article states, there has been negativity in the linux community regarding the old arch-enemy joining their ranks. Looking at the new Microsoft however, I think it's fair to assume that the days of "embrace, extend and extinguish"[3] are over and they are genuinely interested in coop…
> and they are genuinely interested in cooperation. In my opinion, they are not at all interested in cooperation until they port Office and Visual Studio to Linux or open source them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
MS employee here - the new Microsoft is: Enable (make sure open source runs well on MS platforms) Integrate (make sure MS platforms work well with open source) Release (release key MS technology into open source) Participate (commit MS engineers to participate in communities)
That's encouraging, and it's fantastic that MS is moving in that direction and that new stuff like VS Code runs Linux. But outside of Silicon Valley, a lot of the world still depends on old stuff like MS Office and SharePoint. Outside of the startup scene the biggest challenge for many of us running Linux is still working around Microsoft's proprietary protocols and file formats. Please continue moving in this direct…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah! Ok, that actually makes a bit more sense... thanks for clarifying! That's actually quite neat then.
Yup :). It's a common misconception I hear/see a lot. My source: I work for MSFT, not on Azure but I work with their team a lot and I used to work on Windows.
This. All the Visual Studio stuff (shame, as their tools have long had a good reputation). .NET . Etc. It's a trap. Been around long enough to have formed that singular impression of such Microsoft initiatives and to have it confirmed, repeatedly. They failed in mobile. They are losing mindshare elsewhere. It's a trap. I'm not going to try to back up my statement, here and now. Just keep it in mind. The more wary you…
Remember that the majority of people working at Microsoft today probably have little to no memory of the tech world of the early 2000s. They don't seem too much better or worse than others in attempting to shape open-source projects to their benefit - that's something you should always be wary about.
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> and they are genuinely interested in cooperation. In my opinion, they are not at all interested in cooperation until they port Office and Visual Studio to Linux or open source them.
Do you not count SQL Server, VS Code, ASP.NET core running Linux as cooperation? They are genuinely trying here.
But I'd argue that the most used microsoft product in the world (besides Windows) is MS Office. What holds a lot of people back from running Linux is that they don't like dealing with compatibility issues with LibreOffice and MS Office.
Microsoft knows if they open source or port MS Office to Linux, they will lose a massive market share and millions of people will stop using Windows. And I don't blame them, any reasonable business would not do something like that.
But unless they do that, I don't see how they can claim to be cooperating when they refuse to port their main product to Linux.
Apparently, being a platinum member entails donating $500k [1], so it's not that big a deal for Microsoft ($85B revenue[2]). And as the article states, there has been negativity in the linux community regarding the old arch-enemy joining their ranks. Looking at the new Microsoft however, I think it's fair to assume that the days of "embrace, extend and extinguish"[3] are over and they are genuinely interested in coop…
> and they are genuinely interested in cooperation. In my opinion, they are not at all interested in cooperation until they port Office and Visual Studio to Linux or open source them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you not count SQL Server, VS Code, ASP.NET core running Linux as cooperation? They are genuinely trying here.
It is definitely a step in the right direction. But I'd argue that the most used microsoft product in the world (besides Windows) is MS Office. What holds a lot of people back from running Linux is that they don't like dealing with compatibility issues with LibreOffice and MS Office. Microsoft knows if they open source or port MS Office to Linux, they will lose a massive market share and millions of people will stop…
That's a huge assumption. There's no real indication that people would stop using Windows if Office existed in Linux.
If that were the case, then porting Office to OS X would've had a similar effect, don't you think?
Ultimately I believe the reason Microsoft doesn't bother porting to Linux is that the market-share is just not worth the cost of re-writing for another platform, and keeping it updated.
Additionally, as a compromise Office 365 runs on browser, which further decreases the incentive to port to Linux. Since you can get a similar experience using Office 365 on Linux, that said I won't be so disingenuous as to imply that the experience is as good as a native application.
In conclusion, Linux has a very small market share, so making a native application for it might not be cost effective. Additionally, Microsoft might see that market share as "served" regardless due to their online Office 365 web application.