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An Argument for Why Windows Will Go Open Source

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Re: An Argument for Why Windows Will Go Open Source

#31

Post by hungerstrike »

> ..the fight for Windows server against Linux is one Windows absolutely can’t win..

Windows server already has been winning on-premise every year for a long time There are way more SMBs out there than big businesses and they all run Windows servers on-premise. Just take a look at the usage numbers of one popular piece of cross-platform software that IT departments might run - https://community.spiceworks.com/networking/articles/2462-se...

Oh, you were just talking about web-servers, right? Well Windows server also has greater than 30% of the public web server market share, more than any one Linux variant - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_syste...

As the Apple crowd likes to point out - Microsoft is also a profit leader compared to companies that hock Linux.

> Creative work is going to mobile in a big way...

No it's not.

> ...gaming is already mostly mobile...

Not really, unless you contort your stats to include every single person playing Candy Crush on their phone. Have you ever watched Twitch? Nobody is playing mobile games there. Everybody there is running Windows.

> ...there’s been a huge move to natively support Linux with games (roughly half of new steam releases and 25% of all steam games are already on Linux)...

Oh really? Linux having 25% the support for games means Windows is going down, but somehow Windows having 30% of the web server market means that Windows is also going to lose there? Pffffft. OK!

This article is garbage.

Re: An Argument for Why Windows Will Go Open Source

#32

Post by factorialboy »

matz1 wrote: post #29
asfdsfggtfd wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This post is almost completely wrong. You can indeed do what you like in the license (within the bounds of the law) but if it doesn't meet the OSI definition it is not Open Source.

No, when hear the term open source the first thing that come in mind is that the source is readable, thats it nothing else is implied. That being said, oher entities/organization might have their own definition. I'm sure there are many people who use the term open source like mine.

When I first hear the term bananas the first thing that comes to my mind is apples. :-)

Re: An Argument for Why Windows Will Go Open Source

#33

Post by alkonaut »

It could perhaps go open source in the same way .NET has. A core part of it might be made open source, such as the IOT core windows bits. They need a good reason for it. Hobbyists adapting it for various SoCs could be one such reason.

The vast codebase that is the "full" x64 Windows desktop OS though? I'll eat my hat if that happens. Source made visible, sure. That's already true for a lot of it. But proper open source, don't hold your breath.

Re: An Argument for Why Windows Will Go Open Source

#34

Post by hungerstrike »

TwoNineA wrote: post #25
SmellyGeekBoy wrote: post #21

Seems like there are some good arguments here for making Windows free (as in beer) but open source? I don't get it.

I stopped reading at "has caused Microsoft to develop operating systems that people wanted". - Telemetry. - Candy Crush. - Updates crammed down my throat. - ReFS removed from W10 Pro. - Still an OS that doesn't know if it's for touch or keyboard/mouse. The information density on Settings app for example is laughable on a 27 inch monitor. - Every major update used to reset search/privacy settings. But yeah, it's what…

Yeah nobody wants Windows. That's why they only have like 90% of the desktop OS market share.

Windows 10 alone has roughly 10 times more users than the Macintosh OS or Linux.

Re: An Argument for Why Windows Will Go Open Source

#37

Post by matz1 »

factorialboy wrote: post #32
matz1 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, when hear the term open source the first thing that come in mind is that the source is readable, thats it nothing else is implied. That being said, oher entities/organization might have their own definition. I'm sure there are many people who use the term open source like mine.

When I first hear the term bananas the first thing that comes to my mind is apples. :-)

I'm not sure many people use the term like that.

Re: An Argument for Why Windows Will Go Open Source

#38

Post by eighthnate »

I doubt they'll make Windows open source ( maybe pieces of it ). They will make the OS free and collect data on you and sell you ads. Think Nadella said as much in his interviews.

Also, the author should have defined what he meant by "open source" because it means different things to different people.

Re: An Argument for Why Windows Will Go Open Source

#39

Post by 8draco8 »

hungerstrike wrote: post #34
TwoNineA wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I stopped reading at "has caused Microsoft to develop operating systems that people wanted". - Telemetry. - Candy Crush. - Updates crammed down my throat. - ReFS removed from W10 Pro. - Still an OS that doesn't know if it's for touch or keyboard/mouse. The information density on Settings app for example is laughable on a 27 inch monitor. - Every major update used to reset search/privacy settings. But yeah, it's what…

Yeah nobody wants Windows. That's why they only have like 90% of the desktop OS market share. Windows 10 alone has roughly 10 times more users than the Macintosh OS or Linux.

90% market share is a sum of marketing, good enough product 30 years ago, backwards compatibility and user habits. Many users, especially those living in browser, don't care about OS, they are perfectly fine on Ubuntu but they either don't know that there is something else than Windows or they are afraid of trying something new. I am talking here about majority of computer users not tech savvy crowd visiting HN.

Re: An Argument for Why Windows Will Go Open Source

#40

Post by TremendousJudge »

>Creative work is going to mobile in a big way

What does the author mean by 'creative work' here? Writing? Image edition? Video edition? Software development? None of those things are going mobile in any way shape or form as far as I know

> Losing PC gamers also isn’t a major concern for Microsoft, because again gaming is already mostly mobile

Casual gaming is already mostly mobile. Hardcore gaming is still very much a non-mobile thing, and will stay as such for the foreseeable future. Companies are developing their games (think Call of Duty, Overwatch, Battlefield, Dota) with consoles and desktops in mind. And regarding gaming on Linux, it's better than it was -- it was nil -- but it's still a joke. Go to the steam store page right now and see how many games on the front page run on Linux

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