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Microsoft's Linux Kernel

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Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#301

Is WSL2 more than just a VM? How is it different?

for starters, it's not your typical VirtualBox VM running off your host OS. The Linux kernel in WSL2 runs on top of Hyper-V alongside Windows, which is also in a VM.

Microsoft is leveraging the same technology they use to run Windows on Xbox alongside the game OS, so it's really like an OS with 2 kernels

Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#302
post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep seeing this angst over whether Linux will ever be ready on the desktop. Well, I've been using it exclusively for something like 15 years.

Me too, since 2004 with Fedora 3 back then. And I'm growing more and more frustrated with it the last few years. Maybe I just have less time and patience nowadays :-)

I was on Linux desktop 99% of the time between 2006 and 2014 (I now use a Windows workspace with GPU passthrough on my main system), and just today my frustration with Windows was piquing to the extent that I'm ready to go back to a nix desktop.

Maybe people just get fed up with the same grating pain points and need to spread the frustration around. Periodic changes in scenery are healthy. :)

Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While people nitpick over what "linux desktop" means, don't lose sight of the fact that general purpose computing is slowly dying and being replaced by iOS and Android. Roughly as many iPhones are sold per year as desktops and laptops combined.

I still spend 80% of my workday on a PC running windows. So not sure I agree.

Oh well, if YOU spend 80% of your workday on a PC then it must be true for everyone.

Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#304
post #269

Embrace, extend...

... extinguish [0] This makes me nervous. This is a win-win now, but who can say they won't just do what they do and destroy desktop Linux as we know it when theirs gets the traction necessary? If I were a nefarious assembly of MS execs, my long-term plan would be to use Windows' UI friendliness and compatibility to attract Linux users (embrace) and, when there would be a critical mass of users, extend MS Linux to br…

Desktop Linux has 0 traction. Ok, 0.5% traction. "The year of Desktop Linux" is a meme: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/3038d4/when_was_the_...

Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#305
post #269

Embrace, extend...

... extinguish [0] This makes me nervous. This is a win-win now, but who can say they won't just do what they do and destroy desktop Linux as we know it when theirs gets the traction necessary? If I were a nefarious assembly of MS execs, my long-term plan would be to use Windows' UI friendliness and compatibility to attract Linux users (embrace) and, when there would be a critical mass of users, extend MS Linux to br…

>This is a win-win now

I don't see how this is a win-win. It incentivizes people (like developers who might otherwise stick to linux) to run a proprietary operating system.

Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#306
post #290
post #6

My brain threw an exception when I read this title. Awesome that this is a reality though. Now that we have a Linux kernels running and accessible on both Windows and Chromebooks I feel like we can finally say: 2019 actually is the year of Linux on the desktop. It's not a meme anymore, it's finally just a true statement. Edit: To those questioning if this really counts as Linux on the Desktop. Yes, I understand what…

I had to laugh when I read about this "Ubuntu install process" - Is there really still people on earth who can screw that up? :-D

Yes, many people I know would get stuck on the very first step: formatting and creating the bootable USB drive.

Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#307

Is WSL2 more than just a VM? How is it different?

for starters, it's not your typical VirtualBox VM running off your host OS. The Linux kernel in WSL2 runs on top of Hyper-V alongside Windows, which is also in a VM. Microsoft is leveraging the same technology they use to run Windows on Xbox alongside the game OS, so it's really like an OS with 2 kernels

I get that it's on a hypervisor but from a user standpoint how is that beneficial or any different from just running a normal VM in a hypervisor, is my question? Like I could've already run Hyper-V and installed Linux, so (how) is WSL2 different/better?

Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are things that don't work well though, classic example are laptops that dynamically switch between discrete and integrated graphics. You'll probably run everything on the dedicated GPU which hurts battery life. Still, my old desktop scanner that the manufacturer stopped publishing drives for during the Windows Vista era? Yeah Linux runs it like a boss. No looking up drivers or config parameters on the internet…

> classic example are laptops that dynamically switch between discrete and integrated graphics YMMV, but as far as I know that's more or less a solved problem by default (for X anyway) with DRI3. This particular complaint echoes folks (I was one) who booted Ubuntu desktop a decade ago and couldn't get wifi to work, and proceeded to complain about shoddy driver support (to present day, clearly), using only that single…

I do not enjoy configuring Linux, but I hate fixing Windows issues. I just reboot, deinstall, reinstall and at the end I have not learned anything and I do not even know if the problem will occur again. When I fix a problem in Linux, it is a journey that makes me discover unknown territories. At the end, I have improved my experience and knowledge.

For linux, I am in control. For windows I am a puppet of Microsoft will.

Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#309
post #305
post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... extinguish [0] This makes me nervous. This is a win-win now, but who can say they won't just do what they do and destroy desktop Linux as we know it when theirs gets the traction necessary? If I were a nefarious assembly of MS execs, my long-term plan would be to use Windows' UI friendliness and compatibility to attract Linux users (embrace) and, when there would be a critical mass of users, extend MS Linux to br…

>This is a win-win now I don't see how this is a win-win. It incentivizes people (like developers who might otherwise stick to linux) to run a proprietary operating system.

It's a win for the Linux user, because it increases the reach of Linux software. Think the uninitiated co-worker being able to run your scripts or something. It's a win for MS, because it makes their platform more powerful.

Of course, to repeat myself, I don't think Windows is a good thing.

Re: Microsoft's Linux Kernel

#310
post #263
post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While this must be true for a sizeable part of the population, more and more people also don’t ever touch a desktop/laptop or only use the one at work. Unsurprisingly, the latter case gets truer for low computer litteracy adults for who investing in a decent smartphone has a better ROI than buying a meh phone with a cheap laptop. Anecdotally we bought our aging parents each an ipad two years ago. They were decent but…

In your anecdote, your parents weren't really using their PC before they got the iPad. I think this is true of a lot of people who are smartphone-only today. Android and iOS are expanding to a market that PCs never really got to.

They were using their PC. But begrudginly, getting annoyed by the updates, virus warnings, us perstering them to switch browsers etc.

For most of their lifes PC were the only way to do some tasks, including photo management (and we were sharing them tons and tons of photo, they also filled SD card fter SD cards in the summer), and it’s only recently (basically the ipad Pro) that looking at us they though they could give it a try.

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