Oh wow, the first AI-generated Linux! Will it suck monkey balls just as much as Windows 11?
Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
121–130 of 158 posts
Re: Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
Someone says: > Here is a general purpose Linux distribution, give it a try! Where does your mind go? That this is a server-only distribution meant for a specific provider? Or that it's something like Debian, that could be run on servers and desktops alike without much tinkering, or meant for any provider? FWIW, Microsoft themselves don't seem to call this a "general purpose Linux distribution", I could probably gues…
Ubuntu server distributions are definitely general purpose.
So if I understand what you're saying, if someone asks you "Hey, could you recommend me a general purpose Linux distribution?", you'd recommend them Ubuntu Server rather than just straight up Ubuntu?
I'd agree both could be used in a general-purpose way, but I'd definitively call one of them more general-purpose than the other.
Re: Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
to be fair to apple one time, RCS is terrible
It’s better than SMS and is the new industry standard. Also, iMessage kind of sucks too. There are many better messaging apps. The problem is that many people in the US never even try those. They just see that Androids have green bubbles and cause problems due to SMS.
Hello! I'm a USian, so my telecom situation might be really weird when compared to the rest of the world, IDK.
> It’s better than SMS...
If it guarantees timely and in-order delivery, then yes, it's better than SMS. If it doesn't, no matter what else it does it's just as bad.
> ...and is the new industry standard.
Odd. The only RCS messages I receive are spam. Literally zero legitimate entities send me RCS messages.
Plus, I heard that Google's shipping this "Feed us more metadata about who you're calling and when!" service that's billed as a "Ensure the caller calling you is actually on an Android(TM) or iPhone(TM) phone!" "safety" feature. No thanks.
Re: Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
#124Was it vibe coded?
Re: Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also relevant quote that I think about when this subject comes up: “If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I've won.” ~Linus Torvalds In this case, an entire freaking distro.
a distro is the opposite of an application
Correct, but who 25 years ago could have imagined they’d have gone so far as to roll their own? I remember the Balmer days.
But the fact that they’re rolling a distro tells me they’re likely also writing software for Linux. I’m sure their Azure Linux contains apps they wrote and maintain, used by the OS.
Then there’s Microsoft apps on Android, with Linux under the covers.
Re: Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
#126OK, so this is important not because it comes from Microsoft. 1. It's general purpose in that it is designed to be used to deliver any application software, whether containerized, on a VM or on (specific) bare hardware. 2. It has an SBOM that allows all elements of the distribution when run as a container/VM/bare to have an auditable chain back to the Fedora distribution, which then has a chain back to the source. So…
> 1. It's general purpose in that it is designed to be used to deliver any application software
FWIW, it's only the HN title and this article that calls this new distribution "general-purpose". Microsoft themselves say that this the distribution is "Purpose-Built for Azure" (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/linuxandopensourceb...), I'm not sure how the author got it wrong.
Re: Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
#127Oh wow, the first AI-generated Linux! Will it suck monkey balls just as much as Windows 11?
That, and it will be as secure, reliable and snappy as GitHub!
Also, coming from Microslop, the path to ever deeper enshittification is a foregone conclusion. It will be the first "Linux" with ads!
Re: Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ubuntu server distributions are definitely general purpose.
Most Linux server distributions would be expected to be headless. "General purpose" Linux distributions (not "server") typically would include a GUI desktop.
A GUI Linux distribution feels vastly more niche than a headless one.
Re: Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
#129Surprised it doesn't have Copilot in the name somewhere
That was a glitch, it will be fixed over the weekend. The responsible marketing director will be disciplined.
Re: Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ubuntu server distributions are definitely general purpose.
So if I understand what you're saying, if someone asks you "Hey, could you recommend me a general purpose Linux distribution?", you'd recommend them Ubuntu Server rather than just straight up Ubuntu? I'd agree both could be used in a general-purpose way, but I'd definitively call one of them more general-purpose than the other.
If they need a general purpose distro for a server, absolutely.
That would likely be a better recommendation than android.