Why so. WSL that's why. So there has been a lot of excitement in the Linux community over the release of WSL2. Most "Linuxers" believe that WSL(Windows Subsystem for Linux) will help in encouraging adamant windows users to try out Linux whilst at the comfort of their familiar WIN 10. The hope is that many people will realize the benefits and ease of use(YES it is) of Linux and eventually decide to fully dive into a full installation of Linux.
But in my opinion I think not. The way I see it windows is trying to demean Linux by presenting it like just some app you can download and install thus prompting many people to just opt using it that way. Well why would you go through the hustle of dual-booting another OS whereas you can just click some buttons and paste some commands and get it.
And its WORKING!!
See Microsoft now recognizes Linux as an actual and worthy contender in the battle of the OSs. Which other reason would Microsoft invest so many resources in WSL? While you are thinking about this question remember that Microsoft is a company, a company that defends its market share and ensures that their profit margins are always rising.
"But surely Linux hasn't reached the level windows is?"
IT HAS.
Let's look at the areas that have made windows users reluctant to switch
GAMING (Linux is the Future of Gaming)
There weren't a lot of games supported on Linux in the past, but that was before the release of STEAM on Linux. I'm not going to dive into this topic that much but i'll leave with a few things.
You get waaaay better performance on Linux.
You can play tons of games on Linux, TONS I say. Through steam a lot of games are now available on Linux. Check this out
Video Editing,VFX Compositing, Photo Editing and Graphic Design
I'll quickly list out some linux alternatives to the softwares exclusive to windows
- Photo Editing (Photoshop Realm) > Here we have GIMP
- Graphic Design(Illustrator realm) > We got two of 'em: Inkscape , Gravit Designer
- VFX Compositing(The Kingdom of After Effects) > Nuke,Blender and Black Design Fusion
- Video Editing (The great Premier Pro) DaVinci Resolve,Blender and KdenLive
IF Adobe Decided to provide support for Linux, that would be the biggest blow to windows and would for sure cause an gigantic switch from windows to Linux. Just saying 😁.
The Linux market share continues to grow and not just techies are switching to Linux but also ordinary people(none techies). People of all ages are seeing the awesomeness of Linux.
Well this is just my opinion. Tell me what you think.
Latest comments (43)
The only reason I still run a dual boot is because of gaming. Windows wins on that front. And even techtubers like LTT agree. The Linux ecosystem is not there yet. However, with the release of the steam deck and steamOS later this year I hope that changes so I can full linux
I can of agree with the first part, about Microshit's motive behind WSL. The other explanation I get to hear is Microsoft is preparing for a transition. New Operating system based on something called 'picoprocessors'(or something that reads like that ) and WSL is kind of an experimentation towards that goal. Given that all major competitors in the market are Linux (android in the smartphone market and Chrome OS in the desktop market ) and Unix (Mac OS) based, it was kind of an obvious signal for windows to move towards something POSIXy. That's a sound argument to my limited understanding of the whole hullabaloo.
As for LiNux posing a threat , chrome OS (which is based on Gentoo ) can be a fair contender for that, being backed by another big player (google ) with all the resources to promote it. As for the usual Linux desktops (debian, ubuntu , manjaro , mint etc), which is what the 'real' fans root for to capture the market, I don't see the silver lightning (yet). No matter what advantages or disvantages we talk about of a particular OS, it's popularity among the general masses would decided by one single most important factor, which vendors packaging as a pre-installed OS with their hardwares, after that's how windows captured market despite being one of the crappiest and buggiest OS (as admitted by Microshit insiders ) . General users just won't bother uninstalling and reinstalling a different OS except the 2% inquisitive geeks. Some vendors are already supplying their hardwares with pre-installed Linux but then again , the consumer community is mainly restricted to those who knows what they are ordering, it's not the vast majority of ' give me whatever OS ' user base. They are the ones that finally decides which OS rules the market even if they are clueless themeselves.
The travesty is Linux community (Linux Foundation etc) doesn't have the resources to promote the OS among these user base and that's where it's all stuck. Whatever funds they are getting are from these big players like Microshit and croocle and would rather have their money thrown to the rivers then let it use to promote a competing product. Fregmentation is another issue that Linux Torvarlds often mentions when something on the subject is asked to him. To me, I don't see that as concerning or a roadblock in the path. Application incompatibily can be addressed by various options (flatpak , snap, appimage etc).
Only hope seems to be piggy back on the popularity of Chrome OS, chrome OS have the potential to popularise Linux among common users... After that it would be much easier for vendors to create a market for other Linux OSes as well. Somebody should do a deeper analysis on this. . And probably write an article as well.
The only reason Linux is amazing is that it is open source and extremely customizable as a result, which makes it suitable for almost every purpose.
I think Windows OS will end up like VScode. Microsoft will adapt all the good things about Linux Distros and probably open source Windows but under strict control like VScode. As and when they do that, they will take over the OS world, and they should! With the at rate at which internet connectivity is growing, all spears of industrial computing will soon be cloud based and I should say OSs will also go cloud based in the not too distant future!
When that happened, you need an OS that is sever friendly and secure. The combination of Windows security and the Linux flexibility will be perfect.
I will love to see Windows abandon some few UI features like the rectangular scroll bars and adapt the round scroll bars but with scroll buttons like ChromeOS has. The very rectangular nature of windows makes it less appealing.
Should Windows go completely Linux Kennel and abandoned their rectangular UI features, people will have no reason but stay and even some MacOS users will find a new home.
I genuinely think Windows OS will swallow all the big and good things about Linux. I can't wait for that to happen!
I have been using Linux as my main OS since 2001. It's really helped me as a DevOps working with Cloud and software development. I run Windows in a VM for those edge case scenarios. I like to be in control of my hardware and am really interested in information security so might not be a typical user. I also help to formalize processes for Linux users in enterprize environments because of the developers who also prefer to use Linux.
This is definitely what they're doing. They have already replaced Edge's internals with Chromium & Webkit, not only cheaper to maintain but also more robust.
So why not replace DOS with something cheaper to maintain and more robust?
Less cost, more profit.
I am using windows only for Adobe premiere pro.
There is room for both in the world and having them in one system is awesome. It is not demeaning, it'll grow and make Linux on servers and IoT devices so much better. 😃
I think you're right but for the wrong reasons. Linux is becoming more viable for people not because of the native apps but because of the web. As web apps become more and more powerful it doesn't matter what operating system you're running. And because of Azure Microsoft is still well positioned for this in the coming years
I think the only reason why people don't move to Linux is because lack of knowledge how to use commands, sudo's... And I can completely understand this. If one day Linux become more automated a lot of people will grab Linux. I meet few users who tried Linux, happy with performance but when they need to use terminal, commands, searching for apps etc...they just give up.