For the first time ever, Microsoft will distribute its own version of Linux

Business Insider ^ | Apr 16, 2018 | Matt Weinberger

[dayglored]

Hell has truly got frostbite -- Microsoft has released a Linux distribution...

...Azure Sphere takes a combined approach, using hardware, software, and the cloud to hopefully solve this problem.

First, Microsoft has come up with a design for a new, more powerful kind of microprocessor, which it will make available to actual chip manufacturers for free.

Second, Microsoft has developed Azure Stack OS, the Linux-based operating system that will run on those chips — Smith says that while Microsoft is a "Windows company," a full-fledged version of its flagship operating system was too big and too unwieldy for what it had in mind.

Third, the chip/OS combo will be integrated with an Azure Sphere cloud security service, which will keep the devices up to date with security patches for 10 years or longer.

Smith says that the first Azure Sphere-powered hardware will hit the market later in 2018, with details forthcoming.

[dayglored]

Microsoft Linux for the Internet of Things ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

[Pearls Before Swine]

Hell has truly got frostbite -- Microsoft has released a Linux distribution...

Is it just technological progress, or was Ballmer holding the Big Softie back?

He seemed to hate Linux with a passion... protecting the franchise, I suppose.

[ptsal]

Does this version come with a BLUE screen?

[hsmomx3]

Not so sure I would trust this version?????

[BipolarBob]

I'm running a Linux clone. I don't understand this move. a full-fledged version of its flagship operating system was too big and too unwieldy for what it had in mind.
I gave up on Win 10. Navigation. Quirky freezes. I always suspected viruses. I'm really suspicious of this and see no reason to try their product at this time.

[Steve Van Doorn]

Microsoft usually buys out something that has proven it's worth.

have they changed their policy? Mint (ubuntu) and Manjaro (arch Linux) are by far the two largest number of users. Why don't they take over one of them?

[DaxtonBrown]

Remember what happened to CPM??

[Governor Dinwiddie]

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
 

[McGruff]

...Microsoft has released a Linux distribution...

So will you be bashing that now?

[Secret Agent Man]

The first linux version to have a blue screen of death.

[wally_bert]

Probably the first goal of the project.

[fruser1]

“will make available to actual chip manufacturers for free”

More “free” stuff from Microsoft?

The first big free item was an OS that included the ability to spy on every facet of your computer use and sell it under the premise of improving “customer experience”.

I guess Microsoft figure appliance hackers and spies have a good thing going and Microsoft can exploit it better.

[Billthedrill]

This is it: world domination! I remember when Novell entered the market with SCO Unix. It made them the superpower in the industry they are today.

(Geek joke, sorry).

[TomServo]

remember when Novell entered the market with SCO Unix.

Me too. I would've rather french-kissed a rattle snake than had to deal with it. Painful.

[bigbob]

So I guess MS figures there will be money in providing the cloud services that these embedded Linux devices will interface with. Their track record hasn’t been very good in similar markets but time will tell.

[dayglored]

> Is it just technological progress, or was Ballmer holding the Big Softie back? He seemed to hate Linux with a passion... protecting the franchise, I suppose.

Both. It -is- real technological progress, and Ballmer was a damned obsessive idiot. He was completely, utterly, unable to fathom anything other than "Windows Uber Alles". He made a lot of terrible business decisions in the early 2000's that almost killed Microsoft's ability to move forward, and it took pushing him out to get the company moving back to a point where they could make progress again.

[dayglored]

> Microsoft usually buys out something that has proven it's worth. have they changed their policy? Mint (ubuntu) and Manjaro (arch Linux) are by far the two largest number of users. Why don't they take over one of them?

Look up the GPL (Gnu Public License). Microsoft -can't- just "buy" a Linux distribution. They -can- take part in the Linux community.

[Paladin2]

"...its flagship operating system was too big and too unwieldy..."

Since the first Easter Egg...

[dayglored]

> "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

Precisely.