Canonical Reportedly Slashing Jobs, Seeking Outside Investment

[duby229]

Or perhaps more like Microsoft Linux is becoming Ubuntu...

Oh boy, that's a bad scenario to think about.... Remembering Xandros.....

[ldo17]

Oh boy, that's a bad scenario to think about.... Remembering Xandros.....

Windows never became like Xandros. But have you noticed it is becoming more like Ubuntu?

[duby229]

Windows never became like Xandros. But have you noticed it is becoming more like Ubuntu?

When you say "Microsoft Linux", well that's basically what Xandros was. More or less. Try to visit xandros.com right now and see what you see.
https://news.microsoft.com/2007/06/0...soft-software/

edit: It's really just another example of EEE. MS adding a linux compatibility layer that implements an Ubuntu alike userspace is just an extension of that to kill an even more leveraged player. It's not OK, but nobody can say they didn't see it coming. Including Canonical. Xandros is just one example of precedence, there are others.

[ldo17]

MS adding a linux compatibility layer that implements an Ubuntu alike userspace is just an extension of that to kill an even more leveraged player.

That’s not how it works. Remember when IBM added a Windows compatibility layer to OS/2? It was because it had given up on developers creating native OS/2 apps, so it had to fall back to accepting ones written for Windows. And why Intel had to provide an ARM emulator for its x86 Android devices? Because too many Android apps were using ARM native compiled code, and not bothering to provide any native equivalent for x86.

In the same way, Microsoft adding a Linux compatibility layer to Windows is because the native Windows APIs are simply not attractive enough to developers any more. The smart ones are writing their code, not just for POSIX, but specifically for Linux.

[duby229]

That’s not how it works. Remember when IBM added a Windows compatibility layer to OS/2? It was because it had given up on developers creating native OS/2 apps, so it had to fall back to accepting ones written for Windows. And why Intel had to provide an ARM emulator for its x86 Android devices? Because too many Android apps were using ARM native compiled code, and not bothering to provide any native equivalent for x86.

In the same way, Microsoft adding a Linux compatibility layer to Windows is because the native Windows APIs are simply not attractive enough to developers any more. The smart ones are writing their code, not just for POSIX, but specifically for Linux.

That's a positive viewpoint, but I think what is actually happening is that MS is attempting to build an environment where they can make it seem like Ubuntu is irrelevant altogether. After all their own solution provides similar software compatibility and it keeps their customers on Windows. Not Ubuntu.

[Delgarde]

Unity 7 basically didn't changed/improved in the last decade. All the good parts and improvements came from GTK and GNOME Apps improvements.

Unity didn't exist a decade ago - the first release was late-2010 - so your statement is blatant nonsense.

It *has* stagnated a bit in the last few years since the focus went on Unity 8 / Mir, but lets not get carried away with exaggerations...

[skierpage]

I was one of the first to be made redundant 5 months ago. I am a maintainer of Qt module essential for Qt based mobile phones.

Can Plasma Mobile use the code? Keep the convergence dream alive!

Sorry for your loss.

[ldo17]

... I think what is actually happening is that MS is attempting to build an environment where they can make it seem like Ubuntu is irrelevant altogether.

You make the competition irrelevant by ignoring it, not by going out of your way to be compatible with it.

It is the job of the also-rans to play catch-up with the market leader, not the market leader to give any credibility to the also-rans.

[duby229]

You make the competition irrelevant by ignoring it, not by going out of your way to be compatible with it.

It is the job of the also-rans to play catch-up with the market leader, not the market leader to give any credibility to the also-rans.

Except that Linux is not an also ran. MS is loosing web developers, IT admins, customer service centers, point of sale providers and a whole lot more to linux. MS is not the market leader you claim it to be and Linux is not the also ran you claim it to be.

[ldo17]

Except that Linux is not an also ran. MS is l[o]sing web developers, IT admins, customer service centers, point of sale providers and a whole lot more to linux. MS is not the market leader you claim it to be and Linux is not the also ran you claim it to be.

Did I make such a claim? It was precisely my point that Microsoft is no longer the market leader, which is why it can no longer behave like one.