Proof-Of-Concept Work Brings systemd To Ubuntu WSL

[theriddick]

Still waiting for LSW...

[intelfx]

For instance, now when you complain that hardware is broken on Linux, they say "oh, just leave Windows and run your crazy stuff on WSL!".

i think WSL/WSL2 has one main purpose: to make sure for every person who use "WSL" there is one person less who fight for linux-driver-support on their hardware.
This stradegy makes sure people because their hardware has no driver support end up forced to use windows and WSL...
this in the end will end up in windows-only hardware and if a person ask i want to install linux they get the answer: just install windows and use WSL...

Precisely.

So if you compain to hardware vendors about missing drivers or try to push for better Linux desktop support on consumer hardware, they can and will respond "why do you need Linux if WSL exists? Just use WSL to run your linux apps, there is no good reason for us to even try to support Linux".

If you complain to your company's security department that you want to use Linux on your workstation, they can and will respond "why do you need Linux if WSL exists? Just use WSL to do your work if you need Linux environment, there is no good reason for us to allow Linux on your workstation".

I believe WSL will hurt Linux desktop adoption immensely, it is literally the best attack and most destructive thing MS could do against desktop Linux and they did it.

[Delgarde]

i think WSL/WSL2 has one main purpose: to make sure for every person who use "WSL" there is one person less who fight for linux-driver-support on their hardware.

No, it's much simpler than that. With the popularity of containers (Docker et al) for application deployment, Linux has been utterly dominating as a deployment platform in recent years. And so Microsoft have been forced to do things like investing in making Linux work well in the Azure cloud and to integrate well with other MS platforms, to fight off the likes of Amazon. And they need to give developers — who need access to Linux to their jobs — a reason to stay with Windows. That's what WSL is for, and it's why almost every Windows-oriented developer I know is adopting it... it gives them the best of both worlds, access to all their Windows applications _and_ the ability to run their Linux containers. Technically they could do that with traditional VMs, but WSL apparently offers a better experience.

[aht0]

For instance, now when you complain that hardware is broken on Linux, they say "oh, just leave Windows and run your crazy stuff on WSL!".

Not just hardware. Less maintenance and breakage makes it also easier to use through WSL

[qarium]

I believe WSL will hurt Linux desktop adoption immensely, it is literally the best attack and most destructive thing MS could do against desktop Linux and they did it.

exactly.... it is all 1998 again... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_documents

if you read the Halloween Documents they had similar EEE stradegy in the past.

WSL is the EEE on Steroids...

[jo-erlend]

i think WSL/WSL2 has one main purpose: to make sure for every person who use "WSL" there is one person less who fight for linux-driver-support on their hardware.
This stradegy makes sure people because their hardware has no driver support end up forced to use windows and WSL...
this in the end will end up in windows-only hardware and if a person ask i want to install linux they get the answer: just install windows and use WSL...

Your entire assumption is that no Linux user actually wants to use Linux. This is silly. The Windows world is a great deal larger than the Linux desktop world. There is zero chance that WSL will bring more Linux users over to the Windows world than Windows users to the Linux world. But here's the thing; all Windows users will have to deal with Linux on some level anyway, because Linux owns the Internet. Just try to imagine how much Raspberry Pi has done to dispel the fear of Linux and you will see what's coming.

This is not the 90s. And you have to also remember that Microsoft is a public corporation and therefore not allowed to do whatever it wants; they have a duty to make money and Linux is an enormous market that they simply cannot miss out on or they will go Kodak. In the 90s, Linux was weak. In the 2020s, Linux has achieved total domination in every field except desktop – and that has improved tremendously.