from the files-are-great-but-just-wait-until-they-include-rasps dept.
Microsoft Brings Linux Files to Windows 10 with New Update:
Windows 10 build 19603, which is now available for download in the Fast ring, includes File Explorer integration in the Windows Subsystem for Linux, or WSL.
In other words, if you have already installed WSL on your device, a new Linux drive will show up in File Explorer, letting you browse files normally.
Support for accessing Linux files that you work with in WSL isn't new in Windows 10, as such capabilities have previously been enabled in an older release. In fact, even production devices can do this starting with Windows 10 version 1903, which was released in the spring of 2019.
[...] "We've had the ability to access your Linux files since Windows 1903, but now you can easily get to them from your left-hand navigation pane in File Explorer. Selecting the Linux icon will show you a view of all your distros, and selecting those will place you in the Linux root file system for that distro," Microsoft explains.
(Score: 5, Informative) by DannyB on Thursday April 09 2020, @09:46PM (4 children)
Next will come the Extend part.
WSL will have extra goodies not present in "standard" Linux distributions. Or even kernels. Sugary addictive features developers developers developers just cannot say no to.
(the above is exactly what Microsoft did with Java, but strictly in violation of the agreement they signed with Sun which expressly forbade doing exactly this. Cost Microsoft $1.2 Billion. Then .NET was born because Java was just too good to not have -- although some here will fail to see that point.)
Extinguish . . .
Some of the developers will then go to deploy their Linux application. Oh, wait. It doesn't run on Linux. What? Oh, well, we can deploy it onto Windows using WSL. Managers won't care. Too bad suckers! You should have known better than to get sucked into it.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 09 2020, @09:57PM (3 children)
Don't worry... Poettering saw this coming and built defenses into systemd that will screw up any applications found to be running under WSL. He's already tested it on Linux.
(Score: 1) by fourpartee on Friday April 10 2020, @02:27AM
Yeah sure!
Gee, what pid=1 program would make a good backdoor?
Hmmmmm.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Friday April 10 2020, @03:11AM (1 child)
I read it the other way round, it's the presence of systemd that gave linux that touch of pointlessness that was needed to integrate with windows. Next windows is gonna run on systemd/linux.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Friday April 10 2020, @03:55PM
<no-sarcasm>
I would not be shocked if, in the loooong run, Windows ends up with Linux as the primary kernel, with a Windows kernel personality for legacy compatibility.
</no-sarcasm>
In typical backwards Microsoft fashion they would call it the Linux Subsystem for Windows (LSW).
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 09 2020, @10:39PM
"Windows has detecteded some unknown bullshit wrong with this removable device and will fuck it up no matter if you press yes or no when offered the option to fix'd it."
It's an almost repeatable fuck-up when transferring files from a Linux PC to a Windows POS. It'll dump files on the drive you didn't want and possibly delete or corrupt files you need.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Friday April 10 2020, @12:05AM (3 children)
That's not cool!
If I want Windows to access my Linux files, I'll share them on the LAN
Now I need to find a file system that Windows can't access
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 1) by leon_the_cat on Friday April 10 2020, @12:54AM
Is it not dependent on WSL? Can you access an ext4 usb thumbdrive with a standard updated windows10 install? I think not but would be happy to hear opposite.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 10 2020, @03:18AM (1 child)
well, there shouldn't be any Windows in your home/office, anyways.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 10 2020, @09:08AM
None here in mom's basement.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by shortscreen on Friday April 10 2020, @12:09AM (3 children)
Why are they calling it Windows Subsystem for Linux when it is clearly a Linux Subsystem for Windows?
DOSbox isn't called Windows Box for DOS. Word for Windows wasn't called Windows Application for Word(s). IE wasn't called Windows Internet for Exploration.
BTW, Freudian slip?
And 1903? Why not upgrade to Windows 2000?
(Score: 3, Informative) by RamiK on Friday April 10 2020, @01:00AM (2 children)
Because WSL1 was a NTKERNEL service(/daemon) that implemented linux syscalls, a virtual file system and an elf runtime loader to execute linux userland software not too unlike WINE. So, it was a Windows Subsystem for (executing userland) Linux (software).
WSL2 btw is a VM with some integration features on the Windows host side like this virtual file system mount as well as some optimizations on the linux client kernel and user land side. However, it's still a Windows (virtualization) Subsystem for (executing) Linux (kernel and userland).
YYMM is a fairly reasonable naming convention.
compiling...
(Score: 5, Funny) by jb on Friday April 10 2020, @06:25AM (1 child)
Spoken like almost every cobol programmer before about 1990.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by canopic jug on Friday April 10 2020, @02:38PM
It's easy to say now. These days disk storage is more or less free. Though as late as the 1980s disks, even with the advent of hard drives that could fit on the desk and could be used without hearing protection, storage was not only very limited in capacity but also very, very expensive. Recording dates as YYMMDD instead of YYYYMMDD saved both a noticeable amount of expensive space AND reduced retrieval time by a discernable amount. On top of that, management then as now didn't either know or care anything about computers or plan more than a few months ahead. We all know how that story played out.
Years later, people worked hard to make up for those shortcomings and retrofitted the old programs culminating in a rush peaking right before the Y2K rollover. However, we can't use the same delayed approach to the 2038 problem with 32-bit time. It is not feasible to change the operating system or kernel on most embedded systems and many have been scheduled long lifecycles. So some embedded systems which have been deployed recently, still with 32-bit time, are very likely to be in use when the time rolls over according to their planned lifecycle. Because most will not be patchable and all of them wil be very hard to replace even with months of planning and coordination, the time is now to produce all new embedded 32-bit microcontroller systems with 64-bit time. It's getting very late in that regard.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 10 2020, @12:26AM (2 children)
Anyone else remember colinux [colinux.org] on W2k? IE6, Norton AV and AdAware - the latter which should now remove the entire advertising supported spyware that is Windows 10.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Friday April 10 2020, @03:15AM
immediately nicknamed COLONux, yeah I seem to recall.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @10:28PM
Unfortunately it had some foilbles I can't remember and didn't get updated for later versions. But oh boy was it useful for running those one off linux apps inside of Windows.
Ran Win2k up until ATI stopped supporting drivers for the HD3650 on it, even ran Test Drive Unlimited atop it before finally having to migrate to XP. The most annoying thing was having to update to DirectX 9.0 for the ATI drivers, which caused all the older games misusing some of the DirectX 8.1 and below function calls to break due to how they determined monitor resolution. Ugh.
(Score: 3, Informative) by canopic jug on Friday April 10 2020, @03:39AM (1 child)
Skimming TFA, I notice that the EXT file system, EXT4 in particular, is not mentioned even once. I expect that if you were to plug an EXT4-formatted into a Vista10-infected unit, that it would still not be able to read it and would still try to reformat it. Thus I can only conclude that the title and summary are completely misleading, just more lies from M$, and that Vista10 still cannot actually read any EXT4 file systems. Otherwise they would have been crowing about it.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 10 2020, @12:45PM
I expect that if you were to plug an EXT4-formatted into a Vista10-infected unit, that it would still not be able to read it and would still try to reformat it
MS: hey we have this cool utility you can use.
Internet: hur de dur! M$ came out with more crap!
I personally keep my OS's fairly segregated as the models they run in do not work very well together. However, MS does have WSL (which I have not used yet). That means they need to make it easier to use for themselves and others. Why would they not do that? These days I am more worried about google. They have the ability to 'end you' social wise. MS has not really played that game. MS wants your money. Google wants your mind and tell you what you should say. One is just kinda scummy the other breaks freedom.