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posted by chromas on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:01PM   Printer-friendly
from the year-of-Linux-on-the-desktop dept.

Has no one seen this yet? Don't cross the streams!

Ars Technica:

Earlier today, we wrote that Microsoft was going to add some big new features to the Windows Subsystem for Linux, including native support for Docker containers. It turns out that that ain't the half of it.

Not even half.

All is changing with Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. Instead of emulating the Linux kernel APIs on the NT kernel, WSL 2 is going to run a full Linux kernel in a lightweight virtual machine. This kernel will be trimmed down and tailored to this particular use case, with stripped-down hardware support (since it will defer to the host Windows OS for that) and faster booting.

The Linux kernel is GPLed open source; the GPL license requires that any modifications made to the code must be published and made available under the GPL license. Microsoft will duly comply with this, publishing the patches and modifications it makes to the kernel. WSL 2 will also use a similar split as the current WSL does: the kernel component will be shipped with Windows while "personalities" as provided by the various Linux distributions can be installed from the Microsoft Store.

To quote Han Solo, "I've got a bad feeling about this."


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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:18PM (9 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:18PM (#840160)

    Is 2019 the Year of Linux on the Desktop?

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:35PM (4 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:35PM (#840174) Journal

    2019 or 2020.

    But not Microsoft Linux on Windows.

    Chromebooks. They are gaining in popularity. Cheap. Easy enough for grandma to use. And gradually sneaking in more and more capability over time. (Android apps, Linux)

    Linux on the desktop will probably happen, but may sneak up on us in a way people aren't looking for.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by Pino P on Tuesday May 07 2019, @05:25PM (3 children)

      by Pino P (4721) on Tuesday May 07 2019, @05:25PM (#840277) Journal

      Chromebooks. [...] gradually sneaking in more and more capability over time. (Android apps, Linux)

      Except for Chromebooks whose kernel is too old. If the kernel is 3.14 or older, no Crostini for you. Are Walmart and Best Buy still selling Chromebooks that will never get Crostini?

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday May 07 2019, @06:10PM (2 children)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 07 2019, @06:10PM (#840312) Journal

        Yep.

        IMO, the old ones will eventually attrition out.

        Something similar happens with many tech products. You can buy a TV that's not 4K. But the time will come when that will probably end.

        Most people buying Chromebooks are blissfully unaware. Those looking for those specific features know what to look for. I believe in time all new chromebooks will support those features.

        This is chromebooks sneaking in more capability to compete with some low end windows laptops, for some types of users.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
        • (Score: 2) by Pino P on Wednesday May 08 2019, @05:18PM (1 child)

          by Pino P (4721) on Wednesday May 08 2019, @05:18PM (#840892) Journal

          You can buy a TV that's not 4K. But the time will come when that will probably end.

          There's a difference here. TVs have a conspicuous 720p, 1080p, or 4K marking on the box. I haven't seen a Chromebook box with such a marking for "Crostini" or "Linux app support". Likewise, I don't usually see a 🐧 mark for Linux compatibility on the packaging of mass market Windows laptops or PC peripherals, even if ⊞ for Windows and 🍎 for macOS are present.

          Those looking for those specific features know what to look for.

          Yet the in-store display of specifications at Walmart or Best Buy doesn't list these specific features, and sales associates are clueless. So among the following, which is most common?

          A. Print out a list of all model numbers with Crostini support and carry that into the store
          B. Make a trip to the store, write down all Chromebook model numbers on display, take that list home to cross off those without Crostini support, and make a second trip for the purchase
          C. Purchase a second mobile Internet device and cellular Internet service for that device with which to look up each model's Crostini support status in-store
          D. Buy online, wait a week for Super Saver Shipping, and if you end up not liking its screen or keyboard, too bad

          • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday May 08 2019, @08:02PM

            by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 08 2019, @08:02PM (#840965) Journal

            On the recent Pinebook post to SN, I posted a link that says, all new Chromebooks launched this year will support Linux. Which I presume would also mean supports Android, since Android support seems to be a lower bar than the Crostini support.

            --
            People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:37PM (3 children)

    by RS3 (6367) on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:37PM (#840177)

    Being dragged there, ready or not. I'm not sure what MS are up to, but one cynical take is they're trying to make Linux look bad to the general non-technical public. The details will be interesting.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:48PM (2 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 07 2019, @02:48PM (#840189) Journal

      You no doubt saw what I mention about Chromebooks.

      Microsoft might succeed in making Linux look bad . . . on Windows. Using Microsoft Linux.

      But people still use Linux every day without even knowing it. Once it is pointed out to them just how much they have used Linux for years, that might change everyone's impression.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday May 08 2019, @03:51AM (1 child)

        by RS3 (6367) on Wednesday May 08 2019, @03:51AM (#840615)

        > You no doubt saw what I mention about Chromebooks.

        No, sorry, I did what I do too often: glance, post, read later. Sometimes regret (no post submission edits allowed!) But now I have read your Chromebook comments. I have very little direct experience. I had my hands on one once several years ago and tried to install something (I forget) and quickly discovered it's not as simple as I had expected. Hmmm. If someone gave me one I'd have to tinker and figure it all out, but I have enough more interesting things to do. But I like the concept and the prices look good.

        Yes, long time Linux admin here. Most people barely know how many cylinders their car's engine has, and generally don't care from what I can tell. I tell people about Linux in Android, etc., and I get blank stares, or maybe a "huh". They care about the UI, but seem to adapt to almost anything in spite of idiosyncrasies, bugs, etc.

        No, I haven't read enough about MS Linux (ptooey) but my guess is that it will somehow make Linux look bad, even if it's just that running in a VM will make it feel slower, things might not translate well, some things won't work, etc. It'll be interesting for sure.

        • (Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Wednesday May 08 2019, @01:55PM

          by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 08 2019, @01:55PM (#840757) Journal

          People don't care about "Linux" or even "Android" on a Chromebook.

          But they will care if you tell them that "your phone / tablet apps in the Google Play store will work on your Chromebook". Now at this point in time, you would have to qualify that as not all Chromebooks offer Android support.

          Later you will be able to tell them that there is a "Linux store" with apps like Gimp, Inkscape, WxMaxima, LibreOffice, etc. Maybe at some point video / audio editors that are better than the similar Android offerings on the Play store. The state of Linux on Chromebooks is still definitely not for end users. You can enable it in Settings and try it out. You get a default Debian tightly security boxed by default. In a LXD container on a VM hosted on Google's crossvm. Google wrote crossvm because other virtualization solutions had many features they didn't need, and crossvm is written in a higher level language than C with a strong focus on security. They must ensure that Android and Linux apps simply cannot compromise the actual Chrome OS kernel. If you read up more on this, you can create additional containers, or even vms. You can install other distros. If you install some google packages, then it will get all of the plumbing for its GUI desktop.org compatible apps to have GUI integration with the Chrome OS desktop. I believe the future of Chrome OS is brighter than most people realize. But that is speculation and optimism on my part.

          The Google Play store also has Crossover Wine as an Android app.

          --
          People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.