jricher

Microsoft's Savvy Open Source Move

I don't think this is a winning strategy for Microsoft. I say this even though I have 0 interest in having Microsoft win. The core problem with this approach is that it neglects an important fact: Linux gets the horrible evil nasty types of workloads that improve operating systems. H.A.? Been there. Routing? Been there. Performance Computing? Been there. Test boxes running loads too big for the hardware? Every Flipping Day... This exposes bugs, corner cases, and other "needs". What you get is an operating system that can do anything. Need to run a complete experimental TCP/IP stack in userland? OK. Need to bridge to ethernet segments over SSH? OK. Need to run a wireless card in monitor mode, with injection support for arbitrary frames? OK. Need a block device at the other end of an ethernet cable - with access to the raw blocks? OK.

Yes, you can do all these things on Windows, too... sort of. If your vendor helps enough. If you can get the right drivers. Operating syste,s are made by their workload, and Linux gets the worst - that's why it's getting so good.