[Info-vax] RMS intro

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 1/1/2024 11:52 AM, Dan Cross wrote:
> In article <umuq8b$28tuo$1 at dont-email.me>,
> Arne Vajhøj  <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>> On 1/1/2024 11:12 AM, Dan Cross wrote:
>>> In article <umujck$282li$1 at dont-email.me>,
>>> Arne Vajhøj  <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>>>> On 12/31/2023 11:51 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>> On Sun, 31 Dec 2023 22:35:34 -0500, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>>>>> It stands for Linux, but that does not mean that they are trying to move
>>>>>> the general Windows user to a Linux experience.
>>>>>
>>>>> That seems inevitable, though. At some point it is going to become a
>>>>> mandatory part of any Windows install. I’m not saying it was Microsoft’s
>>>>> conscious intention when they introduced it, but it will become the path
>>>>> of least resistance.
>>>>
>>>> MS could roll it out to every Windows user tomorrow if they
>>>> wanted to.
>>>>
>>>> But why on earth would they want to do that??
>>>
>>> To pave a way for MSFT to jetison Windows in favor of Linux.
>>>
>>> Maintaining an OS like Windows is expensive and requires a
>>> steady stream of talent.  There is more talent working on that
>>> kind of thing outside of Microsoft than inside, just not on
>>> Windows: most of the work is happening around Linux.  Being able
>>> to leverage that investment would be a strategic win.
>>
>> It cost money to maintain Windows, but it also generates revenue.
>>
>> A lot of revenue. MS sell Windows licenses in the magnitude of
>> 20 B$ per year.
>>
>> Becoming just another Linux distro vendor would loose
>> most of that revenue.
>>
>> Does not make any business sense.
> 
> ...right now.
> 
> The windows market share is, as you yourself mentioned earlier
> in this thread, continuing to shrink.
> 
> People at Microsoft aren't stupid.  They can see the long-term
> direction themselves.

Windows desktop market share is not shrinking much. The
problem for MS is that the desktop market itself is shrinking - a
lot of casual users are switching to phones and tablets. Most
still have a PC, but because it is not used so much then they
are kept way longer than they used to. So PC sales is dropping
and Windows sales is dropping.

If MS want to continue the big presence in the consumer segment,
then they need to address it. Somehow they need to get into
the phone and tablet market. This is why the MS CEO recently
said that he regretted killing Windows Phone.

Creating a Linux desktop distro is not going to help with this
problem, because it is not what the customers are looking for.

>>>> For desktop/laptop the vast majorities of users has no interest
>>>> in Linux at all. Windows are facing serious challenges, but not
>>>> from (traditional) Linux. Windows usage is dropping because
>>>> people are switching to Android/iOS phones/tablets.
>>>>
>>>> People are switching from a GUI centric OS (Windows) to
>>>> GUI only OS (Android & iOS) for casual use. Expecting them
>>>> to use WSL command line utilities is a non-starter.
>>>
>>> This conflates two things: WSL as a path for moving to Linux
>>> as the kernel substrate for Microsoft's OS offerings, and using
>>> WSL as an end user.
>>>
>>> The latter is likely never going to happen outside of developer
>>> communities.  The former could well happen; WSL gives MSFT a
>>> low-cost way to dip their toe into the waters and explore
>>> interoperability between the traditional Windows API and Linux.
>>
>> If MS wanted to switch to Linux kernel then Win32 API for Linux
>> would be very interesting.
>>
>> But WSL does not provide anything for that.
>>
>> WSL 1 provided the opposite direction - Linux API on Windows kernel.
> 
> ...and integration at the file level.
> 
>> WSL 2 is just a VM with a very smart/transparent integration.
> 
> As I said, it's a way for them to dip their toe in the water and
> explore compatibility.  It's obviously not the end state.

"dip their toe in the water" and "explore compatibility" ????

It does not do anything for running Windows applications on a Linux
system.

Arne