MS apps on Linux

Chat about Zorin
1

As I worked through my Adobe Acrobat problem, I see that Adobe has the full version available on the cloud. Since I purchased the full desktop version, I also get access to those tools online.

This stimulated my thinking about if this is the way the industry is moving. I read somewhere that MS no longer makes most of their revenue from DOS/Windows. They get it from Windows applications and Cloud services.

I recall reading that one pundit speculated that if MS ported their applications to run on top of Linux, they could get to a more stable platform while also getting rid of some of their OS support issues. This seems like a viable future path.

Think this is possible?

2

Here is the article I remember reading: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/20/09/27/193250/eric-s-raymond-is-microsoft-switching-to-a-linux-kernel-that-emulates-windows

3

I would say there is currently an operating system war afoot which is more interesting and dynamic and treacherous than the simple ol’ days of Windows vs. Mac.

When I get a minute I’m going to break it all down the way I see it. SPOILER: It’s messy.

(This is one geek’s opinions. Please nobody take offense.)

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

When it was Windows vs. Mac, it was simple. Spend more and get a marriage between hardware and software, but with the caveat that there’s less software. Or spend less with Windows and OEMS, get access to a lot more software, with the caveat of buggier software, viral/malware issues, and some of the ugliest hardware $400 could buy.

I spent 29 years straight using Apple. Because they were simply way ahead of the pack. But truth be told – I was a creative and didn’t need the software the PC world offered.

MODERN TIMES

The advent of cloud software is… interesting. On the one hand a Mac now had access to more software. On the other hand why pay typically twice as much for a Mac that runs the same cloud software as a PC… and with Windows 10… PCs run said software very well. So how can Mac keep hold of the industry a little longer?

ECOSYSTEM

If they can get one of the iPhones in your hand, they can keep Mac OS alive. It’s one of the best conjobs I’ve ever seen, and I owned a few iPhones. Once I switched to Android I couldn’t believe how played I was.

So what does Windows want? Their own ecosystem and phones. Which have failed miserably. So at the moment they’re trying to make Android and Google and Linux they’re kinda sorta ecosystem.

But why? Apart from losing all relevance whatsoever?

GOOGLE

Google’s ecosystem is a WOW. If you join it thru a Droid, you not only no longer need Mac OS… you don’t need Windows 10 either. Another way of saying this is you can pin web apps from Google into Mac, Windows, and Linux. And versus competitors it’s all relatively inexpensive.

So you not only don’t need Mac OS and Windows OS… but it wouldn’t hurt to have a Google OS. Which is what Chrome and Chromebooks are all about. But what is now featured on Chromebooks?

LINUX

Or at least open source apps. The very lifeblood of Linux. Is Google attempt to steal the Linux thunder by making those apps available on their ecosystem? Not to mention so many are already on Mac and PC?

You asked if Microsoft intends to port their apps over to Linux so they could give up on the bloatware that is Windows. I suspect they’d rather buy a Linux and then do that.

If there was a beautiful MS Linux (which Zorin seems within striking range of being) – they could start a parallel OS.

Old software that companies rely upon would continue to work on Windows 10. But newer versions of those softwares would be encouraged towards MS Linux.

Why is that smart?

Then Windows/Linux could be offered on cheaper OEMs, making Apple look even sillier than it looks now. Whether it be cloud based or local Unix –

  1. Windows would solve its legacy OS issues
  2. Linux would get the love it needs… plus an infusion of developers helping Linux to help MS
  3. Cloud computing either way, on legacy Win10 or modern Wi’nix.

(If you got the sense I want to see Tim Crook’s Apple burn to the ground, take a wireless mouse out of petty cash.)