Microsoft announced that it brought the famous Kali Linux!!

[Brahim Salem]

Microsoft announced today that it brought the famous and acclaimed Kali Linux (formerly BackTrack Linux) open-source ethical hacking and penetration testing GNU/Linux distribution on WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). https://www.ubuntufree.com/kali-linux-e ... -10-store/
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/comman ... x-for-wsl/

[Lysander666]

Your thread title should read Microsoft announced that it brought the famous Kali Linux to the Windows Store.

However, there is something interesting about this. By the looks of it one can run the entire OS natively in Windows now, which is not the same as what one can do with Ubuntu, SUSE and Fedora in WSL. They have limitations.

Still, MS are up to something. I don't like it and I don't trust them. Year of the Linux desktop will happen - because MS will make it happen.

[thx-1138]

....................
I don't like it and I don't trust them. Year of the Linux desktop will happen - because MS will make it happen.

Hear, hear!
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page= ... pring-Unix

I've said such before, but...

Microsoft ported VS Code to linux...
Microsoft ported MS SQL to linux...
Microsoft ported / is porting .NET (.NET Core) to be cross-platform...

Microsoft added Bash under Win10...
Microsoft added the ability to run elf binaries 'natively' under Win10...
Microsoft added OpenSSH to Win10...

Now also with tar, curl and...Unix sockets.

[KBD47]

Keep your friends close but your enemies closer?

[Royal-Mint]

Hope Mint, Arch won't join that party.
I can't believe Debian also joined that.

[trytip]

here's my reply to that !!!

[Pippin]

Everything that has the ability to adapt to changing circumstances has the greatest chance of surviving...learn from history.

[Lysander666]

Hope Mint, Arch won't join that party.
I can't believe Debian also joined that.

It's already possible to run Arch inside WSL. It's just that MS haven't officially added it to the Windows Store.

No-one has as yet monetised the Linux desktop market. If anyone is able to do that it will be MS. It's possible for MS to eventually buy out Canonical and gain full control of Ubuntu, possibly making it activation only.

---Warning: unverifiable theory/prediction commence-----

If MS gain control of Ubuntu then at some point it will try to do the same with its forks. This is rather difficult to do since there are 50+ forks of Ubuntu. It may be possible for MS to say, "fork all you want, but you cannot fork the version of the source code after 20.4/22.4 etc". Or they may just close the source. However, this will still not be problem for the forks since they can always just use another distro base or refork ad nauseum.

Unless...

Deeper into Conspiracytheoryville - abandon hope all ye who enter here:

Unless at some point MS go after Debian. This may seem implausible but it's not impossible. Many years ago quite a few believed Debian would never adopt systemd, but they did indeed adopt it through a highly murky and ambiguously-executed GR vote. This would leave the last bastions of hope to be any independent non-systemd distro [e.g. Gentoo, Slackware] since MS and Red Hat have partnered in the past and would likely do so again. Herefollows the glacially-slow takeover of Linux by MS. I'm sure they've at least thought of it.

---end unverifiable theory/prediction - please begin the debunking-----

Either way, MS have a vested interest in Linux. It's difficult to say exactly how this will play out, but one can say with some certainty that MS did not make WSL to do Linux a 'favour'. It will benefit them financially at some point in the future.

[thx-1138]

.......................................
Unless at some point MS go after Debian. This may seem implausible but it's not impossible.
.......................................

I wouldn't worry about such for at least 2 reasons:
1) http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-mov ... x-desktop/
I wouldn't exactly call Google a Microsoft collaborator (especially in the hardware market with Chromebooks etc)...
2) Judging from what i read in regards to how Win10 gets updated / 'evolves', they certainly appear to be more oriented on a rolling-release mentality...
They have to go that route actually: release more frequently, sell more features...(Windows as a 'Service', Windows Store etc.)

I'd personally expect them to roll-on their own in-house ultra locked-down variant, with features somewhat reminiscent of Ubuntu & Fedora from an end-users' perspective...

[michael louwe]

Because of Win 10's forced updates/upgrades and Telemetry, many Win XP/Vista/7/8.1 users have moved to Linux. Many who had no choice but to buy new OEM Win 10 computers, were soon installing Linux alongside Win 10 or installing Linux over Win 10. So, I think M$ is trying to stop this trend by allowing Win 10 users to run Linux from within Win 10 = some kind of damage control.
....... This is a stupid and futile move by M$ because Windows users could already run Linux by dual-booting Linux or run Linux in virtual machines.

I do not think M$ is interested in acquiring Ubuntu or Debian, in order just to sabotage Linux adoption by disgruntled Windows users.

[Brahim Salem]

Because of Win 10's forced updates/upgrades and Telemetry, many Win XP/Vista/7/8.1 users have moved to Linux. Many who had no choice but to buy new OEM Win 10 computers, were soon installing Linux alongside Win 10 or installing Linux over Win 10. So, I think M$ is trying to stop this trend by allowing Win 10 users to run Linux from within Win 10 = some kind of damage control.
....... This is a stupid and futile move by M$ because Windows users could already run Linux by dual-booting Linux or run Linux in virtual machines.

I do not think M$ is interested in acquiring Ubuntu or Debian, in order just to sabotage Linux adoption by disgruntled Windows users.

I agree

[Hoser Rob]

... I do not think M$ is interested in acquiring Ubuntu or Debian, in order just to sabotage Linux adoption by disgruntled Windows users.

I agree, in fact that's a stupid argument. MS cares not a flying frak about desktop Linux, and anyone who thinks desktop Linux is a serious competitor to Windows is foolish.

But they DO care about the Linux server market, and in fact MS has been one of the biggest corporate comtributors to the kernel project.

[Ozo]

No-one has as yet monetised the Linux desktop market.

No but Amazon.com sells Linux Mint CD's and thumb drives and components to build a desktop. Also laptops with Linux are available there too. Not to mention mini pc's which are technically desktops.

[Pepi]

"Download Your FREE Trial of Kali Today" Your loving Microsoft Team

[Brahim Salem]

"Download Your FREE Trial of Kali Today" Your loving Microsoft Team

[thx-1138]

...i don't believe in the 'many people got annoyed from Win10 changes / telemetry' etc. 'Many'...how many?
Linux was at around 1.3% some 15 yrs ago...and it's roughly at 2.3% now. A miniscule 1% (roughly) change in 15 yrs.
I'm certainly more inclined to say that not even Win10 changed people's already firmly-established mentality
(and in that sense, a 'win' for Microsoft...no matter what they feed people, the vast majority will accept it...and frequently happily).

Linux 'desktop' is not an issue per se for MS, and certainly not an important competitor.
Their desktop marketshare is roughly 91%: it's certainly not their main goal to 'win' the rest of...9%,
let alone the miniscule 0.x% of simple casual end-users that might have disliked Win10 & moved on to Linux...
They know you can't convince everyone in this world - if they weren't realists, they would have gone bankrupt long time ago.

Good ole Steve Ballmer ('Linux is a Cancer') was after...Developers.
And the newer 'modern & civilized' chief of the show, Satya Nadella ('Microsoft Loves Open Source') is currently after...guess what, Developers.
So much for the...'Microsoft has changed' propaganda in the net.
Hence the reason they're porting everything dev-related & the kitchen sink to Win10: take control of how development evolves & where...
and eventually you end up controlling pretty much the majority of sectors out there (desktops, servers, embedded devices, robotics etc...)

If i was to make a guess in the wild, i'd say that sooner or later they will come up with their own linux-under-the-hood Server Edition.
Casual end-users, will simply continue using the usual 'Basic / Pro' editions (as has always been the case), without ever being bothered (or even being aware of)...bash, openssh & the likes.
Those will exist in there only for netadmins / developers to be able to connect & do their maintenance work from within Basic / Pro editions to the Azure-hosted and/or linux-based 'Server' editions.
During such a transitional period, i see no reason why Microsoft wouldn't want to acquire a company like Canonical, or 'simply' hire major programmers from other distributions. They're not gonna "buy them out" to attack the...less than 2.3% Linux 'desktop' as we currently know it: that's simply gonna be a side-effect of such...less developers & companies interested / spending their time in such.

And of course, the fact that they're currently more involved with open source doesn't necessary say much in the long term.
No, i wouldn't worry that they will buy Canonical & turn Ubuntu 22.x to...payware & licence-activated. But after having their own projects gaining attention / use in a mass scale, they can always easily do this.
Combine such with the 'starvation' of developers interested in the Linux 'desktop' as described above...et voilà.

[DAMIEN1307]

thx-1138 just hit the nail on the head...microsoft needs developers, programmers, code writers etc...what better pool of great people then Linux could they ever hope to draw from...steve balmer alienated the linux folks that can do this and hence a war zone between both for years...satya nadella on the other hand has shown himself far more intelligent in this respect and has decided on the olive branch approach of a peaceful co-existence...linux has things that are necessary for the continued success of microsoft and microsoft has been contributing to open source in recent years...by no means do i even like microcrap or its windbloes 10 but i get it, i understand what they are both doing...just the fact that microsoft has included Kali and debian/gnu in their "windows store" as well as other linux innovations in there continuance and furtherance of their present OS and Cloud entity speaks volumes of the fact that they are in very bad need of linux computer science/architecture technology to help them, and in turn, since they have joined the Linux Foundation they are contributing to open source...do i trust them?...NO...but thats just my total mistrust of corporate america in general...im sure the powers that be in Linux will continue to be quite wary and savvy in there relations with Redmond...DAMIEN

[CoffeeFiend]

We all know Microsoft has a strangle hold on the PC market that they will never relinquish. I learned a harsh lesson last week that, like it or not, Microsoft Office is king when it comes to Office-type software. I wrote a paper for my Capstone class and I used Libre (which I absolutely LOVE!) on my Linux machine. I knew enough to ask my professor if Libre documents would be readable on BlackBoard before I submitted it. Alas, the answer was no. He told me I would have to convert it to Word before submitting it.

[Pierre]

the general Idea behind windows-10 is place some Advertising into the Start Menu / Tiles,
as well as promote their under-utilized Microsoft Store.

what I'm now starting to notice, with Folks who have bought a new Laptop, complete with win-10,,
is they actually don't really notice those Tiles, let alone what they are about,
- let alone any Advertising contained within.

in general, they just the Chrome / Firefox that is placed down on the Taskbar,
and a few others, mainly those who have also purchased M$ office, as well,
- will navigate that Start Menu, somewhat, but still don't really notice what is contained within that.

IE: it's really only the Computer Geeks that actually notice or care about the New Start Menu,
and these ordinary users, don't really what M$ is doing, Except that those updates are a real PiTA !.

and that may be why M$ is trying to Push it's Store, with another addition AKA Kali Linux.
- it's only the Computer Geeks who will even notice, this move.

[Hoser Rob]

I'm amazed how many people think MS really cares about desktop Linux. They don't. Now, the server end of things, that's a different story. Linux does as well in the server market as they do badly in the home one, and MS desperately wants to build a cloud business.