Microsoft publishes tutorial to install Linux
In an unexpected move, Microsoft has published guidance on downloading and installing Linux, with four different installation methods.
It presents the options of using Windows Subsystem for Linux 2, a local virtual machine (VM), a cloud VM, or installing on bare metal.
“Linux is an operating system, similar to Windows, but with many different versions due to the nature of being open source and fully customizable,” Microsoft states in its introduction.
Microsoft’s guide details each step of the installation, including:
- Choosing an installation method
- Choosing a Linux distribution
- Installing the distribution using your preferred installation method
- Familiarising yourself with your chosen distribution’s package manager, and updating and upgrading the available packages
Microsoft providing a guide on installing Linux represents a major turnaround for the company.
In the late 90s and throughout the 2000s, the tech giant considered Linux a threat to its business.
In its annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 1998, Microsoft said it viewed the increasing popularity of the open-source operating system as a competitive threat.
“Over the past year the Linux operating system has gained increasing acceptance, and leading software developers such as Oracle and Corel have announced that they will develop applications that run on Linux,” it wrote.
In 2003, then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged the threat presented by Linux in a memo sent to all employees.
“Noncommercial software products in general, and Linux in particular, present a competitive challenge for us and for our entire industry, and they require our concentrated focus and attention,” Cnet quoted the letter as saying.
Then, at a Microsoft Asian Government Leaders Forum in Singapore, Ballmer said Linux violates more than 228 patents and that companies will be at risk of legal action if they use Linux, Reuters reported at the time.
However, a Microsoft spokesperson disputed the statement, saying the reporter had misinterpreted what was said.
“The reporter got it wrong. This was not a Microsoft report nor is this a Microsoft ‘warning’,” ZDNet quoted the spokesperson as saying.
“Steve [Ballmer] was referring to a study done by the Linux community group Open Source Risk Management (OSRM), a pro-free and open-source software organisation.”
The author of the OSRM study and executive director of the Public Patent Foundation, Dan Ravicher, criticised Microsoft for misrepresenting the report.
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