I think it was more Ballmer not having a clue about mobile. When I first saw his idiotic response to the initial iPhone I knew he would fail hard in the mobile space. Even today I think his idea of a smart phone is a Windows Mobile 6 device.
How so? Microsoft want to support everything they can on Azure. That is just sensible business IMHO.
However there are businesses out there who like to work in a single vendor system as much as they can. I have no doubt that Microsoft will come out with their own Linux distro in the next 2-3 years. They don't need too, but they also didn't need to do lots of the things they have done recently.
I come from the Microsoft of the 90s where they followed their Embrace, Extend, Extinguish methodology. My "nagging negative thoughts" all stem from those memories.
As for dev machine/cloud machine conjecture, I just mean I would like to have a consistent experience between what I develop on and what I deploy too. It isn't a huge deal, just nice to have more than anything.
This. I would be very interested in running Microsoft Linux instead of Ubuntu on a physical dev box. With .NET Core, ASP.NET, etc. having an MS proper Linux would be great.
Something along the lines of "We officially support development with ASP.NET, .NET Core, Mono, etc. on Microsoft Linux for deployment to Azure Microsoft Linux instances".
The same as using Red Hat's Linux. You get a well supported environment. If you are a Linux shop but want to run on Azure then it makes sense, to me anyway, to go with the best supported OS on that platform.
I love Linux and while I also have some nagging negative thoughts about Microsoft getting so cosy with the Linux world, I also can't pretend I wouldn't be super excited to run a Microsoft Linux on my dev machine and then push to a Microsoft Linux on my Azure instances.
It would be amazing to see a Microsoft GNU/Linux distro in the future. To be honest it wouldn't exactly be hard for Microsoft to do. Take a Debian base, add whatever bits they need to make sure it works nicely in Azure, have an official Microsoft apt repo and they are done.
I actually think it will happen. It makes sense for Microsoft to have an official Linux distro that they can offer true support for.
You're not alone. Woz seems like a really great guy. He has a big heart. When I think of what a true hacker is I think of Woz. A person who loves tech and to tinker but for the better for others and not just himself.
Woz seems to be such a gentle and kind guy who just loves tech and gadgets. I don't think I have ever read of anyone having a problem with him. Pretty interesting as most people at such a high level in any sector (not just IT) are usually known to be assholes.
Indeed. To be honest I would be shocked if Microsoft don't make the Universal Windows Platform a true Universal App Platform available on as many platforms as possible.
It seems to be the way they are going. Then every MS product will become a Universal App and Microsoft can deliver their software anywhere the UWP/UAP is available.