According to sources at Canonical, Ubuntu Linux’s parent company, and Microsoft, you’ll soon be able to run Ubuntu on Windows 10.
This will be more than just running the Bash shell on Windows 10. After all, thanks to programs such as Cygwin or MSYS utilities, hardcore Unix users have long been able to run the popular Bash command line interface (CLI) on Windows.
With this new addition, Ubuntu users will be able to run Ubuntu simultaneously with Windows. This will not be in a virtual machine, but as an integrated part of Windows 10.
We’ll learn more today, but this sounds like a pretty cool thing to have – and something that can replace Cygwin.
I’ve been looking forward to Build 2016. I expect a lot from Microsoft in terms of multi platform because of the purchase of Xamarin. I never expected this though… I wonder what this is going to look like. Sounds great.
Guys, it’s April fool day in 2 days.
Please refrain from spreading fake news.
That’s 2 days away. Anyway, where’s your sense of humour?
I was a fan of Ubuntu until around 12.10. Then I said enough. The buggy releases just got in the way of actually trying to useful stuff.
Windows 10 is buggy and gets in the way of actually trying to do stuff.
This is either
– A marriage made in heaven
– A marriage made in hell
Hard to choose which.
Perhaps this is a way for Canonical to get recurring revenue? Add an extra $5/month onto the $15/month you are paying (or will be before long) MS for the letting you get patched when they decide to do it.
Anyway, I won’t even be trying this out. I’m a Windows 10 free zone.
Why on earth do they (MS) install the ‘Get windows 10’ bloatware on Server 2012? Someone in MS needs a good kick up the backside. Even my servers have the GWX control panel installed on them now.
Have you tried keeping to the LTS releases of Ubuntu? And only moving to a new after the first or second point release?
Yes I have. didn’t work for me.
I moved to CentOS and don’t regret it.
Sticking with LTS didn’t work for me either – after a certain point, it was just too much hassle to keep using Ubuntu. Switched to Mint a few years ago and zero problems ever since.
(Yes, I know Mint is based on Ubuntu, but at least they’ve made whatever changes were needed to make it reliable and usable…)
Same for me. Ubuntu is not stable enough. I am returning to Slackware
IS bashing Ubuntu nowadays is still alive? Why can’t you give them the credit they deserve for creating the Unity shell with their default LTS desktop offering?
I am working, and can’t recommend any other desktop than Ubuntu for now. So Ubuntu works for us as a business, and I am using it to install to users who do not need Windows for their work.
Microsoft must be getting REALLY desperate about Windows 10 and people refusing it and switching to Linux. But do they really think folk are going to continue running Win 10 while they switch? Ha!
Could be worse, lets hope Ubuntu doesn’t start including Windows 10 in their install!
Windows 10: YOU CANNOT HIDE Edition
Edited 2016-03-30 11:44 UTC
Why desperation? Why not just adjusting to a different market?
Why is every single thing they do a sign of desperation to the anti-MS crowd?
Seriously. When they used to do much to increase lock-in, they were desperate to hold on to customers. Now, that do plenty for interoperability and multi-platform, it’s desperate to maintain their customer base, too. Everything decision they make is somehow born out of desperation.
Listening to the anti-MS crowd, Microsoft has been the most utterly desperate company for a decade.
Sauron, this is not a desperate move, but a strategic one. Why would anyone will run VMWare to power Ubuntu on their Windows 10 machine when its already native?
The question should really be, why would anyone run Windows 10 in the first place?
And in reply to the previous post, no I’m not anti-MS, just anti-Win 10. I’ll stick with my Win 7 install thank you very much, although I haven’t booted that up in a while either.
Few examples:
1. Assuming you already have Windows 10 installed.
2. Corporate environment that you must use Windows 10.
3. Home computers with Windows 10 installed
There are plenty of reasons why we cannot avoid using Windows 10.
Easy.
1. Format and install other OS, even Win98 looks and behaves better.
2. Name a corporation using Win 10?
3. As 1.
Joking aside, actually 2 is a serious question, the corporate environments I’m aware of all use a earlier version of Windows. Even some banks are still on WinXP.
Edited 2016-03-31 06:33 UTC
Are they resurrecting Interix? And hopefully add a native X server as well.
Yes, that would be really nice.
I’m afraid native Mir server on Windows may be provided instead.
P.S.: prospect of accepting GPL during Windows optional features installation is hilarious.
I know you’re joking, but as the GPL itself states: “You are not required to accept this License in order to receive or run a copy of the Program.” (v3, Section 9) or “You are not required to accept this License, since you have not signed it.” (v2, Section 5).
No… mingw builds native binaries not Linux binaries that run on Windows.
So, if you want to use GCC on windows you’ll continue using mingw. If you want to use Linux on windows you may use this new thing…
Cygwin = posix emulation for windows ala win
MSYS and Mingw = native recompilation of unix tools and gcc compatible code for windows.
Edited 2016-03-30 13:42 UTC
With Linux-compatible Interix-type system, though, you would have native POSIX applications on Windows – Interix was a native POSIX subsystem that was on equal footing to Win32 (Or the OS/2 subsystem in Win2k and prior)
That is, no need for the MinGW setup, as you could use Visual Studio natively…
Edited 2016-03-30 16:32 UTC
If I had to guess, this is probably built on the remains from their now-defunct Project Astoria.
Interix/SFU had a number of limitations and shortcomings (like not being able to replace open files) which often prevented Linux programs, especially package managers, from working properly. Workarounds had to be put into place for these shortcomings.
I am looking forward to see how far their new implementation goes and whether one can just execute any Linux binary natively.
You really think this is anything but a full ubuntu running as a virtuel machine inside Windows 10.
Just like the enterprise feature with XP.
From the article (emphasis mine):
I mean, it’s right there, did you even read it?
Yeah the article also says that its something more than cygwin bash shell, but it focuses on cli tools like bash, grep, gawk.
It makes no sense. Maybe damp didn’t read it, but reading it didn’t help that much.
Makes sense now! Native Linux binaries: compile for linux on linux and run on windows.
No needing to port anything.
Might be slightly slower, but not much.
Maybe not. The first thing I thought of was coLinux (http://colinux.org/). That project hasn’t seemed to make much progress in years, but maybe Microsoft has accomplished the same thing.
Canonical should invite them to return the favor and bring Windows to Ubuntu.
…and Cygwin or MSYS on top of Windows 10? No, thank you!
Since no one has mentioned it yet: http://www.colinux.org/
Sadly, coLinux is 32-bit only. It’s not like it’s a 32-bit app that can run on 64-bit Windows – it requires 32-bit Windows. Or am I wrong?
I can’t say if coLinux works on 64 Bit, but in general 32 Bit Windows Apps can run on 64 Bit Windows: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa384249(v=…).aspx
Up until Windows 10, 16 Bit Windows apps would run on modern versions of windows as well.
Edited 2016-03-30 15:01 UTC
It isn’t Windows 10 that doesn’t run 16-bit apps, but 64-bit Windows in general.
All 32-bit versions of Windows support 16-bit Windows apps, including Windows 10, and all 64-bit versions do not support them, as it would have necessitated a complete re-write of the virtual machine used to run 16-bit apps. Those specific VM features needed to support it aren’t available once you enter long mode on AMD64
coLinux can’t run on x64.
That’s the error message box tells you when attempting to install coLinux on Windows x64.
The great news is not that one will be able to run Ubuntu in Windows. The great news is that Microsoft is developing containers for Windows.
There is already User-Mode-Linux (UML: http://user-mode-linux.sourceforge.net) which allow to run Linux kernel as a software within Linux and from their to run any distribution you want (x86 and amd-64 only).
In the past there was a project to port UML to windows (http://umlwin32.sourceforge.net) but it seems dormant since 2002.
Canonical and Microsoft are probably working together to allow a modified Linux Kernel to run within the container. This is also a great way for microsoft to show the power of their container and place themself ahead of the competition (mostly Docker).
Docker is coming to Windows.
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/DockerForWindowsBetaAnnounced.aspx
EMBRACE!
EXTEND!
EXTINGUISH!
http://babun.github.io/
…now is the year of the Linux Desktop. Who ever saw it coming this way?
After all, Linux is just the kernel. So practically any other kernel can replace it, including Windows, running all Ubuntu applications. Many Linux-programmers have switched to Mac and MS surely wants a piece of that pie. Cant wait for Stallman to comment on this..
Just can’t wait to start running systemd.
To run windows services? Cool!
You need to dig down a bit to see what is happening here and why.
Some here will remember the Wubi installer, which was a reasonably safe and painless way for a Windows user to “dual boot” Linux. You don’t see a lot of Windows converts to Linux in user-land. You might see some interest there in FOSS apps that haven’t been ported to Windows.
You said it. Would love to see some micro-AI development around this interface. Where are those new cards?
STALLMAN developers won’t go in the wagon without including a full GPL v3 license. [But We are not the only ones].