Linus Torvalds isn't worried about Microsoft taking over Linux (ZDNet)

[Jason]

Eye-opening article from ZDNet about the relationship between Microsoft, Linus and the Linux community. Despite a lot of early mistakes and attacks from the Microsoft community, you can argue now that Microsoft has made it's peace with Linux and actively supporting Linux tools and the kernel. Says Linus Torvalds:

The whole anti-Microsoft thing was sometimes funny as a joke, but not really. Today, they're actually much friendlier. I talk to Microsoft engineers at various conferences, and I feel like, yes, they have changed, and the engineers are happy. And they're like really happy working on Linux. So I completely dismissed all the anti-Microsoft stuff.

What do you think? Do you agree with the article? Or do you think Microsoft has nefarious purposes behind their Linux support?

[ssfc72]

Did Google take elements of Linux to create the Android OS for phones.   Android hasn't killed off Linux for computers.
So I don't think Microsoft can harm the continued use of Linux, even if they come out with their own version of Linux for computers. :-)

[fox]

I really don't know. Microsoft is going to want to monetize anything they can, but it appears that there are ways that they can profit from Linux without owning or selling it.

[Jason]

Did Google take elements of Linux to create the Android OS for phones.

Indeed. Android is based off of Linux. It uses the Linux kernel + Google Android libraries + JVM + Google apps (or at least availability of them). Google makes money with this the same way they make money off of anything else they create - advertising.

[Jason]

I really don't know. Microsoft is going to want to monetize anything they can, but it appears that there are ways that they can profit from Linux without owning or selling it.

The article, if I remember correctly, talks about how Linux makes money off of Linux. Azure, their cloud-based platform is build on Linux servers. So are most ISPs. They both make money off of selling services that are running on the Linux platform. So basically, Microsoft has monetized it. But they've given back by contributing to the Linux kernel and making some software for Linux like Skype (even if it's a version or two behind the Microsoft version) and porting Linux terminal tools and the environment to Windows. You used to have use putty, a separate independent program for Windows, to login to a remove Linux shell. Now you can it in Powershell or install a Linux subsystem right inside Windows. I believe that Brian still does this - accessing, configuring Linux servers from within Windows using the Linux subsystem.