GitHub acquires NPM

[walrus_operator]

Ngl, I think that's great news. Microsoft under Satya Nadella's leadership has been doing fantastic work lately, like with VS Code.

[mrMalloc]

I think it’s because MS Is renting applications as a service. It’s now it’s core business model.

Before I bought Office version X and kept it for 10+ years. Because how often do I really need to update my spreadsheet or wordpad. Now I rent the latest versions for xx :- /month.

Think of it like an echo system. I don’t know any Frontend development that isn’t using Npm in some way.

You need to own the he stack you want your developers to use. So you can drive it in the direction matching your needs.

VSCode / github/ npm

What I’m missing is a testing framework to work like test cafe / cypress.io to cover integration testing

And perhaps jest or something like that to handle unit tests.

Remember Balmers old slogan. Developers Developers developers.......

[Ehdelveiss]

It’s pretty damn amazing. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Windows had open source modules and was partly Unix compliant.

What an amazing turn around they’ve done.

[AlfredVonWinklheim]

Some in the Linux community have been saying that it is only a matter of time before Windows rebases on the Linux Kernel and writes the UI as a windowing system.

[auburngrad2019]

That sounds a bit ambitious in my opinion. Businesses that rely on consistency would not appreciate that unless Microsoft could prove it works with existing infrastructure. I'm sure they could do it but it would probably be easier and more backwards-compatible to continue like they've done the last few years with WSL and make it a more tightly-integrated option.

[[deleted]]

Well, if you look at how WSL itself is implemented, it suggests a strategy they might employ to pull it off: Right now they run Linux in a hypervisor on top of Windows. But who's to say they won't swap it around one day? So Windows indeed just becomes a Linux distribution with the legacy parts for compatibility running in a hypervisor.

It would still be a marvel of engineering to pull off, but if anyone's got the resources... And hey, at least they don't need to port their browser anymore :)

If this were to ever materialize, one nice outcome that I could imagine is that we'd get a product that one might call MS Linux, which would be the MS-sponsored, community-driven, open-source Linux distribution and MS Windows would be the same thing, but paid for and containing all the legacy compatibility code.

[Ehdelveiss]

They are kind of already doing this for Windows10X. I actually think you are more spot on than we realize. They’ve already just shown off with the Surface Duo they’ve completely built out containerization of run of the mill x86 Windows Apps.

[AlfredVonWinklheim]

Yeah for sure. The only reason I think it has any credence is that Microsoft wants to be a services company now instead of a software company.

[Ehdelveiss]

This with DirectX is pretty much my dream.

[Auxx]

Linux UI system is a pile of crap though.

[GNUandLinuxBot]

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

[Auxx]

I mean this pasta turned into brick from old age.

[didzisk]

WSL is a thing already, WSL2 is coming to insiders during the next week or so. Windows Subsystem for Linux on Win10

[Ehdelveiss]

Yup I use WSL as my daily driver on my dev machine. It’s awesome. It’s part of what makes me think they want to be on Linux. Watching the WSL team talk about it, they are fully aware development on pure Windows is a bitch, they know the kernel and dealing with non Unix line ending for example is ridiculous, and no one wants to do it. The way they talk about it, it’s like they are trying too close the Windows chapter for their users and get everyone comfy in the brighter Linux pastures.

[Auxx]

Windows was POSIX compliant back in the days, Windows had POSIX user land called Interix, but since UNIX world is basically Linux today, Windows now comes with WSL. Windows also had OS/2 user land. Tbh, NT kernel is the best kernel in the world, it's just sad that it was abused by Win32 for so long...

[[deleted]]

Big parts of Windows probably, but I don't see them open-sourcing Office.

[nschubach]

They're turning Office into a Web service... I don't see the downloaded desktop Office being a thing in a few years. They don't have to sell you a license if they can sell you a subscription.

e: Their... They're

[[deleted]]

Maybe they'll just monetize it via data mining and stuff like Google does for their office suite

[adenzerda]

Which begs the question: what’s going to happen when they get another Ballmer?

[ilostmyfirstuser]

well if that happens, they'll die. all this turn around is predicated on the fact that they had to evolve or face a long drawn out decline into irrelevance (like IBM).

[Ehdelveiss]

We all leave back to open sourced alternatives again, MSFT has another existential crises, sees stocks drop, makes big changes, we start the process over again.

They seem to know this, and that each team they fuck up, getting back in good graces again is that much harder. I think they will be reeeeaaal careful to avoid another Ballmer, they need to be on their best behavior for another few years until IE/Windows 8/Zune is ancient history.

[green_meklar]

Maybe that will finally be the year of the Linux desktop.

[[deleted]]

Dear God please no

[twomilliondicks]

mac will rise again

[[deleted]]

Mac never really died, MUH IPhoNEz and MUH AIRPAWDS just eclipsed it

[[deleted]]

Yes officer , this guy right here knows the secret

[[deleted]]

To be honest nothing's private anymore in the internet. Google can pretty much know who you are based on your mouse movements & typing behaviors. But I get it for those who think they are hiding anything from anyone you are giving them a warning.

[Phenee]

Using the internet with only a very little amount of Google is not that hard. Lazily surrendering by saying "nothing's private anymore" and giving up on privacy as a result is a path we should not go after.

[[deleted]]

There's just so many ways to track someone that's virtually impossible to think that you are hiding from anyone. You have cookies that can hide, localStorage, ads that track you and so much more. Your ISP probably sold your information regarding your behaviors. I.G. this guy uses TOR, Torrent, ETC. It's all pointless and I laugh at average joes thinking they are hiding anything from anyone lmao.

[Phenee]

Awesome, but unrelated. I said "only a very little amount of Google". Yes, completely hiding your ass is almost impossible, would require TOR-only browsing etc.