@stonebat

Linux kernel is relatively small. Yes big corps are into open source. Yes patent trolls are into Linux realm too. Linux is not free at the end of day.

Problem with Linux is the approach to kernel and drivers that corporations so loved.

As one big Chinese designer told me - sales of new smartphone will plummet at least 2-3 times if manufacturers will manage to kill this Linux mess of the thing (as it is extremely hard to update).

@endotoxic

"Free" is just bad arbitrarily chosen term here.

For example, Linux had been selected among many similar attempts to clone UNIX systems by big banks and corporations, at very early stages. Main reason had been because author had mess in his head and had been big capitalism/libertarian stuff proponent (contrary to most of the guys doing same thingy).

It was Linus who made foundation of such a system (for example, corporations asked for lack of kernel modularity as they wanted to sell you new product each time and make it hard to update OS) and chosen such tools that corporation just love him. Humanity already lost few trillions of USD due to horrible decisions that he made with his real owners.

Now they just define everything, from small to large things. Linux is just like toilet tissue that lies nearby and used if you need to clear most smelly shit.

@endotoxic

There are some distros that are fully free.

Distros consist from code that is being developed by huge corporations, so it does not matter that they declare, as actual development direction is being set at different place.

@endotoxic

It can be surprise, but all main Linux based distributions (including Linux kernel) are developed (90% contributions, sometimes 95%) but almost same corporations. Days of lonely libertarians are long gone. Development are being done by full time workers who have their tasks and make daily reports.

Guess where it is going.

Windows 10x RTM coming very soon

• OS will move to monthly fee model within 2 years
• all WinAPI apps will run in slower virtual machine mode
• Microsoft will warn and ask NOT to install any apps outside Microsoft App Store
• Any usual non signed app will force special prompts, company plans to add prompts later for any HDD access (loading or saving files)
• OS updates will be impossible to to turn off using interface, at reboot time OS will restore all settings to force updates
• Microsoft will gain rights to delete any file or uninstall any app remotely (via new End User Agreement) if they look suspicious for cloud AI. It is idea of their cloud department - people who pay for cloud backup will have option to restore things manually. All else won't have such option (OS will also wipe out remains of file!).

Changes to Windows 10X include a simplified interface, an updated Start menu, multitasking improvements, and a method for running apps in a special container for performance and security. At the heart of 10X is Microsoft’s overall goal to create a stripped back, streamlined, and cloud-powered version of Windows.

Stay away and advice everyone to do the same.

“Our customers are leveraging the power of the cloud more than ever, and we believe the time is right to lean into this acceleration in a different way,” says Panay.

Microsoft is now repositioning Windows 10X as a streamlined version of Windows 10 for laptops.

It is also fun to see how management lies about dual screen devices being initial focus (despite only small part of OS had such code and it had been used only as deception tactic).

So is this all they will offer (consumer/cloud OS), they will get rid of (creator)/Professional? I haven't followed this at all so it is news to me.

What containment strategy do you guys envision? I will begin by segregating my use of legacy (win32) apps, and move as much as possible to cloud apps, so I'll have options. For the first time ever, a Macbook appeals to me as the next laptop. Does macOS track user activity to any degree (telemetry settings)? How's that Dell Linux laptop? I am past the point where I'd care to research drivers.

More leaks slowly happen considering Core OS also known WCOS (Windows Cloud OS).

As I said, it will be cloud based OS with total tracking and monthly payments.

Developing is going as planned.

@RoadsidePicnic Nice name - I watched STALKER the other night and consider it one of the greatest movies of all time. I'll have to read the novel sometime.

So we are leaping from the Global Village concept (witch never really happened) to the Global Correctional Facility in about three years.

If they attempt the majority of this, they will lose the entire enthusiast community and we'll finally start seeing an enormous shift to Linux. For someone like me with something like 10 computers, having to pay a monthly fee for the 5-6 that run Windows would be a non-starter (especially if virtual machines need to be individually licensed since then I'd be at closer to 12). At that point, I'd probably end up with one or two Windows virtual machines to run software that requires it and I'd shift everything else to Linux.