[osweiller]

Your last paragraph betrays that you completely misunderstand the Linux platform, cloud platforms, or how Microsoft can succeed. What you described would literally be the death knell for all of Microsoft's recent initiatives, and goes in exactly the opposite direction of their movements.

[bithush]

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.

[osweiller]

Your argument is that Microsoft would introduce their own distro (a "proper" Microsoft Linux), and then declare their Linux-related ventures only "supported" on that Linux.

I feel like I've accidentally stumbled upon some internal discussion group of Microsoft's where very low level employees who completely misunderstand the market give their Microsoft-centric view of the world.

[bithush]

I never said Microsoft would only support their Linux. Just that it would be an option and that some businesses would be interested in it.

I am assuming you believe Microsoft will not be venturing into the world of building their own Linux distribution?