[snailmailman]

It does work reliably enough though. A huge portion of games on Linux do so via pretending to be windows via wine/proton. It’s what allows the Steam deck to exist as a product at all.

And Linux on those handheld devices out-performs windows to such a degree that Microsoft has noticed and is trying to make windows perform better on those devices, basically making a gaming mode / handheld mode for their Xbox Ally.

[999900000999]

It's not nearly enough to matter to Microsoft. An absolute tiny percentage of desktop computers/laptops run Linux.

This is actually a good thing if you're hoping WINE avoids a legal fight with Microsoft. It doesn't matter who's right, Microsoft has deep enough pockets to drag anyone through expensive litigation.

I'm an active Linux user and I play tons of games via Proton. But this isn't something I'd suggest to normal people. I've spent more time than I'd like to admit keeping Linux working.

They also served as a foundation for much of my career growth. But I understand it's not for everyone.

[AshamedCaptain]

> It's not nearly enough to matter to Microsoft. An absolute tiny percentage of desktop computers/laptops run Linux.

It matters enough to launch WSL, WSL2, etc. which are the "embrace & extend" part of the strategy.

[ezst]

I don't think it matters very much. It's not a matter of "if" but of "when": one is consistently getting worse, and the other is measurably getting better and more compatible with the former. Unless of a drastic paradigm change, Linux will see more and more users. Trump dismantling of the global system of trade might also add another nail to this coffin (the recent talk by Cory Doctorow at CCC gives a good picture of how and why).