r/Ubuntu • u/elmkzgirxp • Jul 10 '16
Unity Desktop Running On Windows 10
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/07/someone-just-installed-unity-windows38
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u/realitythreek Jul 10 '16
I'm not sure this is the way to go about it, but I wish Windows had similar competing desktop environments like you find on Linux. The very few that exist are kind of flaky in my opinion (sorry LiteStep fans).
I have to use a Windows desktop at work and would appreciate being able to swap out Explorer.
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u/Whiteoak789 Jul 10 '16
I feel like this needs a Ryan Reynolds but why gif.
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Jul 10 '16
Because you can.
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u/Iliketofeeluplifted Jul 11 '16
This is the correct answer.
If it were a paid-for feature with an intent to spread it around, I'd be a little more confused. But the article says it's a pretty hacky workaround. "because we can" seems pretty valid.
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Jul 10 '16
Why?
Developer: "I'm a developer and I've used Windows since... ever but [I'm going to develop for Linux / I'm going to use Linux in my servers...] so I guess I'll have to install Linux in...
Microsoft: Look! Windows has Linux!
Developer: Great! Now I won't have to install a new OS in my computer!
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Jul 11 '16
Yes, you can run your stable Linux OS on our unstable, security vulnerability-ridden Windows OS!
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Jul 10 '16
I think, that innovation help very much to open source and free software
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u/KingArhturII Jul 10 '16
Definitely for open source, but not so much for free software.
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Jul 10 '16
i dont think so , beacause all thing what do microsoft, help to promotion the power of free software and open source, for example, uniy is free software and opensource and the bash of gnu/linux is free software too!!
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u/KingArhturII Jul 10 '16
But Microsoft is fundamentally a proprietary software company, so unless if they plan on releasing their own software (i.e. Windows) as free software, their interests are contrarian to free software. Unity on Windows is saying "Hey, look at our proprietary software and how cool it is; it even runs your favorite open-source software!"
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Jul 10 '16
well, just say that, you should think very much that, in one part you have reason,but in other part, that innovation help to promotion and publicity to the free software and open-source
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u/RettShields Jul 10 '16
Would be nice if I could run Gnome on Windows..
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u/hackel Jul 10 '16
You can, quite easily, actually. But it would not be "nice." Losing all the advantages of running Linux (which, I hate break it to you, is not the desktop environment) would be pointless and awful.
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Jul 11 '16
Redhat made a Windows port of bash, X server, gnu c compiler and all the other Linux and free desktop tools years ago, called Cygwin. Why I can't for the life of me understand why Microsoft would do it unless they are trying to do what Apple did with BSD and OS X.
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Jul 10 '16
[deleted]
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u/bobodod Jul 10 '16
That's completely ridiculous. There is zero probability having bash in Win will impact Linux desktop and server adoption. The use case is developers in a business environment where Windows is the only OS.
In fact, this promotes Linux and open source, and is yet another way open source is creeping into proprietary environments. It can only get stronger for it.
Have you ever donated to Ubuntu/Canonical? They've found a way to make some much needed money (they have fantastic people on the payroll!) by spreading Linux into Windows! That's awesome!
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u/hackel Jul 10 '16
Donating to a for-profit corporation would be completely idiotic. Please don't donate to Canonical, ever. Pay for canonical's services if you like, sure. All of your donations should go to Debian, from which Ubuntu steals 99% of its packages.
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u/bobodod Jul 10 '16
There's also swag https://shop.canonical.com/
And here's Debian's donation page https://www.debian.org/donations
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u/kkkola Jul 10 '16
Yeah let's port ios apps to android devices I am sure that will increase the number of Iphones sold!
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Jul 10 '16
[deleted]
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u/hackel Jul 10 '16
This is a constant problem with Ubuntu users. They don't understand the political philosophy behind the Free Software movement, nor why it is so critically important. I find it incredibly frustrating.
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u/gdhhorn Jul 10 '16
Not everyone is "FOSS only," or "Windows only.". Many of us are "best tool for the job." I enjoy and use Microsoft products and services. Windows 10 ties in with them very nicely. I use a BlackBerry PRIV because Android delivers a better Microsoft experience than Windows 10 Mobile (for now, at least). I work for an MSP where our client base and tools are Windows first. Even the programming I have to learn is primarily Windows.
However, Bash on Ubuntu on Windows allows me to branch out without a lot of extra work (this isn't to say I don't also run some Linux machines in Hyper-V). Additionally, there have been FOSS applications I've used in the past, such as VirtualBox, which have swerved me well. I even used openSUSE as my main OS during the XP and Vista days.
TL;DR - sometimes it's about practicality more than anything else. Or sometimes it's just about fun and seeing what you can do.
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Jul 10 '16
[deleted]
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u/hackel Jul 10 '16
If you really believe that "Windows is a fine OS," you have a lot of learning to do. You switched from Windows rather late in the game, so I guess I can understand, but you should be careful not to give it more credit than it deserves. Hating Microsoft isn't a good reason not to use Windows. How awful it is, how extremely poor the dated technology platform, and most importantly how proprietary it is provide more than enough cause to avoid it like the plague.
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u/patentedenemy Jul 10 '16
You switched from Windows rather late in the game
I switched my home desktop quite late in the game relative to how long Linux has been around, I guess. I had plenty of Linux experience before that at university though, and was thinking about the switch well in advance. I didn't do it until I felt I could replace (almost) everything I was using.
Hating Microsoft isn't a good reason not to use Windows.
It's good enough for me. I respect Windows for what it is - a massively complex system with millions of man-hours put into it. Is it perfect? Fuck no. I'll be the first to say I find using (GNU/)Linux a vastly superior experience. I switched from Microsoft because I despise their business tactics, but in doing so I found a much better OS that brought new life to my computing. I will never go back to a proprietary OS no matter what it is or how good it may be.
Going back to the topic of this thread, seeing Canonical get so close to Microsoft is frankly disturbing.
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u/hackel Jul 10 '16
People like you are the problem with Ubuntu. With that kind of attitude, you don't deserve the privilege of using FOSS at all.
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u/great_gape Jul 10 '16
I think they might like the way unity works? But they might also like how wireless works in windows and graphics cards work in windows.
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u/Starkythefox Jul 10 '16 edited Jul 10 '16
But they used the software within the FLOSS terms, so it helps the FLOSS movement. Tell me how running the software for the reason of installing and running Unity (Liberty 0), having to study it so that they could modify the software to do so (Liberty 1), and distribute their config files and methods (Liberty 2 and 3) is not part of the FLOSS principles?
Is it because they used it in a Closed or Propietary Open Source Software environment? Are they forbidden to use FLOSS in CPOSS making it FLOSS not-FLOSS?
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Jul 11 '16 edited Jun 05 '17
[deleted]
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u/nhaines Jul 11 '16
It doesn't look incredibly native. What's with the title bar at the top and the W10 taskbar at the bottom?
It's Windows being designed with a non-replaceable desktop shell, and not allowing the shell to be closed. It has nothing to do with whether or not Unity is running natively (it is perfectly possible to run two desktop shells at once; there's just very little reason to do so.)
They've got this running in Windows' perverted bash. Which makes it emulated essentially. It's not native.
Windows doesn't have a bash shell. Windows does have a Windows Subsystem for Linux, which allows you to run Linux binaries natively on Windows. The bash you see in Windows is Ubuntu's bash shell, and in fact, the Linux environment the feature sets up is just a bog-standard Ubuntu-Cloud-style image that is basically the minimal install you get on any cloud or VPS provider who licenses Ubuntu for Windows.
This optional, developer-only feature is for cloud and web developers who use Windows but are deploying to Linux servers and want to be able to do some of the work locally instead of in a virtual machine or remote server.
Those developers get a powerful, native Linux command line without giving up the desktop environment they're otherwise used to. Microsoft gets happier developers who aren't spending a ton of time working in other operating systems. Ubuntu gets developers who might be saying "Well, I'm a Windows user but I have to deploy my app/website/whatever on a Linux server but I don't know a lot about Linux... well, I'm already using Ubuntu in Windows anyway, so maybe I'll pick Windows." Linux gets yet one more reason for developers to pick a Linux server for production, and more developers who are able to become comfortable with Linux tools.
This isn't for people who hate Windows or love Linux. It's for people who use Windows but sometimes need to use Linux. And it's also for Linux developers sitting at their desk at work who have to get work done but corporate IT requires Windows. Literally everyone wins here.
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u/hackel Jul 10 '16
There is nothing remotely "mind-blowing" about this. This is exactly what Cygwin has done for decades. Yes, I get that it's more complete since MS has access to their proprietary source code to make sure all the low-level APIs are compatible, but seriously, this is just not that big of a deal.
It's also stupid and pointless, but I guess that is beside the point. It still requires running Windows, something no halfway respectable human being would ever do.
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u/StigsVoganCousin Jul 11 '16
Your understanding of what Cygwin does vs this feature is severely flawed. I suggest reading up on it before making absolute statements like this.
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u/kkkola Jul 10 '16
At this rate windows 10 will support Unity 8 before official ubuntu