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> 2. start gaining momentum (e.g. why should I use Linux, when on Windows I can run both Linux and Windows applications)

Remember OS/2 2.x? It could run Windows 3.x binaries, including GUI programs. The result was that noone wrote programs for OS/2. Windows programs would run both on Windows and on OS/2, so why write another one for OS/2?

Why should anyone port Linux programs to Windows now? Just write for Linux and it will work both on Windows and on Linux. So now you actually have more reason to target Linux.

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That same phenomenon sort of happens with WINE. Many software just suggests you: run it under WINE, so they just focus on Windows.

Not that I am against WINE. I think it allows me to just ditch Windows entirely.

I run StarCraft II on WINE 1.9 at a higher framerate than what Windows provides. That was probably the only reason I would use Windows for.

Out of curiousity, do you use wine-staging and the CSMT patches?

I use wine-staging yes.

TeamViewer, e.g.; their official Linux version is simply the Windows build with a bundled WinE. As a result, it has a horrible UX, making me even less likely to pay their outrageous license fees.

It's a lose-lose situation in cases like this.

I doubt any game developer decides not to release a Linux version purely because "oh, Wine exists".

Game developers no idea, application developers yes. TeamViewer and Softmaker Office are programs I ditched in frustration because their official Linux "ports" are the Windows versions bundled with a bugged WinE wrapper around them.

I think game developers are a bit of a unique case, because a large chunk of the linux gaming community is pretty hostile towards wine ports. There is no linux proprietary application community

> There is no linux proprietary application community

Except in CAD, academic tools, analytics, mod/sim, graphics, industrial automation... basically anything that used to run on Unix or might use a fortran library somewhere.

The problem here is that Wine is buggy, not that application developers aren't all rewriting everything.

Mac game "developers" do. :(

Thanks to TransGaming and Cider, a lot of Mac "ports" are just a Windows executable running in their proprietary fork of Wine. To predictably awful result.

It's not a game, but LTSpice from Linear doesn't have a Linux release because it runs on wine; though, they do try to make sure it works on wine.

It's not quite the case that using Wine is an alternative to porting. Sometimes the port itself simply bundles Wine. Some say that this "doesn't count", but when Wine works well users can't tell the difference between this and a port that required rewriting things.

OS/2 had no initial market share, i.e. there were very few initial developers. Windows still has a lot of developers (LOB applications) who don't want to touch Linux with a ten foot pole.

Exactly. There are tons of ports of Linux software to Windows but if this becomes successful and popular there is no reason to ever maintain a Windows port.

But perhaps at this point it's important for Windows to stay relevant in an open source world.

Because Microsoft, then and now, has more active developers.

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