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Comment by heavyset_go | Hacker News Reader

> My hunch is that the monumental amount of work to make virtualized GPU support and zero-copy hardware accelerated graphics work from WSL2 to the desktop (a technology called "VAIL", which hasn't shipped yet) is in order to support Android apps on Windows, and that's always been the goal of this team and a series of high profile projects.

Unfortunately, Google's anticompetitive moves with SafetyNet will ensure that many Android apps will only run on Google-blessed hardware and software platforms.

WSL 1 & 2 are amazingly innovative platforms, as is WINE. Microsoft has undoubtedly created untold value for developers and their shareholders with WSL. The anticompetitive limitations implemented in SafetyNet, however, serve to stifle such innovation, and prevent many Android apps from running on other platforms.

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> Microsoft has undoubtedly created untold value for developers and their shareholders with WSL.

If there is a larger purpose around WSL, VS Code, and "MS <3 Linux" messaging, it is definitely this. They have really changed their reputation among developers.

In my opinion, Microsoft is the same Microsoft they were two decades ago. The company is still as efficient as they were back then at destroying what goodwill they have with developers[1].

However, I can't ignore that they've certainly created value for engineers that use Windows to develop software that runs on Linux, similar to the value created by WINE's developers. It's just a shame that similar value and innovation are stifled by the limitations set by Google's SafetyNet when it comes to running Android software on other platforms.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28779342

VSCode has been a HUGE deal. Being able to use the same editor for all your languages and all your operating systems is just enormous to most developers.

However, the goal wasn't to make "Linux" a first class citizen so much as to bring "non-Windows" developers underneath the mothership.

It's even beginning to affect the embedded world: https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2021/10/Nordic-launches-nRF-...

VSCode Remote Development is a revolution. I with it open sourced.

It really is a huge amount better than pretty much everything else, yeah.

... now if only the language servers it relies on could be anywhere near as polished :| rust-analyzer is a stunning example of what's possible with language services, gopls is only barely functional enough to be worth running.

Seconded! If for nothing else but to support systems they don't currently provide binaries for :(

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