Microsoft was not a fan of Linux in the past and they was a time the previous CEO, Steve Ballmer, described Linux as cancer. They surprised everybody back in 2016 when they announced that they would join the Linux foundation as a Platinum member and this meant that there will be a bigger partnership between them and Linux.
During their Build developer conference that was held this year in May, the company announced that they will simplify the process of installing Linux in Windows 10, so that developers can run them side by side.
They said that there will be three versions of Linux that will be available on the Windows Store soon: Ubuntu, SUSE and Fedora. Well, now they have released the most famous one: Ubuntu
Microsoft has made it easier to download Ubuntu by making it available on the Windows Store. Ubuntu will work in a sandbox in Windows 10, which means that it will be limited in a secure environment where developers can use Ubuntu Terminal and use command line utilities like bash, gif, apt, ssh and more.
In order for it to work, it requires one to head over to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off and turn on “Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Interesting enough, when you check its requirements, it needs Windows 10 version that is 16190.0 or higher, which means you may have to be a Windows Insider to use it. The current Windows 10 build for all users is 15063.413 which is the Creators Update that was released in April.
This is good news for developers and it points to a future where they will be using different operating systems side by side, instead of dual booting everytime.
