The Odd Couple: Ubuntu is Coming to Windows
Ubuntu is coming soon to Windows, and if you would not like it in a VM, you would not like it in a container, you're in luck: it's native. All the power of the command line integrated into Windows...what's not to love?
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Join For FreeHey Windows users, ever had the desire to use bash commands on your Windows system but felt limited by lack of support? Well now (or soon at least), you can. At the March 30 Build 2016 keynote, Microsoft’s Kevin Gallo announced that the Linux command line is coming to Windows 10. Yes, the actual command line -- and Ubuntu binaries. Is this Ubuntu running in a virtual machine (VM), or container? No, it’s a full-fledged Linux distribution integrated into Windows.
ANNOUNCED: Developers can run Bash Shell and user-mode Ubuntu Linux binaries on Windows 10 https://t.co/pr0xY29zAL
— Scott Hanselman (@shanselman) March 30, 2016
This is an inclusion aimed at developers, which makes sense as the announcement of Ubuntu on Windows came at a developer conference. According to ZDNet, Ubuntu will run on native Windows libraries. At first, the only available distribution will be Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, but will be followed by 16.04 LTS after its release. What’s so monumental is having access to the full arsenal of bash commands natively on Windows. Yes, that means apt-get, awk, grep…all (or most) will be available. In Windows.
Ubuntu (not Linux) on Windows: How it works https://t.co/4KBYQbvvqO by @sjvn
— ZDNet (@ZDNet) March 30, 2016
Dustin Kirkland has an excellent write up on his blog, and Scott Hanselman’s overview is pretty comprehensive as well.
Excited for the union of Ubuntu and Windows? Think they’re an odd couple? Chime in over in the comments section, or hit me up on Twitter!
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