A distribution created by an employee of Microsoft.
A distribution created by an employee of Microsoft.
Microsoft has long supported the Linux kernel development. It makes sense that they release a tailored distribution. They even hosted sessions on how to contribute to the Linux kernel. In addition to Azure, Microsoft actively works on Linux kernels for the Windows Linux subsystem, ensuring their OS meets POSIX standards for government use.
It's not unexpected that Microsoft offers a "cloud distro" called Azure Linux. This shows they have some background in that area, and WSL likely influenced much of the design thinking. However, I question whether it really enhances the desktop experience significantly. There’s little solid proof that Ubuntu truly deserves a place at the top for stability, even if it ranks well in popularity. I’m not making this to fuel the typical distro debate, but rather emphasizing that such a bold claim needs strong support. I generally concur. The packaging issue seems largely resolved. Almost every major distro using KDE or Gnome offers an "app store" where you can install apps from various sources—package managers, Flatpak, Snap, etc. It’s not as refined, but it exists. I view it similarly to the F-Droid versus Play Store experience on Android. Within my social circle, most people who haven’t switched to Linux do so because they have strict needs where required software isn’t available, or because alternatives feel inadequate—sometimes due to stubbornness. Microsoft Office is a good example: there’s an alternative like LibreOffice, but it doesn’t match the level of compatibility with .docx, .pptx, etc., that users expect. Outlook, the email client, is another case—many people use it without switching to the web version or figuring out how to work with Thunderbird. In my opinion, the Linux desktop era will arrive only when essential software widely used becomes available natively. Fortunately, Microsoft is making efforts to push Windows further into the ground, which might encourage vendors to rethink porting their products to Linux. Or perhaps more people will opt for macOS instead... I worry about that, but I can’t blame them—sometimes it’s just a matter of adapting to Apple’s approach.