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Latest Comments by slaapliedje
Microsoft Build - DirectX and Linux (WSL) plus more
20 May 2020 at 6:58 pm UTC

Quoting: GuestAs a side note, at a previous company there were a good many developers who had two machines: the corporate standard with Windows for email and spying on employees securing important documents, and then the development machine with GNU/Linux for actual development work. In this case, cygwin didn't cut it, there was a need for a full GNU/Linux environment.

I don't know what they're up to now, but I can see them thinking that WSL might be used to reduce the number of machines in the office, if it can offer what is needed. I don't really know how well it works because I've no longer any such use case and no desire to have a Windows 10 machine of my own, but I really couldn't fault the old workplace if they find it useful.

Just a pity they couldn't go the route of allowing a corporate standard with GNU/Linux desktop in the first place, because that would have solved all the problems.
WSL1's performance is so bad, that's why they gave up on an integrated kernel, and basically WSL2 is just a VM inside a Hyper-V instance. Which is also why it is taking them so long to release it, because Hyper-V is not great at running Linux either. VMware Workstation is much faster at it.

But when you have a corporate network management team that says no virtual machines because it has to be managed by them, then WSL2 is out the window anyhow, and you're stuck with WSL1.

Microsoft Build - DirectX and Linux (WSL) plus more
20 May 2020 at 6:46 pm UTC Likes: 2

I skipped some pages...
but in my mind the reason they're working so hard on getting WSL2 working, and even with GUI applications is so they can try to prevent the flow of users away from Windows 10. I'm not talking about those that freak about the telemetry and privacy issues, they've already switched to Linux.

I'm talking about the IT groups that are getting requests to have a certified Linux system for corporate use. If 'But I have special tools that I need to use that are not available to Windows, I need to be able to use Linux to do my job!' can be answered with 'Use WSL!' then Microsoft wins the lockout war.

Also, I'll leave this here for creepiness.
 
Linux localhost 4.4.0-18362-Microsoft #836-Microsoft Mon May 05 16:04:00 PST 2020 x86_64 GNU/Linux

The Force Engine is a fresh attempt to rebuild the Jedi Engine
20 May 2020 at 3:34 am UTC

I have been playing Dark Forces on Steam through Boxtron and real Roland SC-88 Pro. Sounds AMAZING!
Wonder if this engine will support the original MIDI output.

A quick look over recent and upcoming Linux game releases
20 May 2020 at 3:30 am UTC

Quoting: Liam Dawe
Quoting: flesk
Quoting: lqe5433What about Metro Exodus or cuphead or Darksiders Genesis or any more Feral ports?
Is Cuphead supposed to be heading to Linux? I don't think I've heard anything about that, except for the Linux version made for Tesla cars.
Cuphead? No. Darksiders Genesis? No.

Not sure why either were mentioned, neither have been said to be coming.

As for Feral ports, they appear to have transitioned quite a bit over to mobile and switch. Both Linux and macOS don't seem to be as big a focus for them recently. I still expect GRID is from them and we have Total War SAGA Troy confirmed by them.
I sort of wondered (feared) that most of their Linux releases were always because it was fairly straight forward to do a macOS release alongside development of a Linux one. But with Apple making the platforms more different than they should be, it is no longer the case, and with out the Apple ports, they don't work on the Linux ones either?
To be fair though, the Switch IS Linux, just not x86... would be sad if we lost Feral, but clearly they need to go where the money is at.

Microsoft president admits they were wrong on open source
17 May 2020 at 8:03 pm UTC

Quoting: 14
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: LinasAnd I am sure that is why Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) exists. Not because they actually want their users to use Linux, but because they know that they lost to Linux in the server market, and cannot pull off a compelling Windows-proper alternative.
I'm quite sure that WSL only exists in order to keep Linux Server developers and Administrators using the Windows desktop, and not loosing them to a Linux desktop like they lost on the server side.
I don't think so. It's to make it easier to manage Linux services that run on Azure. Now, admins and developers don't have to run a VM. I don't think MS was "losing" anybody to Linux that is now satisfied with WSL.
I've basically been forced to use WSL1 for the past few months, and it's horrible. Even doing things like a simple 'apt update' take forever compared to a real Linux system (VM or otherwise). WSL2, they gave up on it being a kernel supported subsystem, and is instead just a virtual machine using Hyper-V extensions. Which by the requirements I'm currently restricted to is not okay either (and it's basically a VM that won't give you any X applications...)

So WSL is probably really only meant as a way to get a more native version of bash /ssh, etc. doing anything beyond just that is rather painful.

Half-Life: Alyx now available on Linux with Vulkan
17 May 2020 at 6:33 pm UTC

Quoting: lejimster
Quoting: slaapliedjeShit, while I don't really want to, I may have to switch to an AMD card, what's the latest/greatest at this point?
I'm using a Vega 56, very stable for quite some time. The Navi cards 5700XT is slightly better performing but the drivers support can be a bit more touchy, although it's always improving. I think big Navi is on it's way in the next few months, so maybe wait for that if you really want a high end AMD card.
Thanks, that is very likely what I will do. I don't really feel like upgrading from the 2080 RTX for one game...

Half-Life: Alyx now available on Linux with Vulkan
16 May 2020 at 10:54 pm UTC

Shit, while I don't really want to, I may have to switch to an AMD card, what's the latest/greatest at this point?

Half-Life: Alyx now available on Linux with Vulkan
16 May 2020 at 10:53 pm UTC

Quoting: PlutonMasterThat was fast.
Next I need the VR set for this.
And I'll wait that game becomes cheaper.
In case someone else hasn't beaten me to it...

If you buy the Index, you get the game for free.

Microsoft president admits they were wrong on open source
16 May 2020 at 3:36 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: LinasTL;DR They only love open-source and Linux because they have to.

I have had a chance to work with Microsofts open-source technologies. And to be fair, some of it is quite nice.

.NET Core is a pretty nice programming platform, like a more lightweight Java. BUT it's only partially compatible with .NET Framework.

PowerShell Core can allow easier interaction with Windows systems. BUT it's only partially compatible with PowerShell which is actually shipped with Windows, and can do only a fraction of what PowerShell on Windows can. It is also really slow. Like bash through a laggy SSH connection slow, but locally.

Microsoft SQL Server is not open-source, but has a Linux version. Even a containerized Docker version. BUT it lacks many advanced features of the Windows version.

Their Linux packaging is also lackluster. Like missing dependencies. Or putting Ubuntu and Debian packages in the same repository and having "ubuntu" and "debian" in the version number, so that when you upgrade, you get Ubuntu version, because it sorts as a higher version alphabetically.

Then there is Visual Studio Code and claiming that Visual Studio now supports Linux, whereas it is a fork of Atom editor with custom plugins, and has absolutely nothing to do with Visual Studio.

So they are going in the right direction, but in a clumsy, backhanded way.

Like for example the proper Windows version of Docker (that runs Windows containers, not Linux) is especially half-assed, and only makes Windows users think that Docker sucks. Whereas it's only Windows version that sucks. Even running Linux containers on Windows works better than Windows containers on Windows.

And I am sure that is why Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) exists. Not because they actually want their users to use Linux, but because they know that they lost to Linux in the server market, and cannot pull off a compelling Windows-proper alternative.

So don't be fooled. They only love open-source and Linux because they have to.

No offense to all the brilliant people at Microsoft who are working on all of this. I am sure a lot of people there are just nerds who think that open-source and Linux are cool, and want nothing to do with all the shenanigans of managers and executives.

I really cannot imagine a developer going like "yeah, let's put all of this telemetry in Windows and collect all this data that is in no way relevant to identifying technical problems in the system." But while management can get their way, there will be shenanigans, there will be lobbying, and there will be shady anti-competitive deals.

(damn, I said Windows a lot)
Windows Subsystem for Linux is terrible, the performance on it is just bad... everything on it takes far longer than it should...