Microsoft open sources .NET
Microsoft's new CEO has been very busy making changes to the software behemoth's culture and products. The latest change comes as a real shocker for many who are used to Microsoft being a much more proprietary company. Parts of .NET will be open sourced, and will run on Linux and OS X.
Microsoft corporate vice president S. Somasegar announces the .NET changes on his blog:
Over the coming months, we will be open sourcing the full server-side .NET Core stack, from ASP.NET 5 down to the Core Runtime and Framework, and the open source .NET will be expanded to run on Linux and Mac OS X in addition to Windows.
Cade Metz at Wired reports that Microsoft has recognized that Windows is not as dominant as it once was:
...Microsoft is embracing the reality that modern software and online services run atop a variety of operating systems—and that Windows no longer dominates the market the way it once did. At least tacitly, the software giant is acknowledging that so many businesses and developers now choose to run their software atop computer servers loaded with the open source Linux operating system...
John Fingas at Engadget cautions Linux and Mac users not to expect an onslaught of Windows software for those platforms:
The release omits parts needed for the user-facing side of things, including the Windows Presentation Foundation that handles interface and document features, so many .NET apps and services will either need major changes or won't run at all. Also, there are plenty of Windows apps that depend on other frameworks. You're probably not going to see a ton of converted Windows software running on your MacBook or Linux box, then.
A comparison of Linux security distributions
Security is an issue on the minds of many users these days. Linux offers a number of different distributions that can be used for more secure computing. But trying to figure out which one to use is no small task. Lifehacker contrasts and compares Tails, Kali and Qubes, and lists the pros and cons of each.