Now, on to the best ways to run Linux with Windows. Essentially, it lets you dual-boot Ubuntu, but instead of installing the operating system on your bare-metal hardware, it installs Ubuntu on a special file on your Windows partition, which it uses as your Linux drive. This software enables you to install Ubuntu Linux on Windows 7, Vista, and Windows 10. While somewhat useful, it was always a niche program, and its niche is even smaller today.Īnother program that has largely outlived its usefulness is Wubi.

It will let you run some Linux shell programs, which have been recompiled for Cygwin on Windows. With it, you can run a Linux-style shell on Windows. This may be handy if you're a Linux user who wants to run the occasional Windows-only game or application, but I'm hard-pressed to think of other use cases.Ĭygwin is a Unix tool collection. With dual-boot, just like the name says, you're not running both operating systems at once. I don't know why most folks would bother to do this today. You can still set up your computer to dual-boot Windows and Linux. Even on Microsoft's own Azure cloud, the most popular virtual machines (VMs) are Linux.īut, while Microsoft is now a full-fledged member of the Linux family, there are many ways to run Linux on Windows. If you want to administer servers, use DevOps on the cloud, run supercomputer simulations, or develop programs for any platform other than Windows or the Apple ecosystem, you're working with Linux. If you are working in an organization that manages your systems and network, you probably get a Windows desktop to work on and are required to use Windows for many tasks. Why would you want to do this? Simple: While Windows is the top desktop operating system, everywhere else it's Linux. With any of these, you can run Linux and Windows GUI applications simultaneously on the same desktop screen. Starting with the recently released WindBuild 19041 or higher, you can run real Linux distributions, such as Debian, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 15 SP1, and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. With this programmers can develop native and cross-platform programs with tools like GNOME Builder, KDevelop, and Visual Studio Code.

The answer? Microsoft.Īt 2020's Microsoft Build, CEO Satya Nadella announced that Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2 would support Linux GUIs and applications. What's the biggest company in the world that supports the Linux desktop? Red Hat? No.

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