Bonum Certa Men Certa

GNU/Linux Circles Ought to Stop Promoting Visual Studio, Which is Neither Cross-Platform Nor Free Software

"In the future, Microsoft wants Windows to run everything, from PCs to phones to cars to appliances. This is a terrifying prospect. If it happens, I'd be far more afraid that machinery everywhere would grind to a halt, planes would fall out of the sky, and civilization would crumble as a result of crummy embedded Windows design than any Y2K problem."

--Paul Somerson, PC Computing



Summary: Media carries on openwashing Visual Studio and perpetuating the illusion that it is not tied to Microsoft Windows

TECHRIGHTS has already responded to the Visual Studio openwash the other day (also mentioned this other openwashing effort), having already warned about it five years ago, earlier this year, and earlier this month. It's not about .NET or Mono, it's about Visual Studio, which is purely proprietary with no imminent opening of anything, not even Visual Studio Code, which some Linux sites foolishly promote [1,2] (there are better programs which are neither from Microsoft nor are proprietary).

IDG has done this promotion of proprietary Visual Studio for platforms other than Windows. It's only towards the end that discrimination against non-Windows platforms is very evident:

The software also can easily hook into Microsoft’s software for managing team projects, Team Foundation Server 2015 and Visual Studio Online, both of which provide the base for a speedy, devops-styled development environment.


Well, this is Windows software. There is no parity at all between platforms. Visual Studio is still a proprietary program for Microsoft Windows, don't let Microsoft paint it as cross-platform, not without a challenge. Microsoft is still aggressively attacking GNU/Linux, it is not playing nice with it.

“Eradicating Windows and slapping Linux on your computer sure isn’t as easy as it used to be,” writes Chris Hoffman this week, alluding to 'secure boot' in UEFI. This is the type of abuse Microsoft promotes (and now escalates further by removing the "on"/"off switch from some UEFI implementations on future computers -- those coming with Vista 10 bundled). As an important reminder, UEFI lockdown is getting even worse, demonstrating that Microsoft hates Linux. With more such headaches on the horizon, affecting anyone wishing to at least try or explore GNU/Linux (not very technical people), Microsoft clearly has lots of hidden hate for Linux. There's no "love", just opportunistic PR. Anyone who actually thinks that Visual Studio will "play nice" with GNU/Linux has clearly not been paying attention (or paid attention only to puff pieces).

Related/contextual items from the news:


  1. Ubuntu Make 0.9 Brings Support For The Arduino IDE And Enhancements For The Microsoft VSC


  2. Install and Run Visual Studio Code on Ubuntu Linux 15.04


Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM CEO Says IBM is Just Reliant on Buzzwords That Are Overhyped
IBM has nothing to show anymore and telling fairytales to shareholders is a temporary 'fix'
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XI - No Comment From Steve Rowan, Niloofar Simon, and Christoph Ernst About Cocaine Inside EPO
What kind of patent office is this?
Giving a Voice to the Community (Even When It's Inconvenient or 'Scary')
Once upon a time we were threatened with deplatforming for merely reposting articles by Daniel Pocock; we no longer have this problem
 
Fake IBM Retirements (IBM Gives Older Workers Ultimatums, Deadlines, and Carrots on Sticks)
As they point out, IBM is desperate to lower costs
Linuxiac is Basically a Fake News Site, But It's Being Fed by Google News
Because Google News is run by Google, a slop pusher
Links 25/01/2026: Slop "Tribalism", Nike Apparently Cracked
Links for the day
Claims That PIPs Are Abused for Silent Mass Layoffs at IBM (Without Severance) or Forced Retirements
Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) "clearly bogus as everyone on my team who has been on one has been fired"
WebM Version of Richard Stallman's Latest Talk (Georgia Tech Talk)
The file size is smaller
After Half a Decade Vista 11 is Still a Giant Failure
Don't expect Microsoft to gain a foothold
Details on IBM Layoffs in the EU Last Week, Same Allegedly Coming to the US Shortly
"Around 50 people affected in Belgium."
Technology Trends Driven by DRM Giants, Planned Obsolescence, Not the Needs of the Buyers
The "pushers" think of customers as "users"; and they encourage passivity, Stockholm Syndrome
Links 25/01/2026: Microsoft BitLocker Backdoored for Decades Already, Microsoft-Backed ICE Still Murders Civilians
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/01/2026: "Expert in a Dying Field" and Global Commands
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, January 24, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, January 24, 2026
After the Slop Bubble
At the end, looking back, we'll all generally understand that the net effort of slop was environmental destruction
Projection of Fanatic From Microsoft
Microsoft Lunduke is pandering to the 4Chan 'crowd'
Digg.com (Digg) is a Censorship Platform, Just Another Social Control Media/Network, Controlled by the Few
We are not going to bother with any social control media
Spam, Slop, and Fake 'Articles' Regarding "Linux"
Serial Sloppers like these are harming real reporting about Linux and GNU
Rape investigation dropped: Will Fowles & ALP transgender deception
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Diversity, Grooming & Debian transgender Zero
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Pauline / Maria / Alice Climent(-Pommeret) & Debian transgender offensive cybersecurity deception
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Did judge with transgender sister & Debian conflict of interest help cover-up a death?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 24/01/2026: CBS News Demolished From the Inside and Many Publishers Admit Layoffs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/01/2026: Dreams and Raspberry Pi Zero 2W
Links for the day
Richard Stallman's First Talk in US College Since 2018: Videos and Photos
There are some backstories
Judge Richard Oulevey (Grandcour Choeur, Tribunal Vaud) & Debian shaming abuse victims and witnesses
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Judgment: French army vanquishes German FSFE on Hitler's birthday, Microsoft contract dispute (1716711)
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
EDPB/CNIL privacy expert Amandine Jambert (cryptie, FSFE) implicitly admitted lying about harassment when she resigned admitting conflict of interest
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 24/01/2026: TikTok Controlled by Alt Reich in US Now, White House Shares Fake, Manipulated, Misleading Images Already
Links for the day
Projection Tactics - Part IV: SLAPP by Americans Against Techrights (UK) to Hide Serious Abuses Against American Women
"PRs need to stop being complicit in suppression of information via SLAPPs"
Dirty Laundry at Debian and Elsewhere
We cannot just brush aside real issues involving real people and their families
Illegal, Unconstitutional Kangaroo Court for Patents Drops the Masks, Shows Its Real Purpose is to Serve Multinational Monopolists and Crush European SMEs
Europe (or the EU) is rapidly becoming a corporate project, not a unified governance initiative
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part X - EPO Strikes to Begin Next Week
Things gradually escalate this month
Gemini Links 24/01/2026: Snow, Boxing, and Lisp is Fun
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 23, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, January 23, 2026
Senior management and HR email privacy: Martin Ebnoether (venty), Axel Beckert (xtaran) & Debian abuse in Switzerland
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Pierre-Elliott Bécue, ANSSI & Debian cybertorture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
MJ Ray, Micah Anderson & Debian on drugs, prostitution at DebConf6 fight
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Excellence in Ethics: a list of victories for the truth
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Richard Stallman Giving Public Talk, Answering Questions From the Audience
We understand (from the organisers) that there will be a video of the talk
Forbes Covers in 2026 What Was Already Clear for Over a Decade: Microsoft's BitLocker 'Encryption' is a Back Door
One that's promoted by the loudest boosters of UEFI 'secure boot' as well
The Grapevine Says IBM's American RAs (Mass Layoffs) Soon to Follow European RAs, PIPs and "Reviews" as Pretext for a Likely Baseless Dismissal
The days of honourable corporations and work ethics are long gone it seems...
Links 23/01/2026: Minus 24 deg C in South Korea, "Iran Internet Blackout Passes Two-Week Mark"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/01/2026: "Witch Watch" and English on the Net
Links for the day
Reminder That "Linux" in the Site's Name (and Domain) Does Not Imply Authentic Journalism About GNU/Linux
the sad fact that some once-legitimate sites became slopfarms
Further Comments Illuminate Observations Regarding IBM's Layoffs (RAs) Plan for Europe
Some shed light on the expected scale
Links 23/01/2026: Growing Censorship, Intel Falls (Another Bubble, Propped Up by Cheeto Bailout), and Huge GAFAM Layoffs Continue
Links for the day
Working for Freedom Makes You a Target
it's not about what you do but about who gets served
Appeasing Bullies Doesn't Work
The reason we're still here and very active is that we're good at what we do
Claim That IBM Mass Layoffs Began Again in Europe, With Rumours It'll Close Offices
Unless IBM issues a statement (admission) to the media or issues WARN notices (in the US), the lousy media will simply assume - however wrongly - that nothing is happening and there's nothing to report
How Microsoft Will Tell Shareholders That the Business is Failing in a Few Days
It'll resort to "AI" storytelling (lying about slop having potential for some unspecified future year)
Flying to See Today's Talk by Richard Stallman
It's probably not too late to reserve a seat for today's talk
The Fall of Freenode Didn't Kill IRC and the Web's Issues (Not Limited to LLM Slop) Didn't Kill Everything
As long as there are enough people willing to keep the simple (or "old") stuff it'll refuse to die
GAFAM Layoffs by Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) Hide the Real Scale of Their Financial Troubles
the "official" numbers of layoffs will never tell the true story
'Domesticated' Animals Not More Valuable Than Free-range Wildlife, Proprietary ('Commercial') Software Isn't Better Than Free Software
the proprietary software giants (companies like SAP or Microsoft) have a lot of lobbyists
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part IX - EPO Budget Funnelled Into Cocaine and Moreover Rewards Cocaine-Addicted Management for Getting Busted by Police
Any day that passes without European media and European politicians doing anything about it merely discredits the media and the EU (or national governments)
Richard Stallman Won't Talk About "AI", He'll Talk About Chatbots and LLMs Lacking Any Intelligence
This really irritates people who dislike the message; so they attack the person
Slopfarms Still Fed by Google, Boosting Fake 'Articles' That Pretend to Cover "Linux"
At this point about 80-90% of the search results appear not to be slopfarms
Gemini Links 23/01/2026: The Danish Approach to Deepfakes and Random vi Things
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 22, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, January 22, 2026