Unbelievably, two of the biggest giants of the world of computing have only just met: Bill Gates, the former grand-daddy of Microsoft, and his one-time nemesis, Linux creator Linus Torvalds. The two apparently met at a dinner hosted by Mark Russinovich (of Sysinternals tools).

Mr. Russinovich posted the image shown below on his Linkedin account, with the following caption:

“I had the thrill of a lifetime, hosting dinner for Bill Gates, Linus Torvalds and David Cutler. Linus had never met Bill, and Dave had never met Linus. No major kernel decisions were made, but maybe next dinner 😉”

As shown in the image below, the boys from left to right are Mark Russinovich, Bill Gates (co-founder of Microsoft), Linus Torvalds (creator of the Linux kernel), and Dave Cutler (lead software engineer on Windows NT, VMS).

Why the animosity between Microsoft and Linux?

The relationship between Microsoft and Linux has evolved significantly over the past few decades, transitioning from open hostility to cooperation. Something not too dissimilar to the complex relationship between Gates and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Microsoft viewed Linux and open-source software as direct threats to its dominance, particularly in the server and enterprise markets. This animosity was famously expressed in 2001 when then-CEO Steve Ballmer called Linux a ‘cancer’ that threatened intellectual property rights due to its General Public License (GPL). Microsoft also launched the “Get the Facts” campaign to discredit Linux, emphasizing its alleged shortcomings in security, cost, and reliability. During this period, Microsoft also engaged in legal and competitive strategies against open-source software, including patent threats. The company claimed that Linux infringed on over 200 Microsoft patents, a stance that created further division between the two camps.

However, by the 2010s, the relationship began to shift. After Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014, Microsoft adopted a more open and collaborative approach, famously stating, “Microsoft loves Linux”, although this was naturally treated with scepticism by many people who viewed the sentiment as hollow. Still, this marked a turning point in relations, with Microsoft joining the Linux Foundation in 2016 as a platinum member. The company also began contributing to the Linux kernel and open-sourcing several of its own tools.

Microsoft's Azure cloud platform started offering native Linux support, and by the late 2010s, a majority of Azure workloads were Linux-based. The company released the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), enabling users to run Linux distributions natively on Windows. Microsoft even began shipping a full Linux kernel with WSL 2.

Today, Microsoft is considered a major contributor to the open-source ecosystem, supporting Linux in both development and enterprise environments. While some scepticism lingers, the relationship between Microsoft and Linux is now largely characterized by collaboration rather than conflict.

About the Author

Aaron Ritchie

Aaron's laptop knowledge makes him the go-to guy on PC Guide. But he still finds time for features, deals and much more.