The most prominent promoter of closed source, versus the biggest advocate of open source.

But as tech continues to advance, and that the internet progresses to be the ultimate way for software distribution and data transaction, the relationship between Microsoft and Linux has changed a lot over the years.

Microsoft thrives and has succeeded largely because of its Windows operating systems.

With massive knowledge and experience in creating its own operating system, Microsoft knows how should run its business, and knows that it needs to succumb to the market's demands..

While Microsoft and Linux were once unquestionable rivals, but the trends have changed Microsoft's stance towards its archenemy.

The change has made Microsoft to partner with Linux in many areas, such as cloud computing, virtualization, containerization, and open source development.

Among others:

• Microsoft has embraced open source software and joined the Linux Foundation, the organization that oversees the development and promotion of Linux.
• Microsoft has integrated Linux features into Windows, such as the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), which allows users to run Linux applications on Windows.
• Microsoft collaborates with Linux communities and projects on various initiatives, such as Kubernetes, Dapr, and OpenAI.

And this time, Microsoft has unexpectedly published guidance on how to download and install Linux.

The Seattle-area proprietary OS vendor literally published a helpful guide entitled "How to download and install Linux," where it suggests four alternative installation methods: using Windows Subsystem for Linux 2, using a local VM, using a cloud VM, or on bare metal.

"Linux is an operating system, similar to Windows, but with many different versions due to the nature of being open source and fully customizable. To install Linux, you must choose an install method and choose a Linux distribution," Microsoft said on the tutorial page.

There are over 600 active Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Debian, Kali Linux, OpenSUSE, and more, and Microsoft suggests users to which "distributions" (sometimes shortened to “distros”) they need or require.

For users who are new to Linux, Microsoft suggests that they start with Ubuntu, as it's the most common starting places for Linux users due to the level of support and ease of use.

Arch Linux is for those who wish to have a highly customizable, do-it-yourself approach, whereas Alpine Linux is a more minimal and lightweight distribution with lower system requirement.

For those who wish to do some security tasks, Microsoft suggests Kali Linux. For businesses, corporate and academics, Microsoft suggests both Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Oracle Linux. CentOS is another popular enterprise distro, said Microsoft.

Microsoft also boasts OpenSUSE as one of the longest-running distributions which still receives active updates.

Let alone promoting or Linux, Microsoft had never said anything good about the operating system when Microsoft was led by Steve Ballmer, for example.

The former CEO of Microsoft famously referred to Linux as a "cancer" back in 2001.

During a meeting with industry analysts, he said that to reflect the competitive landscape at that time, when Linux was gaining traction in the server market, posing a potential challenge to Microsoft's dominance in the operating system space.

This statement was made in the context of expressing his concerns about the potential threat that the open-source operating system posed to Microsoft's proprietary software business.

Before Satya Nadella, Microsoft had a reputation for protecting its turf so aggressively that it would challenge anyone that poses as a threat, and maimed it to kill it if possible.

In the past, making Microsoft angry is like a death sentence for most smaller businesses, and Netscape was the most prominent victim of Microsoft.

But things have changed, and thanks to the internet, cloud computing, mobile and more, the dynamics of the tech world have evolved, and so does Microsoft's stance.

Since 2016, Nadella created a significant turning point in Microsoft's relationship with the open-source community, showcasing a clear shift in the company's approach. Nadella's embrace of open-source technologies and his efforts to foster collaboration with the broader tech community have been instrumental in reshaping Microsoft's image and strategy.

Once a rival, this time, Nadella led Microsoft to become one of the biggest contributors to the Linux kernel, the core of the Linux operating system.

It also supports many Linux distributions on its Azure cloud platform, where Linux is the most popular operating system.