Steve Ballmer once called Linux a “cancer” — it’s funny Windows 10 holdouts may now see it as the cure for Windows 11’s hardware rules and the RAM crisis
Publish Date: 2026-06-30 09:57:00
Source Domain: www.windowscentral.com
“Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches,” indicated former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in 2001. At the time, the executive considered Linux users to be communist thieves and viewed the open-source operating system as a “malignant cancer” on Microsoft’s intellectual property.
In 2016, Ballmer seemingly changed his stance on Linux after Microsoft ported its SQL Server to Linux. He didn’t redact his statement about Linux as he saw fit at the time. The executive revealed that going to war with open-source helped generate a ton of money, which greatly contributed to Microsoft’s revenue.
Interestingly, he believed the threat from Linux had passed. The executive said he loved the SQL on Linux announcement, so much so that he emailed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to congratulate him on the move.
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In 2020, Microsoft President Brad Smith admitted that the company had been on the wrong side of history when open source exploded. “The good news is that, if life is long enough, you can learn … that you need to change,” Smith added.
Consequently, Microsoft has seemingly warmed up to open-source over the years, from PowerShell to Visual Studio Code to Microsoft Edge’s JavaScript engine. And perhaps more recently, the company unveiled its own Linux distribution, Azure Linux 4.0, to the public.
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It’s worth noting that Azure Linux 4.0 isn’t new; Microsoft has been running the open-source Linux distro across its infrastructure for years now. The only difference is that the platform is now expanding into broader server workloads. The operating system is built on Fedora and runs on Azure virtual machines.
The RAM crisis, mounting AI bloat, and Windows 10’s death are all tipping the scales in Linux’s favor
Linux is still an option for those who can’t or don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11. (Image credit: Zac Bowden | Windows Central)
While this might seem…
