/*-------------------------------------------程序猿的进化论------------------------------------------------*/
Hacker News上收集了很多IT界牛人的博客，有的文章读后感觉醍醐灌顶，有的文章幽默诙谐，有的文章完全颠覆你的价值观。
IT界也有感性的文化，也有惊艳的艺术。
为了解到最新的IT资讯，同时提升自己的英文水平，我将打造一个翻译Hacker News的专题。
如果你也有兴趣一起发布、分享、翻译最新的Hacker News...
请转往以下站点：
1、译言网的Hacker News小组
2、豆瓣的Hacker News小站
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Microsoft looking to release Office for Linux in 2014
I sit here, basking in heavenly light and bathed in angelic chorus, because I know that 2014 will finally be the year of desktop Linux. How do I know this? Am I the messianic lovechild of Torvalds and Stallman? No — I know
it because Microsoft is apparently going to release Office for Linux in 2014.This rumor stems from a source in Brussels, Belgium, who spoke to Phoronix’s Michael Larabel at FOSDEM, one of Europe’s
larger open source conferences. According to this source, who is presumably one of Microsoft’s open source developers, Microsoft is taking a “meaningful look” at releasing a full Linux port of Office in 2014. The sudden change of heart is apparently due to
Linux showing “commercial viability,” and because Microsoft is reportedly already working on Office for Android. Android, as you may
already know, is a Linux-based operating system, meaning a lot of the porting work will have already been done — it shouldn’t take too much effort to take the next step and bring Office to Ubuntu, or whichever distro Microsoft favors.Until now, Microsoft has never released a piece of desktop software for Linux (with the exception of Skype, but that was an acquisition). Microsoft does have a Linux department, though, which has mainly been tasked with maintaining Hyper-V
(virtualization)compatibility with Linux OSes under Windows. Presumably, with the development of Office for Android, Microsoft has beefed up its number of Linux developers, and those developers will then also work on Office for Linux.The big question, in my eyes, is whether there’s actually significant demand for Office for Linux. On a good day, Linux has perhaps 1 or 2% of the desktop market. It’s important to remember that almost every Linux distro comes with LibreOffice for free. It’s
only an educated guess, but I suspect there are scant few Linux users who would proactively go out and pay for Microsoft Office — after all, many desktop Linux users chose their operating system because it’s free (both in the money sense, and free from the
real or perceived Microsoft hegemony).The other possibility is that Microsoft might be reacting to increased uptake of Linux and cloud-based productivity suites by large institutions, such as universities and governments.
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微软将在2014年推出Linux版的Office
我正安逸的坐在这里，沐浴在神圣之光中享受着天使的合唱团的美妙乐动。这是因为，我知道，2014将是桌面Linux的一年。为什么我会这么说？难道是因为我是Torvalds与Stallman的信徒？不——之所以我会这么说，是因为，微软有意将在2014年推出Linux版本的Office。
这个谣言起源于比利时布鲁塞尔召开的开源年度会议，这个会议是欧洲最大的开源会议。根据一位微软开源开发者说，微软正在进行一个很有意义的项目，就是在2014年推出一款Linux版本的Office。微软本次的战略性改变是源于Linux展示出的强大的“商业生存能力”，而且，微软本身已经有部门在开发Android项目了。如你所知，Android作为一款基于Linux的操作系统，因此，微软在将Office移植到Ubuntu上的时候，将会省去很多工作。
直到现在，微软从没有在Linux上发不过一个桌面软件（除了Skype，但是严格说那是一个收购）。实际上，微软是有Linux部门的，虽然那是用于维护Hyper-V兼容于Linux操作系统的。总体来说，随着Office在Android下的发展，微软将会加强他的Linux开发者，而这些开发者将会为Linux版本的Office继续工作。
在我看来，最大的问题在于Linux下对于Office的需求量是否那么巨大。在情况好的时候，Linux占有1%到2%的桌面市场。但是，需要关注的是，每一个Linux发行版本都装有一个免费的LibreOffice。虽然只是一个猜想，但是，我还是很怀疑会有多少Linux用户会去支付微软的Office——毕竟，很多桌面Linux用户选择这个操作系统的原因正是因为它是免费的（既是钱上面的免费，也是脱离微软的霸权）。
另一种可能性是，微软可能看好Linux在未来政府和教育机构领域的发展前途，而云计算也将为微软带来巨大的营收潜力。
---------by----zerocool-------2013年2月8日19:04:34
