14 DAY TRIAL // After openSUSE and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), it now looks like Canonical's Ubuntu Linux operating system is available for download from the Microsoft Windows Store.
Of course, we're talking here about a barebone Ubuntu operating system that runs under the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), which is mainly targeted at developers who don't want to build a dual-boot machine running both Windows 10 and the latest Ubuntu Linux release.
Talking about the latest Ubuntu release, it appears that the Ubuntu version provided by Canonical and Microsoft in the Windows Store is based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus), a long-term supported version that will receive security and software updates for five years, until April 2021.
Dubbed Ubuntu on Windows, this special Ubuntu build allows users to use various command-line utilities like GNU Bash, the Git distributed version control system, both APT and DPKG CLI package managers, and SSH (Secure Shell) to test their software applications, install other tools, etc.
Works only on 64-bit Windows 10 installations
To install and use Ubuntu on Windows, it would appear that you'll need to first enable the "Turn Windows features on or off" option in settings, then select the "Windows Subsystem for Linux" feature, click the OK button and reboot the computer. Now you're all set to use Ubuntu on WSL if you're running the latest Windows 10 build on your personal computer.
Microsoft also says that's it possible to enable Ubuntu on Windows directly from the Administrator PowerShell prompt. All you have to do is to go to Enable -> WindowsOptionalFeature -> Online -> FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux, then use the "ubuntu" command in cmd.exe or search and launch Ubuntu on Windows from the start menu. Check out the Windows Store page for more details.
