Could Linux Conquer Windows From Within?

Will Ennui Be The Secret Weapon Linux Uses To Open Windows?

An interesting argument about how it could be possible for Linux to conquer Windows and Microsoft was penned recently by open source fan Eric S Raymond and linked to by The Register.  In short, he suggests that Microsoft might simply become bored of supporting Windows and allow it to become an emulation layer running atop a Linux kernel and if you have dealt with Microsoft support recently you might see where he is coming from.

He cites several recent developments to add weight to his argument, not least of which is the work Microsoft have put into the Windows Subsystem For Linux, which lets you install and run a Linux distro on a Windows 10 machine.  Add to this the existence of Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, Oracle Linux and CoreOS instances on Azure which provide the same long term income for Microsoft as Windows Server instances, without the same level of support services required.

Finally consider Proton, the emulation layer which Steam uses to (eventually) get Windows games running on Linux.  It is, as he says, not yet perfect but is improving and shows that it is at least theoretically possible to commercially emulate Windows on Linux.   Could we finally see the year of Linux, as Microsoft moves on to Office 365, Azure and their other subscription services for their main source of income … or is this just another | dream?