If it were an antiquated view it wouldn&#x27;t be so popular!<p>Even as open source .NET is still a huge pain to get running under Linux and development of .NET <i>anything</i> is extremely difficult without Visual Studio (which doesn&#x27;t run on Linux).  Not only that but most of the .NET libraries one would use for any given purpose only work on Windows.  So even if the core of .NET is open source and cross platform any software written using that platform can only effectively run on Windows.<p>When Microsoft puts out a version of Visual Studio for Linux desktops (&quot;Minecraft modding edition&quot;!) then I might start believing that they&#x27;re serious about cross-platform software.  It&#x27;ll also signify their complete lack of relevance because to have gotten to that point would mean a level of desperation that would indicate a sinking ship.<p>It&#x27;s just not in Microsoft&#x27;s nature to make a product that&#x27;s truly independent of its operating system and&#x2F;or office software.