In today's open source roundup: Microsoft offers .NET tool for Linux. Plus: SuperTuxKart gets a major upgrade. And play the Chocolate Doom game in Debian Microsoft releases .NET tool for Linux Microsoft and Linux have always had an…er…uneasy relationship. But now the company has released a Visual Studio Code tool for Linux that should make it easy to develop .NET code. You can download Visual Studio Code for Linux right now. Owen Williams reports for The Next Web: Today at Build, Microsoft unveiled its first version of Visual Studio for Mac and Linux. The new tool, called Visual Studio Code, makes it easy to develop .NET code along with many other programming languages on Linux based systems. It’s monumental for Microsoft as it marks the first time the company has ever made Visual Studio cross-platform, truly embracing those that it’s previously feuded with. More at The Next Web Linux redditors shared their thoughts about Microsoft’s latest move with Linux: Cac2573: “If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I’ve won. —Linus Torvalds” Job_5: “It honestly does feel like we won something. The former top dog is now making things for the little guy. I love it.” Carltherapper: “You can even write linux apps in Visual Studio now. It’s crazy. (Though from what I got from the keynote it’s either only docker apps or any .net app.” Benkuyendall: “It is proprietary (https://code.visualstudio.com/License). However, I would not be too surprised if MS re-licenced at some point, as they have been doing with a number of related products.” Tweakers: “Considering Microsoft’s history, a person would be a fool to run MS code on their Linux boxen without doing a full code check. Just sayin’.” Vytah: When MS acquired Skype, I said “eh, it’s not their code”. When MS updated Skype, I said “eh, it’s just a minor update”. When MS released Office for Android, I said “isn’t it just a bottled HTML 5, and besides it’s not GNU/Linux, so it doesn’t count”. Now I can’t say anything. MysterOn: “My usual reaction to something like this is waiting till I hear a comment from admiral Ackbar. But on the other hand : MS supporting Linux is kind of a big deal, no?” Spiessbuerger: “Meanwhile everyone is waiting for Gnome builder.” 082726w5: “Is this an editor or an ide? How does it compare to current favourites like vim, eclipse or idea? (and what about that new builder thing?)” Carltherapper: “It’s more of an editor. It probably isn’t as full featured as vim, but I’d say it’s most likely going to be on par with apps like sublime text.” More at Reddit SuperTuxKart gets a major upgrade SuperTuxKart is one of the most popular racing games around for Linux, but now it’s gotten even better with a major overhaul. Joey-Elijah Sneddon reports for OMG Ubuntu: SuperTuxKart 0.9 is a huge update over earlier versions. It runs a hot new engine under the hood(awesomely named ‘Antarctica’). This change, the developers say, delivers richer graphical environments, better shading and depth of field and improved kart physics. The bump in graphics performance necessitates a bump in graphics card requirements, too. SuperTuxKart developers advise would-be racers to will need a device with graphics comparable to (or, ideally, better than) Intel HD Graphics 3000, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or AMD Radeon HD 3650. More at OMG Ubuntu Here’s the official trailer of SuperTuxCart 0.9 via YouTube: Play the Chocolate Doom game in Debian Doom is one of the most popular first person shooter games ever created. Now you can run doom in Debian via a version called Chocolate Doom. The Chocolate Doom Wiki has background about the game: 1998 saw the public release of the Doom source code by its original authors, id Software. Since then, a large number of Doom “source ports” have been created by programmers, who have extended the code, adding new features and removing some of the limitations of DOS Doom (now commonly referred to as “Vanilla Doom” by fans). These efforts should be commended, and many of the modern Doom source ports are truly impressive pieces of work. Chocolate Doom takes a different approach to other source ports. Its aim is to accurately reproduce the experience of playing Vanilla Doom. It is a conservative, historically accurate Doom source port, which is compatible with the thousands of mods and levels that were made before the Doom source code was released. Rather than flashy new graphics, Chocolate Doom’s main features are its accurate reproduction of the game as it was played in the 1990s. The project is developed around a carefully-considered philosophy that intentionally restricts which features may be added (and rejects any that affect gameplay). Originally just a port of the Doom source code, the purpose of the project has grown to include ports of Heretic, Hexen and Strife, other commercial games that were based on the Doom engine. The source code to Chocolate Doom is Free Software under the GNU General Public License, and is portable to a variety of different operating systems. It therefore preserves the gameplay of the original game for modern computers, many of which are now unable to run the original. More at Chocolate Doom Wiki The Chocolate Doom Wiki also has full instructions on how to install the game in Debian. Did you miss a roundup? Check the Eye On Open home page to get caught up with the latest news about open source and Linux. Software DevelopmentOpen Source