Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Microsoft's CEO once called Linux "cancer." Today, more than 60% of Microsoft's own cloud runs on it. This is the story of how the company that spent millions trying to destroy Linux ended up building a $75 billion empire on top of it.
From the leaked Halloween Documents in 1998, to Steve Ballmer's infamous 2001 quote, to the secret funding behind the SCO lawsuit — Microsoft fought a war against open source it could never win. Then Satya Nadella took over, reversed three decades of strategy, bought GitHub for $7.5 billion, and built Microsoft's own Linux distribution. The "cancer" became the foundation of Microsoft's most profitable platform.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Microsoft Called Linux "Cancer"
00:14 – The Real Reason Behind the Quote
01:05 – The Halloween Documents Leak (1998)
03:00 – The Secret SCO Lawsuit Payoff
04:55 – Satya Nadella Takes Over (2014)
06:48 – "Microsoft Loves Linux" — The U-Turn
08:35 – The $7.5 Billion GitHub Confession
10:15 – Microsoft Built Its Own Linux
11:35 – The Cancer Won
Drop a comment: what do you think Ballmer would say if he saw Azure's Linux numbers today?
#Microsoft #Linux #BigTech
This video is part of an ongoing series on how tech empires get too powerful, too greedy, and too arrogant — and how the internet always fights back.
Microsoft's CEO once called Linux "cancer." Today, more than 60% of Microsoft's own cloud runs on it. This is the story of how the company that spent millions trying to destroy Linux ended up building a $75 billion empire on top of it.
From the leaked Halloween Documents in 1998, to Steve Ballmer's infamous 2001 quote, to the secret funding behind the SCO lawsuit — Microsoft fought a war against open source it could never win. Then Satya Nadella took over, reversed three decades of strategy, bought GitHub for $7.5 billion, and built Microsoft's own Linux distribution. The "cancer" became the foundation of Microsoft's most profitable platform.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Microsoft Called Linux "Cancer"
00:14 – The Real Reason Behind the Quote
01:05 – The Halloween Documents Leak (1998)
03:00 – The Secret SCO Lawsuit Payoff
04:55 – Satya Nadella Takes Over (2014)
06:48 – "Microsoft Loves Linux" — The U-Turn
08:35 – The $7.5 Billion GitHub Confession
10:15 – Microsoft Built Its Own Linux
11:35 – The Cancer Won
Drop a comment: what do you think Ballmer would say if he saw Azure's Linux numbers today?
#Microsoft #Linux #BigTech
This video is part of an ongoing series on how tech empires get too powerful, too greedy, and too arrogant — and how the internet always fights back.
