Could, or Should, Microsoft make a CLI-only/optional-DE edition of Windows?

it would be equivalent to running linux without a desktop environment installed. It would give some efficiencies to a headless server, but would work great for a test bed for Microsoft to determine what is the bare minimum needed to make a full OS and build from there - instead of trying to pare back decades of legacy code. Alternatively, if it could simply reboot into a CLI-only mode without having the desktop environment running.

It may even allow for wacky shenanigans like letting you install a linux DE through WSL or make a very basic single-app interface, or run a webpage or game directly with near zero overhead (like how Windows 95 could reboot to run NASCAR directly on DOS)

We already have Linux and I could not see Microsoft makind a cli interface anywhere near the utility and quality of Linux. Besides, if they did, they couldn't very well call it "Windows" anymore

There is no point in doing this for a desktop; they already do it as a server.

Futurdreamz said:

it would be equivalent to running linux without a desktop environment installed. It would give some efficiencies to a headless server, but would work great for a test bed for Microsoft to determine what is the bare minimum needed to make a full OS and build from there - instead of trying to pare back decades of legacy code. Alternatively, if it could simply reboot into a CLI-only mode without having the desktop environment running.

Click to expand...

Is MS wants to do that in-house, that's fine.
Windows does need rebuilt from the ground up. AND, it needs to have all the junk they add to it... optional.

Oh hey!
if it could run Debian through WSL it could be interesting to work with.