Some of you may be too young to remember the Microsoft of the 1980s & 1990s. One of their techniques for destroying a competitor was to Embrace their technology, then Extend it in ways that were only compatible with and dependent on Windows, and when sufficient numbers of users had hopped on board, Extinguish the technology, leaving the users with only the Windows version.
Two years ago Microsoft bought Minecraft. I was worried that the "old" Microsoft would reveal itself by making it a Windows only game. However, the Java version of the game for Linux and Mac continued to be offered on Minecraft.net, even as Microsoft added an EXE version of the game for download.
It appears that Microsoft, having purchased Mojang/Minecraft, is extending it with "Add-ons" that will only work on the new Minecraft:Education Edition, based on the Minecraft:Windows 10 Edition which descended from the Pocket Edition of Minecraft. A discussion about it is here. The Java version, used by those who run Linux and Mac, will not be updated to use "Add-ons" (called "mods").
The Microsoft FAQ for "Add-ons" is here. It states:
They have Embraced the Minecraft jar version, this Add-on Extends it to be Windows only, and soon the jar version of Minecraft will not receive updates or new releases and will be allowed to fade away. I used to write in-house client-server code using Visual FoxPro. Then Microsoft bought it, moved coders to .NET, then extinguished VFP. So I've been through this before.
It looks like the Minecraft server jar files may fade into the sunset as well, and with them compatibility with Linux, unless you want to continue playing the game with the last jar release, until such time that Microsoft refused to acknowledge your login and you are forced to play it offline. It looks like they are going to monetize each and every little aspect of Minecraft, just as I thought they would, but only for those who are willing to buy Windows 10. They've just set up a git hub to document Add-ons.
Realms is a portal to Microsoft's Minecraft server farm, which costs about $7/month, or it did during the couple of months I and my grandsons tried it out earlier this spring. I found that deploying my own server was superior in that we could control what mods we wanted to add to the server, who and how many could play on it, and how it was backed up.
I haven't told my grandson yet.
We'll probably just do more fishing! 
Two years ago Microsoft bought Minecraft. I was worried that the "old" Microsoft would reveal itself by making it a Windows only game. However, the Java version of the game for Linux and Mac continued to be offered on Minecraft.net, even as Microsoft added an EXE version of the game for download.
It appears that Microsoft, having purchased Mojang/Minecraft, is extending it with "Add-ons" that will only work on the new Minecraft:Education Edition, based on the Minecraft:Windows 10 Edition which descended from the Pocket Edition of Minecraft. A discussion about it is here. The Java version, used by those who run Linux and Mac, will not be updated to use "Add-ons" (called "mods").
The Microsoft FAQ for "Add-ons" is here. It states:
- Will Add-Ons run on my version of Minecraft?
Add-Ons will work on any platform that runs the Windows 10 Edition Beta or Pocket Edition – you can even experience them in VR with the Gear VR Edition and on Oculus Rift with the Windows 10 Edition Beta. They’ll also work in multi-player and on Realms, so you can play with friends.
It looks like the Minecraft server jar files may fade into the sunset as well, and with them compatibility with Linux, unless you want to continue playing the game with the last jar release, until such time that Microsoft refused to acknowledge your login and you are forced to play it offline. It looks like they are going to monetize each and every little aspect of Minecraft, just as I thought they would, but only for those who are willing to buy Windows 10. They've just set up a git hub to document Add-ons.
Realms is a portal to Microsoft's Minecraft server farm, which costs about $7/month, or it did during the couple of months I and my grandsons tried it out earlier this spring. I found that deploying my own server was superior in that we could control what mods we wanted to add to the server, who and how many could play on it, and how it was backed up.
I haven't told my grandson yet.
We'll probably just do more fishing!
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