Microsoft is bringing its Visual Studio development tool to the Mac, launching it during this week's Connect() conference starting on Wednesday, according to a quickly deleted announcement.
The software is a "mobile-first, cloud-first" suite focusing on C# and .NET, Microsoft said. It described the Mac version as a "counterpart" to the one on Windows, with an interface modified to better suit the macOS environment.
TechCrunch noted that while Microsoft has traditionally tried to steer developers towards using Windows, the global shift towards cloud computing means that developers are less tied to a single OS or piece of hardware. It can still make money off, however, off of software and its own cloud platform, Azure.
Indeed under current CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has become increasingly Mac- and iOS-friendly, content to have people on non-Windows platforms so long as they're using Microsoft services.
At the same time it has also been diving more deeply into hardware, expanding its Surface line with products like the Surface Book and the Surface Studio, and experimenting with its own augmented reality technology, HoloLens.