I think you're confusing linux (the kernel) with linux distributions (mostly lousy windows managers that run on linux).
Let's not get into an OS war between us here, but looking at the changes over the last 15 years, it's clear that MS is warming up to Linux. This is something that was absolutely unthinkable during the Gates and Ballmer eras.
The linux community must be doing something right when developer demand and excitement is so high for ssh.
