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Microsoft To Run Linux On Azure

Posted by samzenpus on from the odd-couple dept.

snydeq writes "After years of battling Linux as a competitive threat, Microsoft is now offering Linux-based operating systems on its Windows Azure cloud service. The Linux services will go live on Azure at 4 a.m. EDT on Thursday. At that time, the Azure portal will offer a number of Linux distributions, including Suse Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2, OpenSuse 12.01, CentOS 6.2 and Canonical Ubuntu 12.04. Azure users will be able to choose and deploy a Linux distribution from the Microsoft Windows Azure Image Gallery and be charged on an hourly pay-as-you-go basis."

189 comments

  1. Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah but how many people honestly use Azure?

    1. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Why is it always so hard with you linux people? Don't use windows, it sucks, don't use anything with fruit on it, it sucks too. OH, WHAT'S THAT??? You want to use LINUX?? THE Holy Grail of OS? YES!!!

      Oh, GOD, NO, why did you choose that distro?????

      PLEBIAN!!

    2. Re:Heh... by alexborges · · Score: 4, Informative

      They called us commie scum. We will never forget.

      --
      NO SIG
    3. Re:Heh... by zill · · Score: 2

      Azure isn't a Linux distro. Azure is a cloud computing service from Microsoft.

    4. Re:Heh... by Nutria · · Score: 4, Informative

      And a cancer.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    5. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/09/04/0051209/apples-icloud-runs-on-microsoft-azure

      http://www.macnn.com/articles/12/04/24/mobile.me.service.nearing.its.end/ (states iCloud migration at 125M users)

      125 million before the end of April, minimum. As of October 2011, Dropbox had 50M.

    6. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      woosh!

    7. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      All three of you?

      NOOOOO!!!!!!!

    8. Re:Heh... by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 3, Funny

      And a cancer

      And throw in a chair

      --
      Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    9. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Azure and iCloud have different targets. You can compare iCloud to Dropbox and Azure to Amazon EC2, but not mix them: One is suited for end users, the other for companies/people looking for cloud servers.

      So, Apple would count as one customer of Azure, not 125M.

    10. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      According to Microsoft, high tens of thousands of customers (above 50,000?)

    11. Re:Heh... by symbolset · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but did you cross-check against IDC and Gartner?

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    12. Re:Heh... by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah, but why would you want to run Linux through a Microsoft cloud server? That's the big mystery.

    13. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, Apple would count as one customer of Azure, not 125M.

      One customer, that brings 125M users. And of course users is what is being discussed:
      Yeah but how many people honestly use Azure?

    14. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is a sign of immaturity on your part.

    15. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      After years of battling Linux as a competitive threat, um hmm you mean "After years of trying to destroy Linux"..

      You could argue a number of things here.

      One: it is attempt to get more people to accept MS, they have slowly been getting exposed for there practices and losing private and business markets.
      Two: they will try and steal the innovations of Linux to add them to Windows, but this makes little sense they would do would have done it without being all friendly about it.

      Of course I have a 50/50 view of MS, you can argue they are a horrible group of people and have no morals, or argue that a number of companies started to wage a war with the press (media). And those companies have a loyal following of users that just agree with what they claim.
      I am aware of the things they do to knock out other companies, or even steal innovation, but they are legal, even tho they are wrong. I also know they have every government in there pocket, you cannot overlook that Windows is heavily used by every agency, so it is not a surprise if they get "well do that again, be more careful" but no fine. You could say the same about about every corporation in the US to be honest.

    16. Re:Heh... by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      And some of them still call us "open sores."

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
    17. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reminds me of Monty Python:

      When I first came here, this was all swamp.
      Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp.
      So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp.
      So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp.
      But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England.

    18. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but why would you want to run Linux through a Microsoft cloud server? That's the big mystery.

      If your company is a Microsoft Partner and their giving you a ton of free compute hours.

    19. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but why would you want to run Linux through a Microsoft cloud server? That's the big mystery.

      If your company is a Microsoft Partner and their giving you a ton of free compute hours.

      You forgot to add the rest: "...which you use when you sell a customer a custom-built 'solution'. Then when the free hours run out and the customer realizes just how much they're going to get screwed, it's too late to get their data out and on to a new platform"

    20. Re:Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that a negative thing? I mean, being called a scum might be negative, but a fighter for mass democracy in the other hand.. ;D

  2. So what's new? by recoiledsnake · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Microsoft almost always supports other platforms if it has enough marketshare and if they think they can make money off it. They even seem to be making Office for the iPad. The summary is trying to be a troll as usual. This is like WINE, more support is always good if you trying to get as many customers as possible.

    They even released an Android app recently.

    http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsofts-bing-mobile-team-introduces-new-app-first-for-android-phones/12856

    --
    This space for rent.
    1. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      One app?

      https://play.google.com/store/search?q=microsoft+corp&c=apps

      Bing, OneNote, Lync

      OneNote is actually really awesome on android and so is Lync/communicator.

      Everyone forgets Microsoft has always been developer and platform friendly just not open source.
      They used to be good at documentation at least but that's been failing as of late also.

      So glad i just signed up for my free 90 day trial of Azure today though, was about to cancel that because even as a .NET developer it wasn't appealing to me to get that locked into a way of doing things, now i get a free *nix box for a few days ;)

    2. Re:So what's new? by chrb · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Microsoft almost always supports other platforms if it has enough marketshare and if they think they can make money off it.

      Microsoft will not support other platforms if they pose a real threat to their core product of Windows+Office, but they will support other platforms if it helps to maintain the appearance of competition and hence keep antitrust regulators at bay. Having an Apple desktop taking 5% of the global market is acceptable if it means that Microsoft gets the other 95%, and when accused of having a monopoly, they can point to Apple as evidence of a competitive alternative. A duopoly with a single-digit market share competitor is better than being subject to antitrust regulators.

    3. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft almost always supports other platforms if it has enough marketshare and if they think they can make money off it.

      Like pretty much all companies.

    4. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Microsoft will not support other platforms if they pose a real threat to their core product of Windows+Office

      Who would? What sort of idiotic corporation would support their direct competitor's attempt destroy their own revenue stream?!

      but they will support other platforms if it helps to maintain the appearance of competition and hence keep antitrust regulators at bay.

      Or the more obvious reason of: They make money supporting those platforms. They are interested, like any other company, in making money so they will support any platform on which they can make money.

    5. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's not the 90s anymore, dude.

      1) This is about competing with Amazon, Google, IBM, and other 'cloud' services

      2) The desktop market and antitrust have nothing to do with this

    6. Re:So what's new? by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1

      Microsoft currently doesn't make money on anything but Windows and Office -- everything else is either runs at loss, or has so much money sunk in it while it was being developed or ran at loss, it will take significant amount of time to turn profit.

      Microsoft behavior is all about strategy now -- they want to keep their two platforms dominants and dabble into things that they think, they can have profitable in the future. But "dabble" is a key word -- Bing, Azure, their "Microsoft Nook" shit with Barnes and Noble, Windows Phone, and before that Zune, are examples of that -- all unprofitable.

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    7. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft currently doesn't make money on anything but Windows and Office -- everything else is either runs at loss, or has so much money sunk in it while it was being developed or ran at loss, it will take significant amount of time to turn profit.

      Citation? Exchange - for example - would appear to be a very profitable product, XBox has been hugely profitable for the last 5 years, products like Project, Visio, SQL Server, Visual Studio, etc all seem to be profitable. So do you have any evidence to back your assertion that they don't make any money off anything other than Windows and Office?

    8. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They've been doing that since loooong before they had any antitrust problems.

    9. Re:So what's new? by afidel · · Score: 1

      SQL server has to be a huge profit source, and system center is probably rising in revenue (if not profits due to large development costs, but it's absolutely key for MS to wrest control back from VMWare).

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    10. Re:So what's new? by chrb · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Microsoft currently doesn't make money on anything but Windows and Office -- everything else is either runs at loss, or has so much money sunk in it while it was being developed or ran at loss, it will take significant amount of time to turn profit.

      Citation? Exchange - for example - would appear to be a very profitable product, XBox has been hugely profitable for the last 5 years

      MSFT operating profit by division. Xbox comes under "Entertainment and Devices", a division that has historically been a loss leader. The vast bulk of the profit is from Windows + Office + Windows Server. Basically Microsoft's profits as a whole are largely dependent on sales of Windows and Office: profits jump 31% on strong Office sales, profits stagnate as Windows sales fall.

    11. Re:So what's new? by lipanitech · · Score: 1

      I think Microsoft is embracing linux more because of there Skype acquisition.

      --
      http://thetechnologygeek.org/
    12. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Entertainment and Devices includes a lot more than just the Xbox. You will need more detailed citations to back your claim up.

    13. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who doesn't? Companies are there for Profit, including those who create commercial products using Open Source code/os.
      I am a strong advocate for Open Source movement. However, I always find it amusing when Open Source enthusiasts curse MSFT for monopolistic practices.
      Lets just create Robust and yet User friendly OSes and Apps, and let the Free market decide who should stay and who should whither away.

    14. Re:So what's new? by arturols · · Score: 1

      Microsoft revenue by division, updated with 2010 data: http://www.tannerhelland.com/3958/microsoft-money-updated-2011/

    15. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Monopoly is just a game senator. We're trying to control the fucking world.

    16. Re:So what's new? by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1

      Revenue is not profit.

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    17. Re:So what's new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It might help if you actually used some current data: http://betanews.com/2012/01/19/microsoft-q2-2012-by-the-numbers-windows-revenue-falls-6/

  3. A good start by war4peace · · Score: 0

    I think it's a good step towards the right direction. Evil or not, Microsoft at least tilts towards being... less evil with this move. Might be too early to state that, but any nudge should be regarded with hope.

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    1. Re:A good start by uigrad_2000 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I agree that this is a positive step.

      I have nearly a religious hatred towards MS, and it has nothing to do with "Microsoft's desire for profit." I work for a company that sells software for profit, so obviously that would would be hypocritical if I felt that way.

      What I've always hated about Microsoft was their willingness to buck standards just to prevent their users from using other products along with MS products.

      This started with early versions of Windows that required you to also buy DOS. A competitor to DOS came out (Dr. DOS), and Microsoft responded by putting a check into the Windows bootstrap that would cause it to exit out with an error if Dr. DOS was detected. Any time a company goes out of their way to make their own product not operate with 3rd party software, it generates serious rage from customers like me.

      As I look back over the last few years, the last move by MS that really angered me was the whole OOXML vs Open Document war, where Microsoft refused to use the new standard, and instead made their own new standard with built in obfuscation.

      There's still a lot terrible decisions that MS makes for their customers (hiding file extensions by default in Windows, modifying extensions on files downloaded with IE without informing the user, automatically removing line breaks on messages read in Outlook without telling the user), but I've seen far less pure evil come from the giant, compared to ages past.

      --
      Free unix account: freeshell.org
    2. Re:A good start by bram · · Score: 2

      you must be new here

      --
      People using html in email should be shot.
    3. Re:A good start by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 4, Informative

      This started with early versions of Windows that required you to also buy DOS. A competitor to DOS came out (Dr. DOS), and Microsoft responded by putting a check into the Windows bootstrap that would cause it to exit out with an error if Dr. DOS was detected.

      If you're telling old war stories, at least tell them right. This particular one is known as AARD code. It was present in a beta version of Windows 3.1. Digital Research found it a month before release, and so it was disabled there.

    4. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damn, your UID is even lower than AC's !

    5. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Selling software for profit isn't enough to make even the most die-hard OSS advocate a hypocrite.

      Hypocricy is when you justify your actions but prosecute others for them. It's not enough to engage in something you see as wrong. You have to actively believe you are not in violation of your own principles.

    6. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Any time a company goes out of their way to make their own product not operate with 3rd party software, it generates serious rage from customers like me.

      Man you must fucking hate Apple then! At least MS is less anal about that sort of thing these days, Apple is still right on to artificially preventing their software from running on other hardware (be it desktop/laptops, tablets or phones) and proprietary shit like AirPlay and FaceTime (with it's Apple certificate restrictions).

    7. Re:A good start by Alex+Belits · · Score: 0

      Keep your pants on, they are running it under their shitty virtualization with Windows-bound management and infrastructure.

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    8. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft's Hypervisor and management stack are actually pretty good. Have you used them in an enterprise setting? I have. 4 years now, 0 problems.

    9. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      And always remember to include the memo from Microsoft Senior Vice President Brad Silverberg:

      "What the [user] is supposed to do is feel uncomfortable, and when he has bugs, suspect that the problem is DR-DOS and then go out to buy MS-DOS."

    10. Re:A good start by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1

      I don't run Windows (the only OS with kernel worse than hypervisor, so adding one does not hurt it) in enterprise setting.

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    11. Re:A good start by turbidostato · · Score: 1

      "I think it's a good step towards the right direction. Evil or not, Microsoft at least tilts towards being... less evil with this move."

      You think so.

      Microsoft knows it has a hard time with Azure being a Microsoft-only platform. Linux is now considered a valid choice at least server-side so a number of companies, even if going with Microsoft servers, would reject Azure in the basis of "what if we want to go the Linux path tomorrow?" when other "cloud" companies are offering support for both platforms.

      But "less evil?" I don't think it's just a coincidence that the supported Linux distritutions seems all to be corporate-backed ones: Microsoft knows how to deal with (or against) companies, so for them, supporting something coming from, i.e. Red Hat is one thing, supporting Debian, something completly different.

    12. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't run Windows (the only OS with kernel worse than hypervisor, so adding one does not hurt it) in enterprise setting.

      So your comment is based on no actual experience...though given the characterization of it as "shitty" instead of presenting any actual factual details that shouldn't have really been surprising.

    13. Re:A good start by clarkn0va · · Score: 0

      Yup. It's why (in my estimation) MS Office has always run poorly on Macs (worse even than it does on Windows)*, and why I have no doubt that Linux will run poorly on Azure. *to be fair, I've also heard that itunes and Safari run poorly on Windows. It's fairly basic psychology that any user who is accustomed to seeing an app run well on its native platform, then poorly on a less familiar platform, will tend to blame the novel platform.

      --
      I am literally 3000 tokens away from the chaotic crossbow --Stephen
    14. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I'll comment on the OOXML vs Open Document "war". Speaking from my perspective as a former developer in the Microsoft Office team, the choice to develop OOXML wasn't about "refusing to use a new standard". It was a choice about features -- regardless of if the file formats were zipped XML or HTML with embedded other standard or non-standard things or binary blobs encoded in some hard to implement and test scheme, the ultimate choice for the file format came down to a million small choices about how to represent objects, and how to document those choices, and how to enable future extensions to those choices that we then got to implement in a time constrained manner over the course of about 2 release cycles (Office 2007 and Office 2010). Bear in mind that there were millions of lines of code that had to keep working and that internal document structures had to preserve as much of the crazy edge cases built up by billions or trillions of customer documents over decades.

      That and Office designers and program managers wanted to add lots of crazy new features that had to be expressed and change structures which once were hard coded constant values in the code into user-changeable entities in the files, perhaps even add user interface elements to the surface exposing these properties in one or two more releases. If Office had chosen to adopt the Open Document format, instead of 6000 pages of OOXML standard, we'd have 7000 pages of extensions to ODF documenting how Office 2007 and then Office 2010 and then Office 2013 decided to implement hacks on top of hacks to a 3rd party standard.

      But the real answer is that it's easier (and thus cheaper) to design something from scratch, implement it (with whatever bugs), and document that during the process than it is to start with someone else's format, and try to morph it into a workable solution.

    15. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, everyone I know blames Apple for the abortion that is iTunes on Windows. And nobody uses Safari.

    16. Re:A good start by devent · · Score: 2

      Just theoretical, Microsoft could just say it supports Linux distributions in Azure, but they will run 10% slower then any Windows Server, and are more difficult to configure. I don't think they will be that stupid anyway. Linux is demanded from their customers, and if it runs bad on their Azure it will be big news.

      --
      http://www.mueller-public.de - My site http://www.anr-institute.com/ - Advanced Natural Research Institute
    17. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Cool, then it shouldn't have been forced as an ISO standard.

    18. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But, sadly, it should, when your competition is forcing governments around the world to legally mandate that public documents only be stored in a ISO standard format. It would be unfair and, frankly, insane to legally ban the most widely used document formats. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed.

    19. Re:A good start by uigrad_2000 · · Score: 1

      Apple is still right on to artificially preventing their software from running on other hardware (be it desktop/laptops, tablets or phones)

      I'm no Apple advocate, but I have to say this is quite different. Their newest OS revision (Mountain Lion) costs $29.99, compared to Windows 7 Ultimate at $320 (plus $15 for the backup CD). It should be completely obvious to everyone that the bulk of the cost of Apple's OS is absorbed into the hardware cost. Using quality software to sell your hardware and vice-versa is actually a legitimate model, in my opinion.

      and proprietary shit like AirPlay and FaceTime (with it's Apple certificate restrictions).

      Not being an Apple fanboy, I've never used either of these, and I don't really know full story on them (but I'd like to!). I do know that I have multiple streaming apps on my iPhone. Slacker Radio is the one I use the most.

      My complaints with Apple (speaking as an iOS device customer) is their lack of support of open document formats (my phone handles Excel files, but not any OpenDocument format!!), and the rules against any sandbox-in-a-sandbox apps (such as a flash viewer).

      --
      Free unix account: freeshell.org
    20. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would be cooler if companies didn't release bloated software, but I discovered last week that running from an SSD makes all my poor-performing software fly, including MS Office on PC. Poorly written software is reading too much from the hard drive as you work.

      It's a patch more than a real fix of the underlying problem, but it has increased my productivity and reduced frustration for less than $200.

    21. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not sure about the Office thing. MS Word was originally written for Macs, the Windows version came later.

    22. Re:A good start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Color me shocked, a neckbeard knocking Windows who has no idea what he's talking about. Amazing!

    23. Re:A good start by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1

      I don't have experience running anything important on Windows.
      Fortunately I see enough of examples of this around, without having to make all mistakes by myself.

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
  4. It's nothing personal, Linux by catmistake · · Score: 1

    Microsoft doesn't care about loyalty, to customers, to vendors, to themselves, or even their own products. They simply care about profit.

    --
    The Admin and the Engineer
    1. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by Microlith · · Score: 2

      Microsoft cares about loyalty to their own products. They will never exclude them, and will always give them an advantage. But they will support things if they are forced to by the market, which is damn near miraculous given how hard Microsoft has tried (and is trying) to destroy them.

    2. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by DaHat · · Score: 1

      They have excluded their own proprietary enterprise solutions in favor of Linux.

      Citation please.

      I stand by my claim, and have sufficiently countered your own.

      Stand by what? You've made claims, but not supported them in any way, other than with more seemingly baseless claims!

      --
      Help Brendan pay off his student loans
    3. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Microsoft cares about loyalty to their own products. They will never exclude them, and will always give them an advantage.

      Not really, perfect example is Photosynth wrt Windows Phone, or on{x} on Android.

    4. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      You're either a fucking idiot or you're doing some sort of "I'm going to look like a moron in order to troll you" deal.

      The article is about Microsoft offering to run Linux distros on Azure, not Microsoft stripping away all of their production servers and reinstalling their Azure stack on SLES servers with Xen. Microlith is absolutely correct when he says that while Microsoft will primary protect and care their own products, they might also support things you would not expect (Linux) when it is beneficial to them in a way (their cloud service being interesting for Linux users).

    5. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by catmistake · · Score: 5, Funny

      They have excluded their own proprietary enterprise solutions in favor of Linux.

      Citation please.

      it was a little tough to find this, but here ya go:
      Microsoft To Run Linux On Azure

      --
      The Admin and the Engineer
    6. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by DaHat · · Score: 1

      Thank you for proving what a moron you are... or as you said:

      It is not interesting that you didn't read the article, nor that you failed to read the summary.

      The article in no way says that Microsoft will be ripping out Windows Servers and replacing them with Linux boxes... it says that they will be making Linux VMs available to customers who want to run their apps on top of them... which is perfectly in line with IaaS push we are seeing from multiple cloud providers.

      --
      Help Brendan pay off his student loans
    7. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by catmistake · · Score: 1

      Thank you for proving what a moron you are...

      Very well argued, sir. Particularly, I appreciate the ad hominem. It really gives meat to your argument.

      --
      The Admin and the Engineer
    8. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I appreciate the fallacy fallacy, since he is still correct and you are still an hypocrite who cannot read.

    9. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by catmistake · · Score: 1

      ...and you are still an hypocrite who cannot read.

      It seems ad hominem is gaining ever more popularity amongst technolgy insiders.

      --
      The Admin and the Engineer
    10. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by catmistake · · Score: 1

      But allow me to put to rest any doubt that Microsoft is using linux on the bare iron to create the Azure platform, with citations and all:

      Windows Azure has been described as a "cloud layer" on top of a number of Windows Server systems, which use Windows Server 2008 and a customized version of Hyper-V, known as the Windows Azure Hypervisor to provide virtualization of services.

      There is no hypervisor that exists that doesn't use a linux kernel. Azure is Linux. kthxbai.

      --
      The Admin and the Engineer
    11. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by catmistake · · Score: 1

      Allow me to put to rest any doubt that Microsoft is using linux on the bare iron to create the Azure platform, with citations and all:

      Windows Azure has been described as a "cloud layer" on top of a number of Windows Server systems, which use Windows Server 2008 and a customized version of Hyper-V, known as the Windows Azure Hypervisor to provide virtualization of services.

      There is no hypervisor that exists that doesn't use a linux kernel. Azure is linux. kthxbai.

      --
      The Admin and the Engineer
    12. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's more of a fact / comment than an ad hominem 'attack'. You tell people they do not read but you have not done the same. You're an hypocrite. Reading the article you comment about would make you understand that you are wrong. Your reading skills are impaired. Quit trolling or being dense on purpose.

    13. Re:It's nothing personal, Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ok, going back to this it's obvious you were really trolling. Thanks for the confirmation.

  5. What's next? by QuebecNerd · · Score: 2

    As a 'distributor' of Linux services will they be suing themselves for all the 'blatant' patent infringement that Linux is doing or just trap the end users with those patent fees?

    1. Re:What's next? by DragonWriter · · Score: 2

      As a 'distributor' of Linux services will they be suing themselves for all the 'blatant' patent infringement that Linux is doing or just trap the end users with those patent fees?

      No, Microsoft won't sue themselves, because they have a right to exercise their own patents. Microsoft has nothing against people paying Microsoft in order to use Linux, whether its because the direct user is paying for Azure, or because someone in the distribution chain is paying Microsoft a patent licensing fee.

      What Microsoft objects to is people using Linux without paying Microsoft.

    2. Re:What's next? by a_n_d_e_r_s · · Score: 0

      No what microsoft is objecting to is poeple using software without paying them.

      Does not matter which software.

      --
      Just saying it like it are.
    3. Re:What's next? by QuebecNerd · · Score: 1

      They have a history of double dipping so why the hell not?

      Surely, at some point, it will become inconceivable that they earn more money from AWS or other cloud users patent fees than from their own cloud clients. They're extracting money from Android manufacturers. They know all too well how and where to piggy back themselves onto others along the food chain... Parasites...

    4. Re:What's next? by Psicopatico · · Score: 1

      What Microsoft objects to is people using Linux without paying Microsoft.

      So why is it not ok when I object paying Microsoft while *not* using its products?

      You know, all of my three laptops came with Windows installed bundled with the hardware, and I paid for it.
      Each one of them, once delivered to my home, didn't even booted it as it was wiped and a flavor of Linux has been installed.
      That still makes me go mad.

      --
      Mastering the English language is fucking easy: all you have to do is to put an f* word in every fucking sentence.
    5. Re:What's next? by reub2000 · · Score: 1

      Payment is something you give to someone that provided you with something. The word you are looking for is protection money.

    6. Re:What's next? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      They are not distributing Linux services. They have released some driver code that is now in the Linux kernel. They are renting VM space to customers. Customers may choose to install Windows, Linux, or something else in those VMs (Microsoft, NetApp an Citrix just added Hyper-V support to FreeBSD and are in the process of pushing that code upstream, so that's about to become a third choice), but it's the customer's liability if it's something that infringes patents. There is a good chance, however, that Microsoft customers will get some kind of indemnity for infringing Microsoft patents while using a Microsoft service...

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  6. Wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    until Linux is eating into their desktop business and then see them launch the Patent ICBMs. Canonical better buy some kinetic kill vehicles...

    1. Re:Wait... by exomondo · · Score: 2

      until Linux is eating into their desktop business and then see them launch the Patent ICBMs. Canonical better buy some kinetic kill vehicles...

      Haha, it's been a while since i've seen a 'Year of the Linux Desktop is coming!' advocate :)

  7. How much are we charging? by aybiss · · Score: 1

    I hope someone is charging them an absolute pantload of money and giving them absolutely no support options whatsoever.

    --
    It's OK Bender, there's no such thing as 2.
    1. Re:How much are we charging? by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 2

      It's Linux. The second part is included with the install.

      --

      ---
      ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
    2. Re:How much are we charging? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Not in this case, apparently. TFA:

      Open-source support company OpenLogic is providing CentOS for the Azure portal. CentOS is a clone of the enterprise-focused Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution. (Red Hat did not respond to queries to comment on the Azure announcement.) OpenLogic has provided commercial support for CentOS since 2009, along with 600 other open-source programs. For Microsoft, OpenLogic will support all the running instances of CentOS, which includes providing Azure with the latest version of CentOS. Users will be able to update their CentOS virtual machines from a repository of patches that OpenLogic will maintain on Azure. Microsoft has contracted OpenLogic to provide support, initially, for a set monthly fee, said Steve Grandchamp, CEO of OpenLogic.

  8. Dear Micro$hit, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Take your azure'ldo and plug it on your bug'd backdoor.

    Regards,
    Not a single fuck given...

  9. But will it run by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Xenix?

    1. Re:But will it run by Caesar+Tjalbo · · Score: 1

      It's rebranded, it's now called "Azux".

      --
      "I'm not much interested in interoperability. I want substitutability. I want to be able to throw your software out."
  10. I'm apparently out of date: by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Informative

    My understanding, back when MS first started talking about the whole 'Azure' thing, was that they were trying to distinguish themselves from Amazon(and others) 'just a bunch of VMs, but easy to buy/release programmatically' product in favor of some sort of more abstracted 'platform' that would hide both the hardware details and the OS guts, in favor of an environment that mostly resembled an application's-eye-view of Windows; but without the Windows administration, along with some similarly abstracted SQL and web-hosting things. It was always presumed that it wouldn't exactly be running on Linux; but that it didn't 'run Windows' in the sense of any 'Windows' SKU that Joe Customer could buy a box of and plunk onto a server at the office...

    Was offering just-plain-boring offsite VMs always part of the plan? Did they discover somewhere partway through the execution phase that their pure-cloud application environment just wasn't quite Windows enough for their customers? Are the plain-VM offerings an integral part of the somewhat confusing alphabet soup of 'azure services', or is this a checkbox-filling thing that was tacked on because somebody wanted it and the internal cost of hyper-v licenses is small?

    1. Re:I'm apparently out of date: by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 4, Informative

      I don't know what the original plan was, but today Azure covers both ends of the spectrum. If you want, you can treat it as an abstract black box, deploying websites or services without caring what the underlying OS is and how it runs - all you know that it runs .NET and native Win32 binaries. Ditto for SQL Azure and other services.

      On the other end, VMs have already been available for a while, and you could even upload your own VHDs there and mount them. I don't recall when that was added, but certainly not from the very beginning.

      The original black box is not so black anymore, either. For example, you can use RDP to connect to your web and worker instances, to e.g. debug things there. In practice, it turns out that it was "Windows enough" all along, it just wasn't revealed entirely. On other fronts, it lets you e.g. configure PHP to run as an ISAPI module or via FastCGI, which exposes the fact that its IIS.

      As to why, well... I guess some people want more control and VMs with RDP (and now Linux, too), while others are perfectly happy with not bothering at all and just clicking "Deploy" for their package in the admin interface. If you can convince both of those to give you money, why not? Especially if you're heavily competing against two other cloud service providers, one of which pretty much dominates the market.

    2. Re:I'm apparently out of date: by Junta · · Score: 1

      Regardless of initial intent (I seem to vaguely remember the same message being relayed by people *swearing* azure was going to render other platforms irrelevant), they probably see EC2 continuing on without popularity abating. MS realized they aren't fundamentally changing the game so they want to try to beat EC2 at their own game. Probably a whole lot of practical realization that while in theory a platform that magically has 'no OS' is actually going to be harder to debug/service than they expected....

      --
      XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  11. The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ah, I haven't had a good ROTFL in a long time. Some time in the '90s I guess. Thanks.

    Wait until ... Linux is eating into their desktop business...

    Yes, and that will be two days after pigs grow wings and fly.

    PS, I love Linux as a server, and it runs my Rails stuff very well, but "Linux on the Desktop"? Seriously? Does anyone believe in that anymore?

    Microsoft makes big bucks from their server stuff. Really big money. Linux on the server is more of a threat to MS than is (an extremely theoretical) Linux on the desktop. Still they do it in Azure. Looks like you just proved that you are a clueless git (no, not the distributed kind that Torvalds did).

    1. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by cpu6502 · · Score: 2

      No but I still point people to ubuntu.com and say, "Here have some free software." Maybe they'll try it and like it.

      --
      My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    2. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by griffjon · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't count it out yet. Ubuntu+Unity is one damned slick OS. Now, will it overtake windows? Not in the near future, to be sure, but I definitely see the role for Linux on tablets and netbooks as primed and ready. Unity is clearly structured for a touch+voice interface.

      --
      Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer
    3. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by lgw · · Score: 1

      PS, I love Linux as a server, and it runs my Rails stuff very well, but "Linux on the Desktop"? Seriously? Does anyone believe in that anymore?

      If by "desktop" you mean "tablet, phone, or thin client with a real keyboard and monitor attached" then, yes. I expect Android to be a serious threat to Microsoft's "desktop" business once people realize that simply plugging in their existing KVM into the existing USB/HDMI ports on a typical andriod phone already have meets all the non-geek's computing needs. (And on the corporate desktop, thin client + desktop virtualization serves the need, though Microsoft still gets a Win7 licence fee there, so that will keep them going).

      Microsoft could dominate this new market if they took advantage of the fact the the new Windows phone, Win8, and (from what we hear) Xbox720 all run the same kernel and could in theory be a common platform, but they instead seem determined to segment those markets. I can remember when a suite of second-rate products that all worked together nicely was all Microsoft needed to dominate, but I guess those days have passed.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    4. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by aztracker1 · · Score: 2

      Actually, using C# (.Net) you can share a lot of the same codebase for all of the above platforms. There are some UI differences, but most of the underlying libraries/code is the same.

      --
      Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
    5. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by turbidostato · · Score: 1, Interesting

      "PS, I love Linux as a server, and it runs my Rails stuff very well, but "Linux on the Desktop"? Seriously? Does anyone believe in that anymore?"

      Well, since 2000 I've been working for four companies; all of them supported linux as their main desktop OS, so go figure.

    6. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by starfishsystems · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Linux works fine for me as a desktop environment. I've used it in my consulting business for 14 years now, and worked at several places recently where it was the favored desktop among the technical staff.

      Conversely, every time I have worked at a place where Windows was the standard desktop, it's been some ponderous old enterprise or government site, in other words a technical backwater.

      --
      Parity: What to do when the weekend comes.
    7. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Interesting

      PS, I love Linux as a server, and it runs my Rails stuff very well, but "Linux on the Desktop"? Seriously? Does anyone believe in that anymore?

      Yes. It's called Android. More nettop devices are coming with it. Via is about to kick out a $49 all-in-one motherboard that comes with it and should offer acceptable web browsing performance (with Opera Mobile) and media playing performance, and Angry Birds, so it should succeed. There's a number of $99 boxes which are pretty credible and turnkey... And you can treat it like ordinary Linux if you choose. The current economic situation is leading more and more people to look at inexpensive "alternatives" so... yes, Linux on the desktop is real. It's just going to be Android.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by livingboy · · Score: 1

      Linux has been my main desktop OS since 2001 and after last December it has been my only desktop OS.

      Of course there has been some tough times, especially when KDE broke badly and I had to use GNOME.

      Three main reasons for my Linux use are cost, virtual desktops, ease of configuration.

      Cost has been main factor as I don't have money to get the latest hardware every year, so my newest machine is currently five years old. Also the cost of software and license terms are much more suitable for me.

      Virtual desktops are major productivity factor, I used to have GIMP, Kate and Firefox open in separate desktops when doing website designs. For last study project I had Okular, GIMP and LibreOffice Impress open.

      Ease of configuration comes from the fact that configurations are simple text files and how I/O is handled on Linux.

      Of course you are right, Linux is not really eating MS desktop business, but there are cases when it is better solution for user needs.

      I have currently two desktops and two laptops running OpenSuse 12.1, one desktop running Mageia 2. Hardware is quite aged, newest is about five years old and oldest about eight years old.

      So for me Linux on the desktop has not been extremely theoretical, instead it has been cost effective solution for my desktop OS needs.

    9. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It has nothing to do with believing.

      In my line of work (bioinformatics), it is pretty prevalent. In my own department, say 20-30% (Mac OSX % are similar). Most students dual-boot because they want to use the toy-OS' games in the evening.

      In my 3 years here I have not found a compelling need to use MS even once. When I have to work with ridiculously layouted docs (that even fail in Office for Mac) sent by dumb admin people (who probably employ a whole array of dumb people to come up with such layouts), I just forward it to our local administration to have them fill it in for me.

      The world would be so much nicer if we just collectively threw that stuff out of the door. Nothing of value would be lost.

    10. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Linux has been my main desktop OS since 2001

      Here is the fact about the Linux desktop. It sucks. It has always sucked, and it is never going to stop sucking. When running Eclipse and other applications, it is completely random if Copy/Paste between the apps works or not. Still. In 2012. As an example.

      The average user (and you are surely not one of them) has serious problems navigating a WIndows or a Mac desktop. Linux is about two orders of magnitude harder. "Linux on the desktop" is not "Linux on the desktop for a tiny minority of expert users and some vertical appliances", it is "Linux on the desktop for the masses". The latter is never going to happen. Not as long as the GUI teams for Linux are utterly out of touch with what the typical PC user needs. One of the most important things they need to have removed is configurability and flexibility.

    11. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Yes. It's called Android

      It is? I thought Android was a phone, not a desktop computer. Oh, well, perhaps I was wrong. Android on anything but a phone is pie-in-the-sky dreaming. Wake me up when it actually exists. Outside of specialty shops.

    12. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Well, since 2000 I've been working for four companies; all of them supported linux as their main desktop OS, so go figure

      No need to go figure anything at all. You are seeking out Linux companies. They are a tiny minority of companies. The only percentage lower than companies running Linux as their main desktop is the number of home users who do so. This is not counting vertical appliances of which there are quite a few, but that is not the same as "Linux on the desktop(TM)"

    13. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Conversely, every time I have worked at a place where Windows was the standard desktop, it's been some ponderous old enterprise or government site

      You should drop the religion, stop the cool-aid abuse and take a trip to the real world some time.

    14. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol, get a load of this guy.

    15. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by Quantum+gravity · · Score: 1

      PS, I love Linux as a server, and it runs my Rails stuff very well, but "Linux on the Desktop"? Seriously? Does anyone believe in that anymore?

      Sure, why not? I even converted my mother's desktop to Linux. Work great! I would even say that it works better than Windows for her.

    16. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's funny, me too, the last two companies I worked at I have Linux desktops, and most of management has moved to Macs.... Basically, other than a few Macs running Windows for a couple business apps they are MS free.

      I've heard of a few other companies around us that don't even give desktops to their sales and most of their support staff anymore, they are given Android tablets or iPad's and a USB Keyboard. Makes sense when you consider all they use are web based tools anyways.

    17. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must be hanging around with some very slow people or something...

      My whole family has been using Linux (Ubuntu) on their desktops for a few years now (wife and three kids) and my parents are going to change over soon too.

      I don't upgrade/change their software unless the hardware dies. They use Wine for some windows games (now, they are not running the latest games, but that is what the Consoles are for), but use it for web, writing, reading, playing online games, and watching their tv shows (pokemon, grimolties, whatever buzz is next) online.

      They each have a $200 netbook (1.6ghz, 512Meg, 8gig HD) and a large monitor for their desks; they unplug them and bring them to the living room when they have questions or want to watch tv and play at the same time. The updates happen automatically but I do check them once every couple months to make sure everything is fine; otherwise, I don't touch them. Everything WORKS, I have three network printers (kids use a lot of paper these days for school) and all work (1 b/w laser, 1 colour laser, and 1 fax/scanner/printer), and two kids have their own USB HP printers on their desks for when they want to print something quickly -- again, all setup was quick and easy and BEST of all, once I do the setup I never have to touch it again! -- well, until the hardware dies, so far I've lost 2 netbooks do to hardware failures in the past 5 years. Not bad when you think about it for the cost, space, and convenience for the family.

      Those laptops all came with Windows installed, the kids were given it to play with to see how they liked it, of course, it was WAY to slow, watching videos was impossible and truthfully, every few days I had to look at something or fix something for them. Now, I haven't bought one with Windows 7 on it yet, so maybe that will make a difference, but I'm at the point now where I just don't care, this works and it works perfectly for them and doesn't waste my time - and that is the key point right there. :)

      And if the tablets keep going the way they are (better quality and price) then I could easily see their next computer being an Android tablet with a USB keyboard and HDMI-to-DVI converter (I have this setup right now and have to admit it is not bad to use, not great, but definitely getting close to the point where I could consider using it for direct development).

      But, truthfully, use what you like, but I wouldn't be dismissing Linux/Android/Mac without giving it a really good run at using it productively.

    18. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Wake me up when it actually exists.

      Wake up, you sarcastic bastard.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    19. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

      Actually, using C# (.Net) you can share a lot of the same codebase for all of the above platforms. There are some UI differences, but most of the underlying libraries/code is the same.

      Interesting... That's EXACTLY the same thing I said about using GCC instead of MS VC. C FTW!

    20. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      The average user (and you are surely not one of them) has serious problems navigating a WIndows or a Mac desktop. Linux is about two orders of magnitude harder. "Linux on the desktop" is not "Linux on the desktop for a tiny minority of expert users and some vertical appliances", it is "Linux on the desktop for the masses". The latter is never going to happen. Not as long as the GUI teams for Linux are utterly out of touch with what the typical PC user needs.

      That's odd, whenever a normal brings me a Windows box that's so full of malware it won't boot, I always install Linux+KDE, not one of them has complained about it. I haven't seen the problems you attribute to Linux and I've been using it since 2002.

      Of course, I do it for free, if you're making good money servicing Windows I can see why you'd love it. A normal user can't keep Windows going for a year. If I was making money servicing Windows machines I'd sing Windows' praises, too.

      The reason Linux hasn't taken off is because nobody but us have ever heard of it. I can't count the times I've had a notebook somewhere in public and someone sees it and asks "which version of Windows is that?" Every normal I've know who I installed Linux for has loved it.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
    21. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Sigh. The first part of assumption is ass and you clearly are one.

      Since 1997 I have mostly made my living putting together Java software where the test and build system ran on Linux, where Solaris was the main deployment platform until about 2008, when other platforms became about as important, but zero Windows installations. Our developers used either Linux or Windows boxes, their choice. In 2009 I got involved with another company where most of my work was on JBoss on Linux, Oracle on IBM and some Windows integration. I like quite a bit of the stuff Microsoft does at the moment, and on a number of technologies they are a significant improvement over all competition. The phone is one, some of the server stuff is another. Windows server 2012, for example, is (going to be when it is released), a huge step forward for almost all system admins, and decades ahead of Linux for enterprises.

      If you can't get Windows configured to keep going for more than a year, then you are computer illiterate. As with most computer geeks I am the "sysadmin" of my extended family. They never have virii. It isn't that bloody hard to make sure they are not Administrators. You just have to make sure you have remote access to their PC so you can manage it.

      The reason Linux hasn't taken off is because nobody but us have ever heard of it.

      Balderdash. The reasons Linux hasn't taken off are many. For one, there is no major company pushing it for the desktop. Another is that the Linux desktop is a horrible mess and far too configuration friendly for normal usage by "normal" users. A very important one is that there are no apps for Linux. There is no equivalent to Lightroom, there is no equivalent to Photoshop (please, please do not say "Gimp"). There is no video editing software for Linux. There is no integration between apps. There is no serious contender to Office. Really. I mean it. Even with the hated ribbon MS Office beats any free alternative.

      Every normal I've know who I installed Linux for has loved it

      Someone who only uses it to browse the web then I guess.

    22. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Funny. Do you have any other amusing stories to tell? "Outside of specialty shops"

    23. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Oh, and sorry, I forgot to mention it. My main project at the moment is putting in place a new testing platform for a very large (under constant development for the past 25 years) PL/SQL solution running on IBM iron. The testing platform will most likely be based on RSpec and Cucumber. Try to guess what platforms they will be running on.

      Religious sixteen year olds like you really need some more time in the real world.

    24. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by someSnarkyBastard · · Score: 1

      Agreed, and the real interesting stuff is still to come. With everyone moving to ARM powered mobile devices one of the largest strengths of the Windows OS family goes out the window, namely 30 years worth of legacy apps. There is no way that all those old business apps coded for x86 WinNT 4.0 and Win95 will be ported over to ARM. Microsoft would have to create an x86 emulator/VM that somehow manages to cover all the weird corner cases and still remain light and efficient enough to run on a tablet.

    25. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      You can order an Android nettop any day of the week, and probably get it within a week, too. If you're using retail as your yardstick, you might as well lay down and die with all the other fossils. I think there's some room there next to that brachiosaur.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    26. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by turbidostato · · Score: 1

      "No need to go figure anything at all. You are seeking out Linux companies."

      The first one was a subsidiary of a commercial bank using Red Hat. The second, yes, it was a company centered around supporting Linux and using, well, a bit of everything. The third one was a Java dev mill using Ubuntu. The forth one, an ISP offering IaaS solutions using Debian.

      So, again, go figure.

    27. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by graphius · · Score: 1

      I could add the "Fitness World" chain. They run KDE on the desktop, not sure what distro though...
      They are not a big multi-national, but I know they have quite a few outlets, at least on the west coast of BC

    28. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by graphius · · Score: 1

      Last year I was managing a big box store (Until Office Depot pulled out of Canada) and I was surprised at the number of people who had at least heard of Linux (more specifically Ubuntu) I think Linux is getting more mainstream than many people realize. It still is a way behind Apple, but I remember a few years ago when Apple was considered a dead end, and it would never gain market share beyond artists and designers.
      Microsoft may not be quaking in their boots, but they are well aware of Linux.

    29. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      As I was saying, you are seeking out typical Linux-based companies.

    30. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Yes, you can order an Android box any time you want to. My point is: Nobody does.

    31. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by starfishsystems · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'm just providing a factual data point based on fairly extensive experience. If that doesn't happen to support your confirmation bias, you should probably regard that as your problem, not mine.

      --
      Parity: What to do when the weekend comes.
    32. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'm just providing a factual data point based on fairly extensive experience

      Actually, you are not. Your sample is extremely biased, and as a base for discussion utterly worthless. If you are a computer geek you should have taken a class on statistics, and in that class you would have learned that your statement above is utter nonsense.

      Linux browser usage has been flat at about 4-5% for the past 3-5 years. Most people who use a desktop OS will use it to browse. Some admins out there, hopefully not too many though, will also browse from their Linux-.based app servers. This means that the market share for Linux on the desktop is 5% at the very best. Probably a tad lower. Given your opinions on this, the only confirmation bias seen here is yours.

      We do know that Linux has a high usage factor among geeks, and a corresponding low usage factor in "the real world". So, this pushes the "Linux on the Desktop in the Real World" number even lower. Probably well below 4%, quite likely below 3% as well. In other words. That is just a "margin of error" from non existant.

    33. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, you're just throwing anecdotes at anecdotes. Neither represent nothing more than confirmation bias.

    34. Re:The LOL of the day, actually, a ROTFL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A few years ago I probably would have agreed with you. But unless you haven't been living in a cave the last few years, there's no way of denying that Linux as a desktop competitor is a reality.

  12. In other news.... by hguorbray · · Score: 1

    frozen confectioneries sighted in the Netherworld

    -I'm just sayin'

  13. This affects my vacation plans by claytongulick · · Score: 4, Funny

    I was planning to book a skiing vacation in Colorado, but it looks at if all the sweet powder will be on the mountains in hell.

    --
    Drinking habits can be dangerous. You can choke on the cloth and the nuns will wonder where their clothes are.
    1. Re:This affects my vacation plans by digitig · · Score: 2

      Don't worry. The version Microsoft supports will be an "improved" one that is subtly incompatible with "traditional" Linux services.

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
    2. Re:This affects my vacation plans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Otherwise known as Ubuntu

  14. Charon by Saija · · Score: 3, Informative

    I heard this Charon guy it's having problems with the freeze of the styx river

    --
    Slashdot ya no es que lo era! ;)
  15. going live at 4am.... by Cyko_01 · · Score: 1

    after which it is expected to spontaneously burst into flames

  16. Are you sure? by symbolset · · Score: 4, Funny

    With so many different Linux distributions, how are you so sure one isn't named Azure?

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
    1. Re:Are you sure? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.linux-azur.org/

    2. Re:Are you sure? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      With so many different Linux distributions, how are you so sure one isn't named Azure?

      Now that Microsoft owns the trademark to the word "Azure", you can be pretty sure that if there is a distro with that name, it won't have it for much longer.

      They'll be forced to rename themselves "Lazure" or something.

  17. Shameless Plug - DevOps by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 1

    If you're into devops, the company I work for has today released a knife client plugin for compatibility with Azure, allowing you to spin up and manage Azure instances easily from the command line. And of course knife can bootstrap Chef onto any of the announced Azure OSs. I'll let the press release provide details, because it does a better job of it than I will ;)

    http://www.opscode.com/press-releases/opscode-announces-interoperability-with-windows-azure/

  18. Of course... by nashv · · Score: 1

    If you can't beat 'em, find a way to make money while you join 'em.

    Well played, Microsoft, well played.

    --
    Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.
  19. The Sixth Seal is open! Judgment draws nigh! by symbolset · · Score: 1

    Repent, ye sinners, as this is certain sign that the End of Days is upon us.

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
  20. Typo by Lord+Byron+Eee+PC · · Score: 1

    OpenSUSE 12.01 doesn't exist, but 12.1 is the current version, so that's probably what was meant in the summary.

  21. Isn't it Reassuring to Know ... by srobert · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... that Microsoft is now embracing Linux and will be extending its capabilities?

    1. Re:Isn't it Reassuring to Know ... by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 3, Informative

      To extinguish that joke before it goes any further, MS was one of the biggest single contributors to the Linux kernel for a little while because they were adding Hyper-V compatibility stuff. So they've been embracing and extending it for some time now.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    2. Re:Isn't it Reassuring to Know ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess we just found out why they've been contributing to Linux.

      I honestly haven't kept up with Azure but I assume it is partly based on Hyper-V.

    3. Re:Isn't it Reassuring to Know ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MS was one of the biggest single contributors to the Linux kernel for a little while because they were adding Hyper-V compatibility stuff.

      i thought that was primarily because their patches were several small patches which were all pretty crappy

    4. Re:Isn't it Reassuring to Know ... by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 1

      Yes, well. No metric is both convenient and perfect.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
  22. Bug fix or change request by realitycheckplease · · Score: 1

    Go back to the original spec. If it's not working per the spec, that's a bug, fix it free. If they want a change to something that is working per the spec, that's a chargeable change.

    1. Re:Bug fix or change request by realitycheckplease · · Score: 1

      bah, commented to totally the wrong thread. I am a noob!

    2. Re:Bug fix or change request by mister_playboy · · Score: 1

      That's what you get for using a blasphemous browser with multiple tabs!

      http://saveie6.com/

      --
      Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will
  23. Oh, irony. by boorack · · Score: 0

    Red Hat apparently not supported. Yet CentOS is. And lots of others. The biggest and most important one omitted for some reason. Me thinks it smells like divide & conquer. Anybody (still) believes in M$ intentions ? "Honest Microsoft" ? Isn't it an oxymoron ?

    1. Re:Oh, irony. by jo_ham · · Score: 1

      Maybe Red Hat declined to participate?

      Isn't that the point of CentOS in the first place?

    2. Re:Oh, irony. by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      It's "supported" as in "official support".

      Open-source support company OpenLogic is providing CentOS for the Azure portal. CentOS is a clone of the enterprise-focused Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution. (Red Hat did not respond to queries to comment on the Azure announcement.) OpenLogic has provided commercial support for CentOS since 2009, along with 600 other open-source programs. For Microsoft, OpenLogic will support all the running instances of CentOS, which includes providing Azure with the latest version of CentOS. Users will be able to update their CentOS virtual machines from a repository of patches that OpenLogic will maintain on Azure. Microsoft has contracted OpenLogic to provide support, initially, for a set monthly fee, said Steve Grandchamp, CEO of OpenLogic.

      Otherwise you can run whatever the hell you want there:

      In addition to the virtual machine images of selected distributions, users will be able to import their own Linux builds through Microsoft's Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) capability, according to the announcement posted by Microsoft.

      I guess the reason why it's CentOS + paid support rather than RedHat is either because it's cheaper, or because MS doesn't want to give money to one of their major competitors in server space, or likely both.

    3. Re:Oh, irony. by CajunArson · · Score: 2

      So basically when people come on here and loudly brag about how they use Centos and never pay Redhat for support that's uber-cool sticking it to the man because Redhat is evil (for some undefined reason while we blindly worship Ubuntu).

      However, when "evil" "M$" does the same thing it just proves they are sub-human 1%er scum (because George Soros told me to say that since he is betting against them in the derivatives market and George Soros is just a humble grass-roots community organizer).

      Gotcha: No matter what M$ does is evil becuase you feel like it and the facts don't matter. Have you considered working for Assad to spread propaganda about the Syrian people?

      --
      AntiFA: An abbreviation for Anti First Amendment.
    4. Re:Oh, irony. by boorack · · Score: 1

      Actually I'm using CentOS at some deployments and Red Hat at others. Some customers require official paid support and I don't mind recommend them paying Red Hat for this - they tend to use this money to develop better products and do release source code for most of them. Contrast this with M$ where money you pay is often used to pay off patent lawyers running their shakeout operations, BSA etc.

      What I'm trying to say is that there is a significant omision in their support matrix and this is clearly political decision.

    5. Re:Oh, irony. by Kidbro · · Score: 1

      Gotcha: No matter what M$ does is evil becuase you feel like it and the facts don't matter. Have you considered working for Assad to spread propaganda about the Syrian people?

      No matter what Microsoft does is evil because, frankly, that's the historical record. Fool me once, and all that. When Microsoft has spent as long behaving well as they did behaving evil I'll give them the benefit of doubt. Right now, they still have two decades (give or take) of repentance left.

      Thanks for bringing Assad into this. I wouldn't trust him either, even if I see him handing out free toys to kids for a few days. Would you stand there spouting some "Whatever he does, you'll call him evil!" bullshit while I back away from him and suggest that you might want to check the toys for bombs.

      --
      May we live long and die out
    6. Re:Oh, irony. by unixisc · · Score: 1

      How does that make sense? Had Microsoft approached RH and told them that we want to buy RHEL licenses and support it on Azure, why would they say no, particularly when there is money rolling in? Seems more like what shutdown said - either it's cheaper, or more likely, MS doesn't want to buy from their competitor.

    7. Re:Oh, irony. by jo_ham · · Score: 1

      They could say no because they don't want to work with MS for ideological reasons, or just plain business reasons - on either side. Who knows. I just thought it was unlikely that in a move where MS is adapting its business to explicitly offer Linux OS options on Azure that their reason for not offering RHEL was "divide and conquer" and the insinuation from the GP that MS is dishonest and evil.

      Far more likely that one or other simply didn't want to work together, rather than some highly convoluted scheme whereby MS offers Linux OS choices in a Machiavellian scheme to cripple RHEL by creating more choice in the Linux cloud computing space.

  24. FreeBSD? by kchoudhu · · Score: 1

    And when will FreeBSD be coming to Azure?

    1. Re:FreeBSD? by Holistic+Missile · · Score: 2
      or OS X?

      *ducks*

      --
      When you're dead, you don't know you're dead. It only affects the people around you. Same thing when you're stupid.
  25. Are you a teenager? by jmcbain · · Score: 0, Troll

    Are you 15 years old or something? Microsoft has long shown that it wants to destroy all competing platforms that compete with Windows.

    Guess what? Linux is a platform. Guess what? Linux competes with Windows on the server end.

    My guess is that you are one of those millennials who has no idea about history beyond what you had for lunch.

    1. Re:Are you a teenager? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you 15 years old or something? Microsoft has long shown that it wants to destroy all competing platforms that compete with Windows.

      Are you 60 years old or something? Times change. Just like almost every other company in the world MS want to beat their competitors, that doesn't mean they want to eliminate them, unlike say Apple with Android.

    2. Re:Are you a teenager? by Vaseline+Hero · · Score: 1

      So, are you going to back that up with evidence, or just scream at people until they give up arguing against you?

  26. Nice troll! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No what microsoft is objecting to is poeple using software without paying them.

    Does not matter which software.

    Thank you sir, may i have another?

  27. Kilkenny Cats by symbolset · · Score: 1

    There once were two cats of Kilkenny

    Each thought there was one cat too many

    So they fought and they fit

    And they scratched and they bit

    'Til (excepting their nails

    And the tips of their tails)

    Instead of two cats there weren't any!

    Kilkenny Cats

    Microsoft and Android aren't just an "other platform" to each other. They are death itself.

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
    1. Re:Kilkenny Cats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh my God! They Kilkenny!

      You bastards!

    2. Re:Kilkenny Cats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Keep those komedy Ks koming!

  28. Not even close by symbolset · · Score: 0

    They care about control. From control all else comes.

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
  29. Re:the phrase tits on a bull come to mind by fotoguzzi · · Score: 1

    Let's have Volkswagen put this Bugatti Veyron together.... Seems just as ridiculous.

    --
    Their they're doing there hair.
  30. Klein said it best by mykro76 · · Score: 2

    First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you.

  31. Worst of Both Worlds by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1

    So: run an unpopular OS on a monopoly business network? Depend on the monopoly to run an OS it hates, on top of an OS it loves that sucks?

    That sounds like a terrible deal, the worst of both worlds.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  32. the real reason by slashmydots · · Score: 2, Funny

    Apparently even Microsoft can't affording Microsoft licensing on its servers, lol.

  33. Of course they have to by tywjohn · · Score: 0

    If they didn't do this then they are offering LESS than other cloud service providers.

  34. Cannot people see this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A group of people (the givers) stand in the street offering free (younameit). A group of thugs (takers) form a circle around the givers, and start charging a fee to enter. They will patent the methods used by the givers to packate their (younameits).

    How can this possibly be a step in the right direction?

    A bunch of free (younameits) are headlined at distrowatch.com.

  35. Come on down! by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    To extinguish that joke before it goes any further, MS was one of the biggest single contributors to the Linux kernel for a little while because they were adding Hyper-V compatibility stuff. So they've been embracing and extending it for some time now.

    Act now, and for the low, low price of $99, you too can continue to boot into your 'Other OS'!! Hurry! This UEFI promotional price will not last long!!

  36. image changed? by v1 · · Score: 1

    anyone else notice the "Windows" slashdot category icon changed from the broken window panes to just "Windows"?

    --
    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  37. linus should ask steve by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    to bend over, just so steve knows how it feels

  38. Re:Steve Jobs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i no rite

  39. Microsoft Double Agenda by PaulGrins · · Score: 1

    End the Dell Blacklist of Linux NOW... "If you feel passionately about Linux support this petition to get Dell to stop the blockade and blacklisting of Linux and to stop forcing customers to buy Windows 7 and Microsoft Office if they want the latest Dell hardware. Make a difference and tell them to stop now....They have setup a petition website for the posting of new ideas and comments called Ideastorm, lets up-vote the issue and support the breaking of the Microsoft Cartel at Dell...

    "Pre-Installed Linux | Ubuntu | Fedora | OpenSUSE | Multi-Boot" Link: http://www.ideastorm.com/idea2ReadIdea?id=0877000000006ixAAA&v=1339437474096 [ideastorm.com] .

    "Give the user a choice of Ubuntu/Fedora/RHEL or Windows on all desktops..." Link: http://www.ideastorm.com/idea2ReadIdea?Id=087700000008iglAAA&v=1339424370822 [ideastorm.com] .

    Please support this effort..."