[dba-Tech] Linux

Hi All:

All the biggest and newest companies in the computer industry are Linux; Amazon, Facebook, Oracle, Apple (BSD), Google and thousands more...and even the NSA and GCHQ...but with one notable exception.
  
I have been saying this for years, so it should come as no surprise but now it is a confirmed reality. If you want to continue in the computer industry you had better be all-in on Linux: http://i.imgur.com/KMtUmWgl.jpg

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2836412/microsoft-hearts-linux-for-azures-sake.html#tk.rss_news

We all knew that this was a reality as Azure was just a product that has a fancy distro which was sitting on top of Rackspace, now Docker/containers and the super cool CoreOS server.

http://www.zdnet.com/docker-container-support-coming-to-microsofts-next-windows-server-release-7000034708

As always even Microsoft's new desktop has been heavily borrowing from Linux but that goes for every company as Linux is where most of industries innovations come from. Considering the latest desktop: http://itsfoss.com/windows-10-inspired-linux

This is hardly Microsoft being altruistic, it is the company wishing to be relevant in ten to fifteen years. That said all you pure MS guys and gals, if you are not retiring out of the business in a couple of years, better bone-up on Linux. According to what I have heard, at the Microsoft campus, all the workers are in the process of starting a Linux deep dive. I guess it is learn fast or your out.

A few people, on this list have been taking course in Linux. Some are free (there was a great one that started this summer), some are modestly priced like: https://linuxacademy.com/coders ...and then you can get up to speed on your own by getting a $5, on DigitalOcean where you can even run up a CoreOS droplet.

How difficult is it to move to Linux? For a basic computer user, it may be a challenge but for this crowd, its brain-dead simple. Can you have all the applications you need? There are equivalents, in Linux of just about every product you need. If that is not enough the manger, Wine, can allow all you favourites to run like; Office2003, Office2007 and Office2010...and all at the same time. If that is not enough there is an excellent product called CrossOver. It is actually written by the developers of Wine which is just the free edition, in which everything isn't automated (like most (all?) Adobe and Visual Studio products):

https://www.codeweavers.com/support/forums/announce/?t=24;mhl=167623;msg=167623#msg167623
...and...
https://www.codeweavers.com/products/crossover-linux/gallery

Price is $60 approximately. It goes into paying for the automation and to support Wine of Linux.

Personally, I am not a game player but if you haven't moved to Linux because your favourite games don't work...well that is a thing of the past. Virtually all major games run on Linux. Ie. Steam, one of the largest games producers is now designing all its games directly on the Linux kernel and even Call of Duty and Grand Thief Auto runs natively on Linux: 

http://store.steampowered.com (here is a great looking game: http://store.steampowered.com/app/257690)

Aside: It is worth noting that applications and games, running on Linux, with the same hardware run faster.
 
So if you have been waiting for the right time, all I can say is welcome on board. :-)

Jim