Discussion on:

Microsoft now offering Linux on Azure: What does this mean?

I think you are making a bigger deal than it is. Once you start in cloud based apps, Linux is the way to go. For MS to offer an easy path to a Linux app, costs MS nothing.

Consider how many times MS needed to hear, "Server 2008 only? I think I will pass." before offering a free for them service. Now a better question. "Would you buy an MS support contract for your Linux VM?"

Windows, Linux, iOS, whatever are tools. Each has strengths and weaknesses and fit better in different jobs. Now we can use all of them in the same place to handle the parts of the job they all do best it will be interesting to see what people come up with.

Hmmm . . . i dont know what to think.
As you say theyve been a roller coaster.
I wonder how long thisll last?

I for one have been dissed
by their grab assy corporate attitude,
not to mention being a huge mal ware target.
Ditto for Apple.
Thats why i am religiously OSS now.

I ll believe the love when i see
a M$ branded Linux like Android.
Ha!
I ll bet you that it wont be for free.

Microsoft is not doing this to be nice, or to help with Linux and the opensource community. They are doing this for money. And nothing else.

This seems to good to be true. A user of this service will be paying MS same rates (or more) as their server OS to use a Linux Distro that is much less to host elsewhere or practically free in-house. Lave it to MS to turn a profit on something that is open source.

I'm sorry that I feel this way, but it seems like a trick at least and perhaps a deadly trap. I hope that Linux and all the distros have every possible angle checked in each and every document at every step taken.
I don't trust MS. Money and power are their gods and litigation is their demon.

a Linux VM on their cloud based software system to try and encourage people to use their cloud based software is simply another attempt to try and get money out of people. If they were serious about encouraging Linux or any Open Source Software they would rewrite ALL their software to use the Industry Standard Command Sets and not the ever changing Microsoft Command Sets and thus allow Windows and ALL their other software to run natively on, or use, any Industry Standard hardware and any OS platform and use any Industry Standard software and totally do away with the need for special Windows drivers, Windows backwards compatibility, and it would make all standard hardware out of the box Windows compatible. But we'll never see it as it means dropping the entire idea of Vendor Lock-in that Microsoft has been pushing towards for nearly twenty years.