Once upon a time, everybody was in love with Microsoft. I know, it was a lifetime ago… like two or three years back.

You went down to the coffee shop and people at the next table were talking about how wonderful the next Windows would be.

You looked at the news and it was all about the hottest attributes of the new “.Net” feature.

You turned on the radio and, suddenly, someone had dedicated a song to Bill Gates:

 

“When I see your face there’s not a thing that I would change

Cause you’re amazing just the way you are”

 

Ok! Maybe not this last one, but you got my point.

 

Today everything has changed. Microsoft is so old school. Everybody wants iPhones and Androids, and nobody gives a Windows Phone about what Uncle Bill is planning for the near future.

Will mobile be the only thing we are going to see in this new millennium? Probably not, but I’m convinced that computers won’t last long. Probably, in ten years from now, the only places you are going to find computers will be museums and public offices…

But, right now, there is something else going on in the realm of technology and it’s called Linux.

Blame it on the Web. Linux and the Web have a lot in common. Actually, Linux and Android have a lot in common as well. Linux is hot, even if not for the average man.

A lot of web developers and sys admins out there prefer Linux because… Well, it’s Linux.

Now, hear me out! One thing that Microsoft does well is to look at what others do best and make it popular.

So, we saw Microsoft investing money in Linux Foundation… We stood in awe when Microsoft decided to add a Linux shell in Windows… And we shook in fear of Earth destruction after Microsoft saying that they would develop a custom Linux version… And then Microsoft decided to invite Github to their bed.

For the sake of my grandchildren, wasn’t Git developed by… Yes, it was! Linus Torvalds, the Great, was deeply involved in the creating of Git because of the Linux Kernel development. I could say he created Git, but nobody does anything by himself anymore, so let’s stick to deeply involved.

But why? You may ask. Why was Microsoft so in love with Linux?

Between me and you, not just Microsoft… But it is all about the cloud, I believe.

Let’s face it, Apple and Google nailed the mobile market. Now Microsoft needs to focus on the other giant half of the cake: the cloud.

In my humble opinion, the future will be dominated by mobile and cloud services. Amazon has the upper hand at this moment, but Microsoft wants to have a word — and a very big word — on cloud and web development. I believe that’s how Linux, Github and all other pieces git in the puzzle.

But that’s not the main topic here, the fact is that EVERYBODY IS IN LOVE WITH LINUX, even Microsoft.

 

Written by Eduardo Fernandes, Developer at Cleverti