The love/hate relationship the cloud has with Linux

3 years ago 288

Jack Wallen has a bony to prime with unreality services tally by Google, Microsoft and Apple.

The unreality is tally by Linux and open-source. There is nary debating that assertion astatine this point. It's fact. And not lone does Linux powerfulness each of those unreality services we deploy and use, but the clasp it has implicit that peculiar tech assemblage is besides lone going to get stronger arsenic we march into the future. I foretell that, implicit the adjacent 5 years, the unreality and Linux volition go synonymous to the constituent everyone (from CEOs to end-users) volition yet get conscionable however important and almighty the level is.

So it's harmless to say, determination would beryllium nary unreality without Linux.

There would besides beryllium nary cloud-native development, Kubernetes, Docker, virtual machines oregon containers successful general.

With that successful mind, it should basal to crushed that the narration betwixt Linux and the unreality would beryllium each love.

It's not.

And that's a shame.

Let maine explicate myself.

SEE: AWS Lambda, a serverless computing framework: A cheat expanse (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

I beryllium connected the cloud. Every time I enactment with Google Docs, syncing and sharing files that are captious to what I do. On my System76 Thelio desktop (running Pop!_OS) I person an Rclone publication that downloads 1 peculiar folder from Google Drive to an outer thrust (to service arsenic a backup). I person different Rclone publication that uploads files from a peculiar directory connected my section instrumentality to Google Drive. It's a solution that has worked flawlessly for maine for astir 2 years. Find retired however I did this successful "How to usage rclone to automatically backmost up Google Drive to your section storage."

Why did I person to spell that alternatively convoluted route?

The reply borders connected tragic, but explains the premise of this article.

I utilized to usage Insync to support Google Drive and my desktop successful sync with 1 another. Then, 1 fateful day, Insync wholly wiped distant the Google Drive folder that I support each of my publication files (20 years of enactment and astir 50 novels). To marque matters worse, it saw the directory had been deleted connected Google Drive, truthful it wiped it connected the section thrust arsenic well.

I had nary backup.

Fortunately, Google was capable to reconstruct everything. Needless to say, aft that, Insync was placed connected my no-fly-list of software.

I've tried different solutions, each of which was a rousing nonaccomplishment (until I cobbled unneurotic the Rclone scripts).

This contented has led maine to wonder: How is it that an operating strategy the unreality perfectly depends on, perpetually gets the acold enarthrosis from definite companies that wouldn't beryllium if it weren't for Linux?

The superior institution I'm talking astir is Google.

Where would Google beryllium without Linux?

It wouldn't person Android.
It wouldn't person ChromeOS.
It wouldn't person the cloud.

What's near for Google? A hunt engine? Oh, it astir apt wouldn't person that either. And yet ... and yet ... the institution continues to rebuff each petition to make an authoritative Google Drive sync lawsuit for Linux.

The aforesaid happening holds existent with Microsoft's OneDrive. No client. Apple's iCloud? Yeah ... arsenic if that's ever going to happen. Guess what? Both Microsoft and Apple thin heavy connected open-source exertion to marque things happen, but neither person immoderate plans to enactment Linux for its unreality solutions.

All the portion Dropbox has a fantastic Linux desktop client. And other, smaller companies connection Linux desktop clients for syncing to their unreality platforms.

But the large slap successful the look comes from Google. And it ne'er ceases to amaze maine however a company, who wouldn't beryllium the juggernaut it is without Linux, continues refusing enactment for the operating strategy that helped marque it truthful unstoppable.

You tin bet, connected a regular basis, Linux users hunt for an authoritative Google Drive client, and each clip they fail. Eventually, galore of them upwind up doing what I did and caput backmost to the terminal to trade scripts they cognize they tin trust on.

It shouldn't person to beryllium that way. An operating strategy that runs the unreality should besides payment from the cloud. Linux should beryllium the archetypal operating strategy Google supports due to the fact that Linux is the 1 operating strategy that afloat supports Google.

Linux has a love/love narration with the cloud. In return, that narration is love/hate. This needs to change. If companies similar Google, Microsoft and Apple are going to proceed perfectly depending connected open-source, they should, successful turn, flip the Linux assemblage a bony present and past truthful those users tin easy sync their desktops to unreality solutions ... without having to cobble unneurotic bash scripts to marque it work.

Come on, Google.

Do better, Microsoft.

Seriously, Apple?

It's clip those companies did the close happening and make desktop clients for Linux.

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