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(comment deleted)
The issue in the post talks about "Docker for Mac" and "Docker for Windows" which is basically what Docker for Desktop is.

The links you provided are just for the docker binary (which is, mac/windows they're just the docker client –not sure about what the linux binary contains). They're not the same thing.

The Docker binary for Linux appears to also be behind a login wall, at least if you follow the most obvious navigation links.

(Even then, it's not trivial to find, because the standard Linux version of Docker isn't mentioned at all in the "getting started" section of the site. You have to know that they apparently call it "Docker Engine" now.)

> the standard Linux version of Docker isn't mentioned at all in the "getting started" section of the site.
Headlines false, I just did this a few days ago.
Please take a look here: https://store.docker.com/editions/community/docker-ce-deskto...

It does in fact ask the user to login before giving them a download link. The files themselves don't appear to behind a login-wall since people are posting them far and wide. But the website very much implies that you need to register.

This is a link specifically from the Docker store. Download pages are also linked from multiple places in the documentation, binaries are installable via Docker's package repositories, and generally available far and wide. This is a misleading, sensationalist headline, i.e. clickbait.
If you go to docker.com, click "get started", click "docker for mac", it sends you to exactly that URL.

Sure, maybe there are side links they haven't changed, but this is a pretty clear login-wall.

> I just did this a few days ago

.....or....possibly....this change happened within the past few days?

The GitHub issue was filed 2 months ago.
It appears that it did change in last few days because I had a conversation with a teammate and remember asking about signing up for an account and he showed me how to download without. However, today I cannot find the same navigation path when trying so I think something changed.
Are you sure you loggin wasn't saved & you were actually logged in? :) I had to install docker for a new project @ work recently and was forced to create a login & sign in (as I was not previously registered). I guess direct downloads are still possible since people are posting links, but navigating through the Docker website does not present you with those options. Super disappointing
I'm 100% positive I did this last week because I explicitly remember asking my colleague if we need to create an account or not. He said no but it appears the site has changed.
Wish I would have found those direct download links before. They got me! Sneaky bastards :)
Is Docker having trouble monetizing?
(comment deleted)
Always has been.
> monetizing

i dont think anyone has every paid for docker. I guess the VC money is starting to run low.

On macOS, I recommend: `brew cask install docker`
on windows, I recommend `choco install docker.for.windows`
Risking a derail how is chocolatey nowadays? I really liked the idea but stopped using it because most of the packets were way behind the current versions.
Chocolatey is in the same space as the AUR (Arch User Repositories) in my opinion. It can be a hit or miss, but usually a hit. The support is fantastic when there's a bunch of users consuming the project as many users will contribute fixes to the package (e.g. packages for devs like node, cURL, git, etc). On the other hand, less popular packages will occasionally suffer from bitrot, though that all depends on the maintainer and whether or not the package has been configured to update automatically upon new releases.

See also https://chocolatey.org/docs/package-triage-process#package-i...

Anything popular is up to date. But many windows programs have their own update methods anyway. So in some cases, you install the older version, but then update when asked.
Mmm thats what I did. I had no idea downloading the DMG from the website required some kind of registration.
I also can't delete my account myself after having created it. I believe the best way to operate is to make something as easy to delete as it was to create...
Maybe retention for legal reasons? But, yea.
Pretty sure that violates GDPR. Might want to email them about that.
Ye I only managed to find a "feedback" email address.

If they're going to make you have an account, they could have thought about what if people want their account deleted...

You have to look around a bit, but:

"Customers may view, update or change their registration information by logging in to their accounts at www.docker.com. Requests to access, change, or delete your information will be handled within 30 days."

"Questions regarding this Privacy Policy or the information practices of the Website should be directed to privacy@docker.com or by mailing Docker Privacy, 144 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94107."

https://www.docker.com/legal/docker-privacy-policy

Cheers, lifesaver <3. I'll resend my email there. I will remember to look harder next time.
Hackernews is worse as even if you email them they won't delete your account unless there is some issue actually causing you a problem.
Then let your relevant supervisory authority know.
I'm American, hence the GDPR doesn't apply. I also believe they have no obligation to delete my account.
Well if I want my account deleted, then they do in fact have an obligation.
How so? My account still exists after a few emails with the mods.
Particularly in this specific line of business. Would you use a management platform that pretends to delete containers and associated files but doesn't?
Not sure what the issue is here.

You can download Docker from many other sources without a login. And they are only putting the Docker Community Edition behind the email paywall as pretty much every open source/freemium company does these days.

I found the real problem with Docker to be that it downloads things from their repository. Just like Maven, it's a major pain point.
You'd be pleased to use docker-registry, then! We use Artifactory that runs its a docker-registry compatible something (maybe it's running docker-registry itself?) for our artifacts.
The free version of Artifactory doesn’t support Docker registries.

Nexus 3 OSS does.

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What? I thought containment as an enabler for reproducibility was the whole point of containers.
Can anyone post an experience using rkt [0]. I'd love an alternative to using Docker for containers, though I'm not sure how well a community has evolved around rkt.

[0] https://github.com/rkt/rkt

This comment made/makes me steer away

https://github.com/rkt/rkt/issues/3912

There is another open issue claiming the project is dead (but maybe it's just stable)

My whole team is onboard with docker, and we don't need account to install/use.

Why do you believe that churn is a good thing, especially for a thin wrapper around Linux namespaces? There should not be much this is actually doing, so lots of commits would be worrying.
I didn't say that that churn is a good thing.

The github-issue and a sibling are folks asking this question. Why? Lingering bugs? Waiting for features? That the question is open is the concern.

And again, compared to my existing tooling which is not having that question and has momentum.

Evaluated against docker (a recent move for us) but didn't choose. We also looked a "roll your own" type solutions - required expertise our team didn't have.

Last commit 19 days ago. Code commits merged into master seem to be around every 3 months for the last couple years.

That seems healthy to me.

As for documentation, it seems to have monthly or bimonthly updates.

The question in your issue is that their is a lack of activity... Came about three weeks after a commit, and two weeks before another.

The issue just seems to be that rkt prefers their mailing list to GitHub issues, though they do pay attention to both. And I don't see a problem with that.

Please check the Open Containers Initiative [0]. That lists a number of runtimes. There are now entire tool chains developed independent of anything from Docker Inc.

[0] https://www.opencontainers.org

Docker for Desktop (which is what the issue text describes) is not the same thing as rkt so it would not be an apples to apples comparison. You can still install docker with "apt-get" on Linux. https://docs.docker.com/install/linux/docker-ce/ubuntu/ Docker for Desktop is the GUI experience that runs the docker engine in a VM on your machine with some port forwarding magic etc. rkt equivalent would be containerd probably.
Honestly docker apt-get previously sucked to the extent I wouldn't bother attempting again.
Adding a repo and running `apt-get update && apt-get install docker-ce` sucks?
Yes when it needs tweaking on every update and repeatedly fails. It's obnoxious. It was immature technology in my personal experience. Maybe others have had a better experience but I was turned off by numerous issues.
If your goal is to just use containers, you don't need Docker. You can use containerd, lxc, nspawn, or use clone directly. Docker is an extremely bloated piece of software, and you can probably get by with just a little knowledge of Linux APIs and a solid understanding of your project's requirements.
I'm surprised to see rkt mentioned so much. This thread has a very 2017 vibe and doesn't seem to account for m(any) of the changes in Kubernetes (CRI), docker/containerd, anything with regard to what RH is doing as they bet more and more on this space. Anyway...

Red Hat's crio is a much more obvious contender in this space (my issues with RH "marketing" of crio vs containerd aside). A slightly different scope, but even Kata's future seems more promising than rkt's.

Or, just use containerd if you just want a clearly OSS engine with the weight of docker behind it. ('containerd' is Docker's container engine, effectively)

I cant believe people are still taking and using technologies from 2017 /s

To be fair this thread is also a testament to the sad state of affair in the container industry. How can you even chose a technology confidently? It seems even more madness than the JS world.

Sometimes I feel like a dinosaur with my Vagrant boxes and my dedicated server. With threads like this I feel great.

Rkt didn't get much attention in 2017 at all. I only said that because 'rkt' was often portrayed as the anti-docker years ago, and it's really no longer a good way to look at the playing field.

It wasn't about making fun of rkt or anything. Also, I don't know, CRI has been in the works for ages at this point, as well as crio. It just seems like people who aren't paying attention in this space remember HN threads from 18-24 months ago where people thought rkt was going to be the savior from docker. It's just pretty out of date.

The comment about vagrant and a dedicated server embody an attitude that is just depressing to me. Yes, if you stick with old, functional technologies, you won't need to pay attention and/or learn anything new. And that's fine, if you're happy with it. There's a reason the rest of us moved on. Learning about CRI and knowing that rkt is dead and crio is the alternative to containerd is not that crazy of knowledge to have, or maybe I'm underestimating how much I know in the k8s space.

The slight concern I would have with rkt, alongside some other of CoreOS' projects is that their future Post RedHat acquisition isn't super clear.

In the case of rkt, AFAIK Redhat's container runtime (Cri-o) uses containerd and runc under the covers, and I've not seen any indication that they'll change that, so not too sure where rkt fits in that landscape.

That's what throwaway accounts are for... and this, of course:

http://bugmenot.com/view/store.docker.com

In any case, "to make sure we can improve the Docker for Mac and Windows experience for users moving forward" is yet another example of the official-sounding-yet-bullshit, vague and meandering language that seems to permeate into everything these days. (Is there a specific term for it? "Business-speak" doesn't have enough of a negative connotation for the "We did it this way and you will like it. If you don't, fuck off." that they really want to say.)

If you are too much of a douche to give a thowaway account for docker service, then they dont want you anyway.

Your kind are not savvy, your kind are just douches that would shit on their own gma for a dollar.

Probably the slightly better term here would be "weasel words". (Or better yet, "bullshit")
FWIW, as far as I know, Docker for Windows and Docker for Mac really are closed source freeware. My honest opinion is we should move away from it.

As for what to move to... That's definitely an open question. Docker for Windows is definitely one of the best developer experiences I've had on Windows because they put actual engineering work into it. All the same, I still found it buggier and less supported than Docker for Mac. At least on Windows, I wish we could combine the cool LXSS work with a development-only Docker implementation.

Ultimately, Docker should not be synonymous with containers anyway. Future versions of Kubernetes will not use Docker and instead run their own containers on top of libcontainer by default, as I understand it. I also feel rkt has a much nicer design than Docker, doing away with the daemon aspect of it. Hoping to see more development in the future.

If you want lightweight virtual machine functionality I would recommend LXD/LXC.

If you want app virtualization and packaging, I have been pretty intrigued by what I have found out experimenting with `snaps`.

The biggest issue for me that I have hit with LXD/LXC is that host-to-container mount sharing is not as easy...which means I had to do some workflow alteration for moving from `docker` containers to `lxd` ones for existing projects...but otherwise I have been really happy with LXD.

Edit: And just to be clear, host-to-container mount sharing is possible, I just had to work at it and slightly alter my workflow to get the best solution.

Well, what I really want is to develop, test and utilize containers as part of my development process. For example, doing work in Docker containers allows reproducible, hermetic builds (importantly, it allows this, though it certainly doesn't guarantee or force it.)

Many containers that I develop or use will also be used in a Kubernetes cluster or at least as part of CD, so most importantly I want a local setup that mirrors to a degree what the remote setups look like.

Snaps provide something a bit different, more geared toward end users. I have no huge opinion regarding them, the isolation aspect is novel but unfortunately a bit of a PITA as of today.

Sounds like you would be more interested in LXD then.
LXD is more like virtual machines than containers, though. Also, in context of this thread, it doesn't solve much that Docker doesn't; after all, Docker for Linux is in fact fully open source, and even if it wasn't, Linux has no shortage of mature container implementations (like rkt.) For a developer on Mac or Windows, it'd be nice to have a universal dev tool, even if only to handle Linux containers.
> Linux has no shortage of mature container implementations (like rkt.)

As someone who is a maintainer of the core of what actually runs containers under Docker (runc), LXC (and by extension LXD) is _the_ most mature container implementation on Linux. I've worked with the LXC folks and I am constantly impressed how on-top-of-everything they are.

> one of the best developer experiences I've had on Windows because they put actual engineering work into it

Like, this is exactly what they're talking about, right? This is the user experience that they've improved because VCs have been willing to give them money because they show increases in MAUs.

Am I crazy here? You seem to be complaining about exactly the thing that you like

The app phoning home to do analytics is fine with me. I just want the download links so I don't have to sign in to download the app. I will almost definitely sign into the app so I can use the features where signing in are actual value adds. (Also, if they ever removed the direct links, it would really suck for automated deployments.)

But really, I don't care that strongly. I do, however, wish to use, if possible, an open source solution. Why? Because I had a problem with Docker for Windows and I couldn't debug it. As I understand it, this is actually pretty similar to the reasoning behind Linux being developed.

I want that too, but there's unfortunately nobody likely to do that work for free.

(I find it annoying that you have to hunt for the download link too, tbf. I just figure that, OK, that's how they make their $ to build their mostly excellent software)

I think the problem is who controls the container world. Companies like Facebook and Google do not build their businesses on developer tools, but they collectively benefit with open source. Docker may very well not benefit much from open source because their business is containers and sharing the secret sauce does not make them more money.
Er, any links about the Kubernetes changes? They spent multiple releases adopting and moving to CRI. Meaning any CRI implementation can be used in his where docker(shim) was previously used. This includes -- containerd, crio, kata, pouch, gvisor, and at least three more whose names I forget.

Hardcoding another container runtime would be disappointing to see and highly surprising.

Also, since no one anywhere in this thread is talking about it... You can get Dockers container execution engine without any of the "docker". Docker has spent significant time and presumably money splitting out `containerd` and I'm surprised it's not mentioned in this thread so far. It's compatible with Kuberenetes CRI, etc, etc.

> As for what to move to... That's definitely an open question.

Is it really? I find that Linux is an excellent development platform, and also an excellent home-computer OS. I've been using it exclusively in a professional software-development context for over a decade now (prior to that my employer made me use Windows in addition to my Linux box), and I couldn't be happier.

I wonder how requiring login to download helps a company in general? Docker says "improve experience for users" but is collecting download counts for each accounts important?
Lead generation.
It's always fun to give fake info to those sites that require it for that purpose. I've been using the white house phone number for 15 years.
I think there's a good chance that's the answer.

All they need to do is take every e-mail address that's not @ gmail/hotmail/outlook.com/other free providers, zip them through something like the Clearbit API to flesh out info about the person, and then forward promising prospects on to the sales team for some personal attention.

I don't even mind companies doing this, as long as they're honest about why they're asking me to register.

“Subscribe to our opt out mailing list so we can spam you until you unsubscribe”
They will send you spam every two weeks reminding you of the goodness of Docker.
The Oracle acquisition must be nigh... emulate the master to gain his approval you must!
Hell even Oracle let you download the latest version without logging in.
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If you're frustrated with Docker's slow pace of development are are looking for a good alternative, have a look at Singularity containers. They're interoperable with Docker Hub and OCI compatible images, and offer a much better experience for HPC, machine learning and big data environments. Their GPU support is top notch. They don't run on as many platforms as Docker, but are aiming to grow into cross-platform. Sylabs is a small team in Austin, TX that does a lot of the development work, but they are quickly gaining adoption in academia. It's available on Cedar and Graham in Compute Canada (a large supercomputing cluster that serves most of Canada). We use Singularity on all our lab machines as it is much easier for IT admins to manage, and doesn't require sudo access. Their GPU support is top notch.

https://www.sylabs.io/

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Is there any overhead due to the virtualization layer, relative to bare metal? Scientific computing usually has much more stringent requirements for CPU/GPU performance than the average web startup. If the performance is good enough, containerization would be a great match for the domain, as you’re often shipping code to government-funded clusters you have little control over.
It's important to mention that Singularity does not cover the same functional scope as Docker, and therefore isn't a good alternative for all use cases. It's much better for some, close to useless for others.

To make it short: - huge pro: it relies on user rights and doesn't require root, so it's easier to trust for an admin, and to use for a non-admin; - huge con: it provides no isolation (it's not that it does a bad job at doing it: it doesn't even try, by design).

There are probably many other differences, but that's what has stroke me the most.

Don't get me wrong: I've only had positive feedback about it; it just isn't a one-to-one replacement for Docker.

It's in Docker's interest to capture as much value as they can from their products, their calculus is changing. It's their decision to make, however passing it off as in the best interest of users is a bit of a whopper and not the best way to communicate it. I don't think entitlement to other people's work is the best response though.
While some people might be reacting based on simple entitlement, I suspect that for the majority this triggers a strong reaction because it is a warning sign. If Docker were a big company, it'd just be part of the normal drift toward customer abuse. Because Docker is still a relatively small company, it looks like a desperate attempt to stay afloat through increased monetization. The unintended side effect is that it makes me less inclined to purchase anything because I don't want to bet on a sinking ship.
Docker is just a thin wrapper around Linux (API + namespaces). Dockerfiles frequently install a whole userspace (such as Alpine's or Debian's) as a base, to then add proprietary bits. Basically, Docker can be seen as GPL circumvention device. People aren't entitled so much as they're frustrated as they realize they've given too much control to some inessential piece of commercial software.
In which way does using Docker circumvent the GPL? It's not like Docker images are opaque binary blobs, unless you count tar.gz as opaque.
Because a GNU userspace is "distributed" along with proprietary software?
If that were a GPL violation, >90% of Linux distributions were violating the GPL.
How so? Distros provide source code, unlike Docker images.
Many distros (I’d guess almost all of them) bundle proprietary software. The Nvidia graphics drivers are the first example I can think of. (This could be out of date since I haven’t dealt with it in several years)
The outrage is 90% from the fact that they call it "improve the user experience going forward".

If they had just said "we need some leads/emails to monetize this thing a little more, hope you understand. Use a throwaway email or the well-hidden direct download if this change makes you uncomfortable", nearly no one would have complained.

> nearly no one would have complained.

except their marketing and sales department (and associated CxO level people who needs to see more revenue!)

Would it kill companies to be honest and upfront about these sorts of issues? I feel like "Hey, we're unable to pay our bills unless we can better monetize our product" comes across a lot more honest and trust-worthy than this "We're improving user experience! Trust us!" pride-and-accomplishment nonsense that everyone keeps regurgitating. We're not preschoolers, the Internet can spot marketing slogans a mile away.
What's next?

Opt-out phone-home, telemetry, crash reporting, quality analytics, whatever you call it. That's my prediction.

My Synology personal file server started nagging about enabling telemetry and needing a privacy notice to store my files on my drive on my network. Screw that.

I use a Synology personal server, but an older one. I have been considering upgrading to a more modern version. Do you remember about when this nagging began? Was it related to a firmware upgrade or was it "right out of the box"?
It's literally a one time prompt. I think calling it nagging is a bit extreme.
At least for me the prompt isn't a one time thing, unless you consent to enabling telemetry. I get asked whether I want to enable it all the time when logging in.
Yes, you can disable it forever [1]. Oh and there's actually a tiny "skip" on the nag screen in dull contrast, more user hostility. It's the concept I object to, though: If I pay for it, I should not be the product. And a privacy notice on something that's by definition supposed to be private.

1. Control Panel -> Info -> Device Analytics.

https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/8mdioc/device_ana...

Even Wacom tablet drivers phone home now: https://www.reddit.com/r/wacom/comments/7zzq8p/you_should_kn...
Sweet mother of fucker, thanks for mentioning that. I use my Wacom tablet for pretty much EVERYTHING when it’s connected. Turned that shit right off.
I struggled to upgrade my graphics card drivers on an old gaming PC just the other day because I'd forgotten my "GeForce Experience" password and had to reset it.
My thoughts exactly. What a weird turn of events when it's easier to install Nvidia drivers on Linux using your distro's package manager than it is on Windows!
To be fair, it is possible to download the drivers without the experience bullshit.
Gosh! How is this even legal?! Thank you for mentioning that.
Docker already got (some) of that. They tell you at the end of the installation. You need to manually find it in the Settings and opt out of it.

As for Synology, I did opt out of that as well.

It'd be great if this crap was opt in... since the industry doesn't agree, I propose we make it law.

I thought in EU that was the case
At least thanks to GDPR these companies now have to tell you and (in some cases) explicitly request your specific consent, rather than just doing it behind your back.
Just as a data point, FreeNAS (freenas.org) is pretty decent if you're ok with building your own storage box. :)
If you like the Synology software stack you can also use XPenology which is pretty much DSM but then for non-Synology devices. Linux-based, so btrfs instead of ZFS.
> What's next?

Docker being purchased by Oracle and then users being subject to audits for the audacity of running Docker.

No kidding. “Improve the user experience“ is incredibly nebulous and non-obvious. IF there is actually a benefit to this why not just list it?

We all know why. There isn’t a benefit to the end-user.

as soon as you see nonsense business speak like that you know things are going downhill.

see also, netflix, and twitter lately.

I really don't know why they bother uttering or writing those kinds of words. They contain no information, nobody is fooled by the lie. It is a waste of their time.

I thought the same way until I worked with lots of types of people. The vast majority seem to much prefer BS, even blatant BS to honesty that is even the least bit blunt. I think part of it is that since everyone exaggerates, actual blunt truths are assumed to also be a positive spin, which would put their reality in the toilet.
Majority of people out there are complete idiots, Im not trying to be rude either. Very few people think for themselves.
I wouldn't call them idiots. They just are not as exposed to the concept of online privacy as a lot of us are.

We might be on the other side of table in many other ways, or idiots as you put it. Like the way my doctor friends avoid some OTC drugs that I never even think twice before taking, or some food, or some ready made edibles. I have a friend in textile industry and when he buys clothes it's a whole new level and makes me wonder what the hell I have been wearing so far. It amazes me how he sees through all those "Giza cotton" tag-lines and gimmick features of breathability and what not that are usually followed by a (™).

Can we all not learn everything from The Internet? No, we can't and it does not make any of us an idiot.

I disagree -- it is a soporific effect, not a preference. You are essentially blaming the victim here, and that is complicit
The world is full of people lacking the (to you and I) basic intelligence, education, and sophistication to smell bullshit. The minority that the rest of us represent are too much trouble to bother with anyhow, and our odds of convincing a large enough number of other people of our positions are low.

Edit: I understand how what I said could come off as facile or elitist, but there is truth in it. The same empty promises and blandishments that worked a thousand years ago work today, because most people don’t ever learn about their history in any detail. Then there are a lot of smart and educated people who take as the lesson that they can profit greatly by making those same empty promises, and a very few who are selfless and willing to try to convince people to change. The problem is that people don’t want to believe those people, they want to believe the lies. For decades “tree huggers” have been desperately trying to warn people of what is now broadly accepted, our environment is on the precipice of irrevocable harm. As a group they’ve been persecuted, ridiculed, marginalized, and despised because people either didn’t want to believe them, or stood to profit more if they weren’t believed.

More people want to believe in the handsome man promising them nice things than the shrill nerd loudly warning them that it’s all bullshit, and admitting that they don’t have all of answers. The people messily and inexpertly trying to hang on to privacy for example, are far less popular and respected than the slick assholes robbing them of that privacy for a dollar. After all, more people want to be a CEO with a jet than the next RTS.

An alternative explanation would be that there's more bullshit in our field, so we get more practice. ;)
If you're stating that, then you're probably one of those people about some topic you don't know about. Can we please not do this?
I wasn’t talking about lacking domain expertise in a given area, I think obviously. I’m talking about something much broader and universal, but I’m still sorry for causing you offense, that wasn’t intended.
A presumably open source software is held to a higher standard than such marketing-oriented enterprises.
Docker Swarm logs to segment.io, not sure about the other products.
you can use logspout to send docker logs anywhere
Not that type of logging. GP is talking about Docker Engine's telemetry/analytics.
Does the internet always have to throw a fit every time a company tries to add a little monetization to what is an essentially free service?
We should throw a fit everytime they lie about it, yes
Do companies always have to gaslight users by suggesting that ads, trackers, malware and other features are "user-enhancing"? Monetization is OK, and in fact is a good thing in many cases, but trying to couch it in BS irritates many people.
The internet does not always throw a fit every time a company tries to add a little monetization to what is an essentially free service.

The community is expressing a desire for companies to be be honest and upfront about these sorts of issues (i.e., monetization). Refer to the post you responded to for more information.

It is the lying we throw a fit about, mostly. Personally though I would MUCH prefer to actually pay for things than to have free things "monetized".
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Docker isn't a service. It's an easily replaceable software that is dominant due to the network effect. All the hard work was done by the Linux kernel before Docker existed.
Haha yes. The truth is that every critic of your service will do that if you monetize. It's definitely one key thing to take care of when you try to switch to generating money. You need to have a good story around how you're doing it.

The guys who act like "it's only about the lies" are usually not decision makers, but it's important to be able to have enough a story that the decision makers don't get their thoughts contaminated by the perennially negative.

I think Docker will be fine with what they're doing. This is a storm in a teacup. But they should've bundled it with other features like auto-updates or something.

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I love how you have totally missed the point.
The internet doesn't care about companies trying to improve their revenues, particularly when it comes to "free" products. It does care about a great deal when it's lied to.
It's not even good spin. How, precisely, does it help improve the user experience?
Stuff like this makes me feel better about focusing on Ansible Container instead of Docker. You can use it to create multiple different types of containers without being married to Docker itself.
Is this a viable alternative to Docker? I’m about to launch a fairly large new project and had planned on going with Docker but this definitely causes me concern.
It just lets you abstract the container. You can use it to build docker or LXC, etc. if a new container comes out you will be able to build that too.
IMO docker is a dead end, it essentially ended up being a glorified ZIP file, the real solution what docker was trying to do (reproducibility) is what Nix does, and if Nix is not a solution then something in that direction.

In nix, you're basically describing the whole dependency tree of your application all the way to libc. When you build your application it builds everything necessary to run it.

The great thing about it is that your CDE essentially is identical to your build system, and the builds are fully reproducible, it takes over being a build system, package manager and as mentioned CDE.

They went even further with that (I have not explored that myself yet) and used the language to describe the entire system (called NixOS) which looks like CMS is no longer necessary and also nix is used for deployment (NixOps, also did not tried it)

If you are into containers you can still deploy into systemd lxc containers, or even create a minimalistic docker image.

The disadvantage is that there is a significant learning curve, it's a new language, and it is a functional, lazily evaluated language. The language is not really that hard, but many people are not used to functional programming. It is especially popular for deployment of Haskell code, since the language is also functional and lazily evaluated.

A good alternative to Docker is podman the cli built on top of libpod (https://github.com/containers/libpod). It has the same api than docker but lets run build and run containers without the need to have root permission.
As a data point, Docker itself - in Swarm mode - doesn't yet do IPv6 to any decent level natively.

It's seems possible to get IPv6 working through alternative orchestration though. eg Theres a guide on getting it working with Kubernetes and Calico.

But if you're looking for something that's production grade IPv6 - eg people can work out WTF is wrong when problems hit - it's probably not there yet. At least, not for small teams that I can tell. ;)

You can try LXC containers by Ubuntu, this is what Docker was based on initially. The main difference is LXC runs an init in the container so you get a standard multi process OS environment while Docker containers are single process environments.

We have been working on Flockport [1] that supports LXC containers and provides orchestration, an app store, service discovery and repeatable builds. It's still in early preview and we have not started proper outreach but it may be worth looking at.

Ubuntu also provides the LXD project that provides some orchestration across servers.

[1] https://www.flockport.com

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And moreso, if you want to make money just charge money for something. Don't do scumbag stuff like collect emails to sell to marketers. Make something people are willing to pay for, and charge them money for it.
Doesn't Docker have Docker Enterprise or something like that that they charge money for? So the email harvesting is really just in addition to charging money.
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The harvested emails are used (among other things) for lead generation for Docker Enterprise.
This is a socially acceptable reason to collect emails, and it should be openly labeled as "do you want to receive information about Docker products and services?" or the like, like non-annoying companies do.
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The metamorphosis from startup to company is complete. The people who would have been straightforward with you have been replaced by endemic office-dwellers.
For reference and so people can be outraged without RTFA, here was the original close comment:

-- joaofnfernandes (2 months ago)

"I know that this can feel like a nuisance, but we've made this change to make sure we can improve the Docker for Mac and Windows experience for users moving forward.

As far as I can tell, the docs don't need changes, so I'll close this issue, but feel free to comment."

Has there ever been a change to "improve user experience" that has _actually_ improved user experience? (Looking at you, Google.)
http://chainsawsuit.com/comic/2017/12/07/improvements/

"In our quest to improve the service for you, the user, we're making it worse.

It was great before. It's going to be terrible now, but you're going to love the changes.

We asked our investors and they said you're very excited about it being less good, which is great news for you."

A ton! But they just don’t usually call it that.

90% of changes just make things better for the user. 10% make things worse, but they’re obvious and honest and we’re okay with it.

And then 1% is the stuff like this. The Netflix/Qwikster you’re paying less but more debacle. The EA “sense of pride and accomplishment”. The Netflix (wait, why are they here twice?) show recommendations that aren’t ads that’s happening right now.

> The Netflix/Qwikster you’re paying less but more debacle

What did I miss?

7 years ago, Netflix decided to split into streaming (Netflix) and DVDs by mail (Qwikster). It didn't last long
It sort of did... The DVD portion of Netflix is now at dvd.com.
Or Amazon's "Prime costs more now but it also includes Amazon Video which was so popular we couldn't get anyone to pay for it extra".
I recently noticed that Amazon Prime in the UK has Parks and Recreation AND Seinfeld, which Netflix doesn't have.

Worth it!

Amazon Prime seems like it pulled out the checkbook for syndicated series. It's also got a lot of old HBO stuff.

Which makes sense if you've got a pile of money but are trying to bootstrap a streaming service.

I expect most of that will disappear when it comes up for renewal and they've built out their original content (in the same way it did for Netflix).

but feel free to comment.

i.e. "We do not give one single fuck what you think about this decision, and will not be reading any of your replies."

Agreed.

Being dishonest like this is one of the fastest way to lose customers. Please can spot it a mile away.

They should make it optional. Have the email collection form prominently there and ask users if they want to sign up to receive the newsletter, free tutorial, free e-book, whitepapers, etc.

Then also have a "No thanks, take me to the download".

While email to download is fine in most marketing contexts, it is NOT fine for open source products. If they want to collect emails they need to offer something in addition. It doesn't even have to be that much. A free e-book on how to use Docker or something.

The download page could also have a "Please support us by ..." section.

There are so many better ways to go about this.

> If they want to collect emails they need to offer something in addition.

whether i agree with the decision or not, i am confused by this sentiment. aren’t they offering docker, for free?

They're indeed giving away Docker for free, but part of the reason I hypothetically want Docker in the first place is that I trust the people distributing it to not do anything underhanded with their flagship tool's position as a product which runs thousands of other businesses' infrastructure.

There is a certain degree of trust involved in using a product like Docker since it is so critical to a businesses' operations, and I think a lot of people feel like using any kind of tracking (like mandatory registration to download) erodes that trust - we're forced to sit here and wonder what other restrictions might come in the future, or what other information they might start requiring for use of their product... and uncertainty never pairs well with infrastructure tooling that tends to be very important and very longlived within an organization.

you're trying to spin it for being an entitled prick, well you know what, you don't like it don't use docker, is not like they get much by you using for free.
So you have a complete attitude of entitlement that your preferred software must be delivered to you on your terms according to common convention. Nobody is permitted to act otherwise or we're gonna have ESR storm their office and take names. You're not a Berkeley grad are you?
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Your thinly-veiled derision doesn't mask the fact that you are being willfully ignorant of the intent of the person you're replying to. You're not here from Reddit, are you?

It's not about entitlement, but it is about common convention. Docker's offering isn't unique enough for them to betray that convention.

The point of making something open source is to benefit from collaboration. Is not making the argument, "locking software distributions behind a login wall is harmful," simply a form of collaboration?

> Nobody is permitted to act otherwise or we're gonna have ESR storm their office and take names.

You using ESR in your example is extremely hilarious.

The rest of your comment is pure low-effort, but that at least is somewhat amusing.

I think Canonical does a pretty great job of this.

If I download an Ubuntu Server ISO, I get my download immediately, but the page has a nice prompt to register for a whitepaper to get the most out of my new server product.

If I download the Ubuntu Desktop ISO, I still get my download immediately, but additionally I see some nice prompts about donating to support their operations.

Everything about both flows inspires trust that they aren't trying to withhold my download for the sake of selling consulting services or soliciting donations.

> If I download the Ubuntu Desktop ISO, I still get my download immediately

Actually you have to click past a "please donate some money" nagging dialogue.

It may be a little annoying (at least if you download ISOs all the time), but it's obvious what they are asking for, not to mention why.

And it's definitely not dishonest, so it doesn't tarnish their reputation as a trust-worthy company.

It actually just changed (less than 24 hours ago). The download now starts while showing a donation page in the background.
I downloaded Ubuntu about a week ago, the download started while showing a donation page. The change is older than 24 hours ago.
It's almost as if companies roll out features to a certain percentage of users to test them before rolling them out to everyone.
Have you donated or signed up for those white papers so far? If so how many times/how much?
Desktop end user: I donated to Ubuntu, and to Debian via SPI, and a bit to OpenBSD when they had their funding wobble. Since 2015 I've been using Slackware and bought a DVD subscription (it turns out that the Slackware BDfL wasn't getting much of the income from the sale of the DVDs or merchandise so I donated again recently).

We are talking the price of a hipster coffee per fortnight here, but a few thousand people putting that on a recurring payment adds up.

For organisations like Docker I'm wondering if the RStudio model would be viable? The 'enterprise' subscription is something like $995 a year and can thus be budgeted for &c.

I sometimes do.

I also sometimes buy apps even if I'm not really sure I'll keep using them (sometimes just to encourage them to continue),

and keep subscribing to a newspaper even if I don't often read subscriber only content (since they sometimes have some great investigations && I want to support them but don't want to disable Adblock).

What I don't do:

- most monthly subscriptions that isn't payment for an actual service .

Well they did have mishaps like the Amazon search previously
Even MySQL community download has a small link at the bottom "No thanks, just start my download.", but no registration is possible despite two very huge buttons that just scream to sign up or sign in to an Oracle account.
The MySQL download page is how I ended up with 3 oracle accounts because I always forgot I had one. The small "no thanks just download" button is (was) very deceptive.
Same. At some point the link was very small and almost invisible.
Does offering the source not qualify as offering something? What is the closed source company offering that you are ok with giving your email away?

Really an honest question. I find Docker useful, and was put back also by the email/ login request, but why are they getting so much hate, compared to every other company, just because of this?

Because a closed-source company is open about being a for-profit commercial entity that is trying to make a dollar first and foremost.

Docker is "revolutionising infrastructure" or something. It doesn't have "make heaps of money" as it's primary goal. Partly this is because open source. There's an expectation that open source is also "for the greater good".

The cardinal sin of our times is hypocrisy. Being a money-worshiping greedy capitalist bastard is fine, as long as you're open that that's what you are. Pretending to be altruistic while actually being greedy will generate all the hate.

What does being open source and being altruistic have to do with each other? Personally, I think they enabled the login, so that new users would be able to use docker cloud, after installing docker, without needing to create an account. But still, being open source, allows you to verify security, be transparent about the product design/intentions, possibly extend or customize for your needs, etc. There is a lot of value there, that shouldn’t warrant so much hate.
Force users to create an account, then advertise it as "now you don't need to create an account anymore"

Yeah...

I agree. There's nothing intrinsic to Open Source that means "for the greater good". And Open Source is beneficial even when done by greedy corporate bastards. There's even an argument that by crowdsourcing pull requests for free, an Open Source company is actively being greedy and capitalist.

However, the kind of mindset that enjoys being a greedy capitalist bastard finds it very very hard to accept the Open Source philosophy - it's all fear-based, "do unto others before they do unto you" and so "if they can rip my code off, they will", because that's what they'd do. I've experienced way too many hard conversations about open-sourcing code with this type of person.

So there tends to be a correlation between Open Source software and a co-operative mindset that would find this type of coercive marketing bullshit to be evil and reject it. This correlation becomes an expectation.

> What does being open source and being altruistic have to do with each other?

The "open" in "open source" is about encouraging cooperation and collaboration. And not using lock-in or patents or walled gardens to obstruct competition.

If the altruistic aspect is still not obvious: many projects encourage a gift economy by accepting donations.

Astroturfing is really not compatible with what you called "be transparent about the product design/intentions"

I would only ask someone being so harsh, what they have personally contributed as a project directly or indirectly (supporting an existing project) before being as harsh or judge mental as this, especially toward a product like docker, that probably revolutionalized an industry. To clarify, I mean popularized an entire paradigm of running software, not necessarily the first.
> What does open source and being altruistic have to do with each other?

Would you spend time out of your day to contribute to software that requires your users to sign up for someone else’s spam list?

I think contributors are going to compile it from source, to contribute ?
Yes, absolutely. Would you like the cure to cancer if it meant you had to give your email address? One thing has nothing to do with the other.
You may not feel this way, but think of downloading docker, as a non developer. You are probably following some tutorial, and really have no idea what you are actually doing. What if a container you are downloading is dangerous, or becomes dangerous. What if the version of the platform you have eventually becomes risky, due to a hack/0day? You are basically downloading an entire OS/execution environment, that makes it seamless to run an entire environment, while doing nothing. How would the company send an email/warn you etc, of some basic info that could really help you, or make your experience better? This isn’t som H&M mailing list to take your money. This is real, marketing aside, maybe they actually care?
But it's not one or the other. It's perfectly legitimate to start a company with the goal of improving the world, while also needing to make some profit so you can continue to be a functioning company. No greed or bastards involved.
None of that is related, proven by the simple fact that Docker and other open-source for-profit companies exist and have already contributed significantly to the industry.

This was a bad marketing-driven move, but that's all it is.

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IMHO Free software done right: http://onehouronelife.com/ (except the call to action is below the fold :-P)

Warning: past the home page, there is some possibly NSFW content. The game defaults to having some cartoon nudity (although there is a non-nudity mod) when the players haven't made clothes, so you might see some pictures of that if you dig around.

It's a game. He puts all the code (and assets) in the public domain. You can go to github and download it and build it for free if you want. But on the website: $20 please. He tells you exactly what you get: lifetime server account, all future updates, full source code, tech support.

Although the forum is not exactly a haven of mature discussion (in fact, it's downright awful at times), I've not even seen one complaint that "I could have got it for free". In fact, there have been several discussions where people say, "$20 is too high. Is there any way to get a discount?" and the reply is "You can download the code for free and play on these free servers". Inevitably the person says, "But I want the official version. I guess I'll pay the $20".

No idea how much money he's made so far, but for a 1 person indy game, he's done astonishingly well: https://onehouronelife.com/newsPage.php?postID=377 (description of sales in the first 2 weeks last March). According to other posts he's made in the forum (which I can't find), sales have continued to be brisk.

If you want to charge for downloading the official build of free software, then do it. Even the FSF will cheer you on (as long as you include source code ;-) ).

The game sounded very interesting, until I read a bit in the forums.

Some players are really toxic. Twitter is a peaceful, loving place compared to that. No way I will spend my free time in this game.

The game itself is really fun and griefers are much rarer than you might imagine from reading the forums. But yeah.... It's absolutely nuts there sometimes. The developer is a massive free speech advocate and doesn't mind hosting this horrible crap. But what's insane is that he gives moderator ability to some of the worst offenders. So I just don't know what's going on in his head sometimes.

There used to be a list of alternative servers, but seems to be gone now :-( Possibly nobody is hosting one any more. I'm tempted to do it myself, but I'm in Japan so the lag would be unacceptable anyway (I'd be playing by myself, which I do anyway...) But it's an option. If you can find a group of people to play with, it can be quite fun just to run on your own server. It takes very little CPU from my experience.

Then take a AWS free Virtual Machine and host it :). Just check the traffic regularly (because only 15GB outgoing traffic is free, incoming does not cost anything. You can set a alarm for 1 USD).
Or get the smallest instance from scaleway, which is so far the smallest one with a dedicated hardware core (not thread) on reasonably modern chips at 2 EUR ~ 2.5$/month, unmetered 100Mbit, 1GB ram and some 25GB fast ssd. If you know any cheaper ones, let me know. They even have 3$/month bare-metal ones with slightly higher specs, but using a Marvell ARM chip and only supporting exotic NBD storage.

Heck, if you'd be fine with an EU server, contact me, I'd sponsor it, including a short subdomain.

As a data point, we've recently moved our (sqlitebrowser.org) downloads from GitHub to 2 of those 3.99EU/month ARM servers (ARM64-2GB).

People are downloading just over 30GB/day (each weekday) per server, and the servers only seem very lightly loaded.

If the source for whatever runs the needed forums can work on ARM64, then these cheapo servers seem pretty decent so far. :)

It's the issue with discussion platforms where the speech is not regulated, they tend to bring people that have been kicked out of other platforms, even if they are not really interested in the main focus of the forum.
> The moral of the story is: if you’re against witch-hunts, and you promise to found your own little utopian community where witch-hunts will never happen, your new society will end up consisting of approximately three principled civil libertarians and seven zillion witches. It will be a terrible place to live even if witch-hunts are genuinely wrong.

Source: http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/05/01/neutral-vs-conservative...

Thank you for the link, the article was an interesting read.
Paradox of Tolerance[1]:

> The paradox states that if a society is tolerant without limit, their ability to be tolerant will eventually be seized or destroyed by the intolerant. Popper came to the seemingly paradoxical conclusion that in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance

Which in practice just means that everyone labels anything they don't like "intolerance", bans it and toddles off congratulating themselves on how tolerant they are.

I have no idea what the solution is. I suspect anyone coming up with one would win all the Nobel Peace Prizes from now until the end of time. I do think it's a useful rule of thumb that if you're not finding tolerance excruciating and infuriating at times, you're not really doing it.

This has helped me to view the GNU GPL in a new light. That is, to ensure freedom, we curtail the freedom to limit the freedom of others with respect to software.
interestingly, the game itself has anti-griefing features built in. Communication is limited until your character has survived quite a while and until you're grown up you're completely dependent on the help of other players who are already at the adult stage. If you die due to a negligent mother, you're back very quickly. If you get a griefer child, it's your call whether to feed them.

the game overall has some very interesting features around community and cooperation, and rogue griefers are disincentivised against because the way the game scales seems to inherently require cooperation between strangers.

Neat, that makes me want to check it out. I'm pretty tired of communities that are so busy virtue signaling what is "toxic" that actual discussion is hindered. Those types of communities tend to be overly ban-happy to anyone who speaks against the views of the mods/admins too.
While I did not check out this games forum, there is a massive difference between allowing differentiated views, and toxic people.

Hackernews is pretty good at this, very seldom I see toxic people here, yet people argue all the time when they dont agree.

This actually makes me curios, what draws you to this heavily moderated forum here?

If you consider „you‘re a fascist“ and „seek psychological help“ in umpteen variations a fruitful discussion, that forum will be exactly your taste.

It was the first or second thread I skimmed. No, thanks.

Out of context from the rest of your post, but about this "below the fold" thing... The page is fugly and horrible, but the links are interesting reads.

http://abovethefold.fyi/

> although there is a non-nudity mod

I love this, never occurred to me that people might mod nudity out of a game instead of into it.

It's not just the dishonesty, but the way the github issue was closed just like that after just providing an improper, half-assed solution that still doesn't address the core problem.
Agreed. It is extraordinary that intelligent, honest, discourse is so rarely employed when companies explain things like this. Why MBAs, sales and business types find it so hard to understand how appalling intelligent people find this style of discourse baffles me. Surely many MBAs, sales and business types are intelligent and empathetic people?
probably not. in my experience those fields tend to attract people who either a) only care about money, or b) get a kick out of manipulating people.
To me this seems to be a 'when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail' type of issue, in the sense that they try to apply PR and marketing tactics from mass marketed consumer products to a niche product for professionals.
> Would it kill companies to be honest and upfront about these sorts of issues? I feel like "Hey, we're unable to pay our bills unless we can better monetize our product" comes across a lot more honest and trust-worthy than this

The problem is that it's almost never that.

It's not "we're unable to pay our bills". It's "we've got more money than we need already, but we think we could get a lot more this way".

You think, say, Netflix is a struggling business and that's why they have to put more ads than before? No. In a capitalist system, leaving money off the table is increasingly unjustifiable as the number you're leaving off grows. Docker absolutely is in that same situation.

Exactly. The reasoning behind this decision is obvious:

"Hey, look at all these downloads CE is getting. We need to start following up with these users to try and promote Enterprise and other products. Start capturing emails at the point of download."

Haven't seen an honest manager (yet) that would approve something like that.
In Docker's defense they don't really barrage you with marketing. This isn't a situation where if you create an account you're going to get emailed every day about "5 tips on moving your Enterprise application to Docker!".

I've had a Docker Hub account since Docker Hub was a thing and the only content I really ever get from Docker is a weekly newsletter (which you can opt out of) and notifications about the platform itself (such as any downtime reports, etc.).

I do think it's a bad idea though, mainly because for newer people getting into Docker it's a barrier of entry to overcome. I'm very suspicious of anyone asking me to register for things like this. On the other hand, I don't have insights that Docker has, so to make such a bold move, they probably have a plan.

Yes, I am sure they suddenly added a login requirement to the download process because they plan to NOT use it for expanding their marketing pushes...
> In Docker's defense they don't really barrage you with marketing.

Although they may not barrage you now, there is no telling what the future holds with stunts like this.

> Although they may not barrage you now, there is no telling what the future holds with stunts like this.

I think the future is pretty predictable.

In the off chance they just wake up and start slamming you with unsolicited marketing then you can click unsubscribe in the footer of their email and you'll never see another email from Docker again.

But really, I don't think Docker is foolish enough to do that. They've spent a lot of years building up their brand and business, and aren't reckless enough to put all of that at risk by relentlessly emailing their users with marketing agendas (if that's what they wanted to do they could have been doing that for years).

Docker already knows that almost everyone uses the free community edition anyways, so they really have nothing to sell to us anyways, except for maybe Docker Hub private repo access. Anyone who already downloads Docker already knows the benefits of using Docker, so they don't need to sell us on Docker as a technology. What are they going to market to us?

Lastly, let's not forget that the Docker for Windows / Mac clients have allowed you to login to the Docker Hub for a long time now and nothing bad has came from that (unexpected marketing attempts).

> In the off chance they just wake up and start slamming you with unsolicited marketing then you can click unsubscribe in the footer of their email and you'll never see another email from Docker again.

No, you see tons of email from everyone Docker sold your "Guaranteed Live And Active" email address to, once it verified liveness and activity by you clicking the "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the email. And that's assuming Docker doesn't just keep spamming you, secure in the knowledge you're reading their earnest missives and care enough to respond to them personally and by hand.

> But really, I don't think Docker is foolish enough to do that. They've spent a lot of years building up their brand and business, and aren't reckless enough to put all of that at risk by relentlessly emailing their users with marketing agendas (if that's what they wanted to do they could have been doing that for years).

If they're suddenly in a different financial position, or change leadership, or for any of a number of different reasons, they could indeed go off a cliff like that.

Yea, it's like when the auto mechanic says its "unsafe" to not replace your brake rotors when you change your pads and that he won't replace your breaks unless you pay for rotors too. Just say that the job is too small to be worth it unless you replace the rotors.
I think this is one of the core problems of the internet economy at large. We've build a huge ecosystem of services basically on the conditions:

1) Users think they are free

2) They are not actually free

The result is of course stuff like this.

I think Docker already went down that route so it's too late for them to change. They adopted the mindset - you can see it from the way how the dude tried to explain how this improves anything when in reality it decreased convenience.
I understand the rationale for filing this issue, although I personally disagree with it... Docker for Mac is great freeware, and I don’t mind logging into Steam and Mac Store for my other apps, so I don’t have an issue with doing the same with Docker. But for someone who greatly cares about not having to give their email, I can see how it can be annoying to see the policy change after they started using the software...

Either way... Holy shit is that github thread full of negativity and entitlement! Pretty shocking. Even if you’re unhappy with something, that’s no way to treat a team that is giving you a tool for free!

The more hilarious part is the reaction from here.

You can't be a successful startup if you don't have a list of your product's users.

>You can't be a successful startup if you don't have a list of your product's users.

Id Software does not have a list of people who used Doom.

Yes, they do.

Literally. the first version required you to register by phone or mail in order to get the full game.

If you mean the most recent version... they know exactly which commercial retailers purchased the game, and in what quantities. They might not know exactly which consumer ended up with those games, but those consumers were not their customers, the retailers were.

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While I agree there seems to be a significant amount of negativity on display, I'm not sure I'm shocked by it. The ticket response by joaofnfernandes is remarkably tone deaf and reads as fairly dishonest.
>Either way... Holy shit is that github thread full of negativity and entitlement! Pretty shocking. Even if you’re unhappy with something, that’s no way to treat a team that is giving you a tool for free!

I think the fact that you focus on the "entitlement" and that I focus on the fact that the maintainer gave a bullshit, misleading answer to an important question, is related to the fact that you don't mind having to log in to download a tool and I do.

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> Either way... Holy shit is that github thread full of negativity and entitlement!

Negativity - rightfully so imo.

Entitlement - many people have contributed to the docker project. It's open source. Entitlement comes with the territory.

It's the hateful and cruel comments that bother me. State your opinion of the move to a loginwall, don't hate the ppl who did it.

Docker Hub[1] is also blatantly in breach of the GDPR. Wording on the pop-up:

> We and our advertising partners use cookies on this site and around the web to improve your website experience and provide you with personalised advertising from this site and other advertisers in AdRoll's network. By clicking "allow" or navigating this site, you accept the placement and use of these cookies for these purposes.

It’s not a modal, but supposedly ignoring it opts you into the tracking, with the only choices being “Allow” or “Learn More” and the [x] button also being labelled “Allow”.

IANAL, but it’s not informed individualised consent if there’s literally no opt-out, and there’s not a lawful basis unless advertising-cookies are suddenly the enabling technology behind downloadable containers.

I’d report them to the Information Commissioner‘s Office myself if I didn’t think they were about to fold anyway, after their piss-poor sunsetting of Docker Cloud and painting a target on their own back for a few adbucks.

[1]: https://hub.docker.com/

>Docker Hub is also blatantly in breach of the GDPR.

Truth is, no one cares. GDPR is an overreach designed to shake down American mega-corps. Docker has no money so the EU isn't going to do anything to them.

>I’d report them to the Information Commissioner‘s Office myself if I didn’t think they were about to fold anyway

I'm sure they're inundated with complaints from unsuccessful companies trying to shoot down their biggest competitors already. Adding one more to the pile is only going to waste your time and that of EU regulators.

> Truth is, no one cares. GDPR is an overreach designed to shake down American mega-corps

And yet it hurts small startups that don't have the resources to become fully GDPR compliant more.

This is just inaccurate. GDPR is derived from warranted concern over rampant data abuse. And it's actually much easier to make a startup GDPR compliant than it is to overhaul a large company with rigid systems already in place. If anything, GDPR favors startups.
It hurts small startups trying to perpetuate the same blatant disregard for human rights as American startups have done in the past. It doesn't hurt small startups that are privacy-aware and treat their users with respect.

Not giving users a way to delete their accounts was never okay. Tracking user behavior without consent was never okay. Holding users' data hostage was never okay. Not giving people a way to correct the data you keep about them was never okay.

US startups have been playing on easy mode by getting to ignore human rights and just follow the local letter of the law even when going international.

If anything you'd think HN "classical liberals" would love this as it evens the playing field, allowing for fairer competition between already privacy-aware EU companies and the previously unfairly advantaged US companies entering the EU market. Of course this assumes you think privacy and data ownership should be protected as human rights in the first place.

> Not giving users a way to delete their accounts was never okay. Tracking user behavior without consent was never okay. Holding users' data hostage was never okay. Not giving people a way to correct the data you keep about them was never okay.

Sure. If being GDPR compliant just meant you just don't have to do those things, it wouldn't be a problem. But with GDPR you now have to spend time (=money) understanding what GDPR means (probably with a lawyer's help) and ensuring that you are in fact compliant. "I try to protect user's privacy" isn't good enough when the EU could effectively put you out of business if you aren't. You'll have to deal with Data Access Requests, most of which are from trolls. You may need a DPO, which might require hiring someone. I'm all for protecting privacy, but the GDPR adds quite a bit of burden, which large corporations will be able to eat, but will set back smaller corporations. Really medium size companies are in the best position, since they have the resources to meet GDPR obligations, but don't have to do massive overhauls like the big corps do.

"overreach"

You mean, like Google continuing to compile Location statistics while assuring users they're not?

"designed to shake down American..."

Or, it's not just a scam after all ... for whatever reason, some places in the world feel a need to protect themselves from US ...

... and they're actually trying to protect their citizens. Unlike 'our representatives' (hah!) in the US Congress.

> Truth is, no one cares.

You will, if you have EU customers.

> GDPR is an overreach designed to shake down American mega-corps.

The GDPR is the result of mega-corps (American ones in particular) not giving two shits about how their users' personal data is handled. Cry all you want now that the milk's spilled, it won't change the fact that this legislation was not conjured in a vacuum, but as a response to the way corporations behave when not obliged to care about personally identifiable information.

> Docker has no money so the EU isn't going to do anything to them.

A formal reprimand might suffice. Contrary to the naive american view I see here on HN, EU data regulators don't immediately try to shut you down by barging into your company's office with a SWAT team.

> I'm sure they're inundated with complaints from unsuccessful companies trying to shoot down their biggest competitors already.

How sure? 100%? 50%? Less? What are you basing your assertion on?

> Adding one more to the pile is only going to waste your time and that of EU regulators.

There's a characteristic nearly all government departments share: they may be slow, but they're steamrollers. They'll get to you eventually.

Internet Lawyers have spoken.
The opt-out, is to navigate away and not use their service. Which matches the GDPR - if you need the data to create a contract - like 'we use your data in exchange for your use of our site' then you can keep it.

> there’s not a lawful basis unless advertising-cookies are suddenly the enabling technology behind downloadable containers.

Yes they are. Advertising cookies are how those downloadable containers are provided. That's an enabling technology. It wouldn't exist otherwise in the technology ghetto of the EU.

Your legal analysis is incorrect. From the UK ICO's guidance¹:

> The ‘consent’ is a condition of service

> If you require someone to agree to processing as a condition of service, consent is unlikely to be the most appropriate lawful basis for the processing. In some circumstances it won’t even count as valid consent. Instead, if you believe the processing is necessary for the service, the better lawful basis for processing is more likely to be that the “processing is necessary for the performance of a contract” under Article 6(1)(b). You are only likely to need to rely on consent if required to do so under another provision, such as for electronic marketing. It may be that the processing is a condition of service but is not actually necessary for that service. If so, consent is not just inappropriate as a lawful basis, but presumed to be invalid as it is not freely given. In these circumstances, you would usually need to consider ‘legitimate interests’ under Article 6(1)(f) as your lawful basis for processing instead.

And in regards to tracking specifically:

> You are also likely to need consent under ePrivacy laws for most marketing calls or messages, website cookies or other online tracking methods, or to install apps or other software on people’s devices.

[1] https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/consultations/2013551...

The GDPR does not accept lack of action - dismissing dialogs, ignoring them, etc. as consent. You have to give clear, free and affirmative consent.

You basically have to have a modal "do you consent to tracking? [yes] [no]" dialog. Which obviously nobody who does tracking wants to do, but that's kind of the point.

You're wrong.
Explain why. A 2-word reply will always get you downvoted, and with good reason.
oh my... they are getting the full version of “improved user experience” in their github comments right now.
Ubuntu for raspberry pi requires a ubuntu login continue installing it, after formatting and setting the network up. It won't let you boot into a working setup until you create account on their website. Kind of hard if you don't have access to any other device.
That's so dumb. How can this possibly be seen as a good idea?
Really? This must have changed recently. I installed their PI image about 6 months ago without having to register. That really sucks :(
I work for Canonical on snapd, so can provide some background here.

You're probably describing Ubuntu Core instead of classic Ubuntu. The UX there is oriented for devices, and it was cooked to avoid default passwords in an environment in which the device often will have no display. So once you boot, the device is in a running state, and the brand (manufacturer) that cooked the image has the choice of allowing individuals to login or not. In addition to a store account, the brand can also offer a "system-user" assertion, that is a signed document that you can present devices to get a system user in. That assertion may detail remote login, SSH keys, and also a hashed password for independent logins. That only works once on the device, though, for obvious reasons.

For generic Ubuntu Core devices the "brand" is Canonical, and for those devices you can get an assertion signed and with it log into any number of devices you want. That procedure may be done over USB storage, for example. Just insert a USB key into the device and your user credentials will be setup, even if it's completely offline. Again, that only works once on the device. If you lose the keys the device will need to be factory-reset.

I find this troubling as well. Reminds me of having to log in for mysql.
It seems like Docker is in a really awkward place as a company. Their strategy was clearly to get everyone on the container hyper train then monetize by selling the production orchestration / runtime. But Kubernetes happened and GCP / AWS have rolled out competition in all the other supporting system needed; container registries, build pipelines, etc. What is the actual pitch for Docker EE now? Their marketing is pushing hard on 'security', but otherwise it seems like they are just selling a pretty UI for K8s. I don't see that being enough to support a company that has taken 250M in funding.
The k8s community is moving full steam ahead toward replacing docker containers with OCI-compliant cri-o/podman. Docker had a good run with a great idea, but it doesn’t make sense to leave all of this vendor-agnostic tooling reliant on Docker (the company).
Interesting, where can we learn more about this? (eg; cri-o, podman, I saw rkt mentioned elsewhere)
I've been reading Dan Walsh's blog about podman & cri-o:

https://medium.com/@rhatdan

(Disclaimer, I work in the same company, but not in the same department/group)

I don't think that all the k8s distros are looking at cri-o, I think that many are considering cri-containerd instead, which kind of makes sense as they're all using containerd, so whether you need a whole separate program to manage that interface is debatable.
Wow, I'd never realized that.

I wonder whether Google greenlighted significant investment into Kubernetes because they saw Docker Inc as a threat to Google Cloud and wanted to kill it early.

It's not precisely the same playbook as Embrace, Extend, Extinguish and it's been played out significantly less evilly (is that a word?) and more openly, but, well, they embraced Docker, extended it with K8s and are now well on the path towards "extinguish".

It's way more likely that Google was targeting Amazon with Kubernetes. AWS is the leading cloud providing and commoditizing cloud computing with containers would level the playing field and maybe even tilt it towards the creator for the tool.

It seems to have worked, at least a bit, since Kubernetes has gained adoption. AWS is still ahead, though.

Whilst I have no inside knowledge that's not the way I think this has developed.

Docker got in as a container runtime, without any orchestration capabilities, then K8s came along to do orchestration but didn't provide it's own container runtime, so they used Docker.

After that there was some tension as Docker wanted to move "up the stack" to provide features like orchestration (with Docker Swarm) but the k8s community saw that as unecessary, they wanted a simple container runtime to sit under their orchestration layer.

Now we have options like cri-o or cri-containerd which are likely in the medium term to take over from Docker as the container runtime underneath Kubernetes installs. I'd expect that Docker will see more use in dev/test environments where full scale clusters are not required.

> Docker wanted to move "up the stack"

nobody who wants to make money likes being at the bottom of the stack (as it's where commoditization happens). Moving up means you have a bit more lock-in (via specific business requirements), and/or provide services that can be bought by stakeholders (vs a tech choice by the "lowly" engineers).

This is why i want my infrastructure to be owned by a non-profit. Just maintain the commodity infrastructure, no fancy, shmancy value-adds.

Sorry, I have store fatigue and I don't need another one.
I noticed this today! Thankfully I was able to dig up their instructions for Ubuntu installation which just depend on apt, and they still worked fine. You can practically hear the Docker devs fighting with PMs/business guys about this one.
"user experience", what a lame excuse.