What has Docker become? • Hacker News Board

Re: What has Docker become?

#21

Post by b40d-48b2-979e » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:41 PM UTC

koe123 wrote: post #18

Honestly I reach for podman or `nix develop` any chance I get. What is the edge that docker provides these days?

    What is the edge that docker provides these days?

Enterprise support and Docker Desktop makes it nearly seamless to get set up using containers. I've tried Rancher/podman/buildah and the experience introduced too much friction for me without being on a Linux system.

Re: What has Docker become?

#22

Post by thiagoperes » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:43 PM UTC

Switched to OrbStack in one prompt using Claude. It’s a night and day difference

Re: What has Docker become?

#23

Post by koe123 » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:43 PM UTC

b40d-48b2-979e wrote: post #21

koe123 wrote: post #18

Honestly I reach for podman or `nix develop` any chance I get. What is the edge that docker provides these days?

What is the edge that docker provides these days? Enterprise support and Docker Desktop makes it nearly seamless to get set up using containers. I've tried Rancher/podman/buildah and the experience introduced too much friction for me without being on a Linux system.

Fair! I haven’t done any container related activities on Windows.

Re: What has Docker become?

#24

Post by darkwater » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:43 PM UTC

koe123 wrote: post #18

Honestly I reach for podman or `nix develop` any chance I get. What is the edge that docker provides these days?

> What is the edge that docker provides these days?

That you are not the average developer

Re: What has Docker become?

#25

Post by JakaJancar » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:43 PM UTC

They enshittified/Dropboxified their core Docker Desktop app so much that OrbStack — I believe a single person initially — managed to build a better product. I love this outcome.

Re: What has Docker become?

#26

Post by __MatrixMan__ » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:44 PM UTC

I used to be very enthusiastic about docker compose, but I've been playing around with nix + process-compose lately and its pretty great. I can have k3s and tilt in there only when it's necessary--which it's usually not.

Re: What has Docker become?

#27

Post by breakingcups » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:44 PM UTC

throw20251220 wrote: post #11

reedf1 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is honestly incredible that such an important part of the Windows dev process is nearly unusable. It is easily the most fickle and opaque bit of software that I am required to depend upon.

Windows is the problem, not Docker. Just try wsl2 and you’ll see…

That's a very naive take. The issue is Docker Desktop, a buggy mess. I have plenty of well-functioning, complex Windows applications with detailed troubleshooting utilities.

Re: What has Docker become?

#28

Post by swores » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:47 PM UTC

darkwater wrote: post #24

koe123 wrote: post #18

Honestly I reach for podman or `nix develop` any chance I get. What is the edge that docker provides these days?

> What is the edge that docker provides these days? That you are not the average developer

Not very clear what you mean... well you haven't actually given them an answer to their question.

Are you suggesting that docker provides an (unspecified) edge to developers who are better than average? Or to those who are mediocre? Or...

Re: What has Docker become?

#29

Post by darkwater » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:48 PM UTC

swores wrote: post #28

darkwater wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What is the edge that docker provides these days? That you are not the average developer

Not very clear what you mean... well you haven't actually given them an answer to their question. Are you suggesting that docker provides an (unspecified) edge to developers who are better than average? Or to those who are mediocre? Or...

I mean that the average developer will follow/use what has the most traction already and in the containers space, like it or not, it's still Docker.

Re: What has Docker become?

#30

Post by torginus » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 1:49 PM UTC

leetrout wrote: post #3

> Docker created a standard so successful that it became infrastructure, and infrastructure is hard to monetize Open infrastructure is hard to monetize. Old school robotics players have a playbook for this. You may or may not agree DBs are infra but Oracle has done well by capitalistic standards. The reality is in our economy exploitation is a basic requirement. Nothing says a company providing porcelain for Linux ke…

Imo the problem with SaaS products is that their revenue expectations are priced accordingly to the market they serve, not the money it takes recreating them.

If I wrote the best word processor in the world, I could probably sell it for a decent sum to quite a few people.

However if I expressed my revenue expectations as a percentage of revenue from the world's bestselling novels, I would be very quickly disappointed.