Live data from Hacker News

What has Docker become?

tuananh.net

151–160 of 286 posts

Re: What has Docker become?

#151
post #133

Hi, I'm the founder of Docker. I started it in 2008 (under the name Dotcloud) and left in 2018. AMA.

Hi! Thanks for offering an AMA here. I don't have a specific question, but I am interested in hearing about the general story of what it was like developing Docker, what the experience was like trying to build a business around it, and what you're up to these days in post-Docker life. Thanks in advance!

Re: What has Docker become?

#152
post #144
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really, rancher, containerd, podman don't depend on Docker other than offering a compatibility layer for tools that expect talking to the real Docker.

containerd is the lower half of dockerd, spun out by Docker as a standalone open source project. It remains a core component of Docker.

I stand corrected on that one, however it was then another piece of the stack they ended up losing as added value.

Re: What has Docker become?

#154

"The problem is that Docker the technology became so successful that Docker the company struggled to monetize it. When your core product becomes commoditized and open source, you need to find new ways to add value." No, everything was already open source, other had done it before too, they just made it in a way a lot of "normal" users could start with it, then they waited too long and others created better/their own…

For a Linux user, you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem. From Windows or Mac, this FTP account could be accessed through built-in software.

Re: What has Docker become?

#155
post #85

A few times I've wondered, where would Docker Inc be today if Microsoft acquired them back in 2017? Early 2017 was peak Docker and Docker Inc. Those were the days. Container hype was everywhere. Before moby. Before all the pivots. Microsoft was embracing open source and the cloud. They were acquiring dev tools. It was a missed opportunity for both companies.

They probably would've kept autobuilds free for open source and I wouldn't have switched to GHCR and Github Actions for all my projects. Seems Microsoft got my "business" anyway.

Re: What has Docker become?

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean you can say that, but on the topic of rootless, regardless of "interest" at Docker, they did nothing about it. I was at Red Hat at the time, a PM in the BU that created podman, and Docker's intransigence on rootless was probably the core issue that led to podman's creation.

That's true, we didn't do much around it. Small startup with monetization problems and all.

So absolutely at least some of that is true.

I’d be surprised if the systemd thing was not also true.

I think it’s quite likely Docker did not have a good handle on the “needs” of the enterprise space. That is Red Hats bread and butter; are you saying they developed all of that for no reason?

Re: What has Docker become?

#158
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> [...] without being on a Linux system. I'll add that needing to be on the "right" Linux system is another strike against Podman. Last I checked if I wasn't on a RedHat derivative I was in the wilderness.

Huh. I tried docker. Didn’t like the odor of enshittification, and so switched to podman (desktop). I use it on macOS, and deploy on Ubuntu. It’s been smooth sailing. I found the signal to noise ratio better in Podland. As a newb to docker space, I was overwhelmed with should I swarm, should I compose, what’s this register my thing? And people are freaking about root stuff. I’m sure I still only use and understand ab…

Yeah I was pretty hard on podman in that comment but the truth is I use it over docker wherever I can. I have a mixed environment at home but settled on RedHat for the home server and everything seems totally ok. I really like quadlets, and the ability to go rootless is a big load off my mind to be honest. I do wish they'd package it for other distros though. It would save some headaches.

Re: What has Docker become?

#159
post #133

Hi, I'm the founder of Docker. I started it in 2008 (under the name Dotcloud) and left in 2018. AMA.

What would you have done differently in retrospect?

What I would tell my younger self:

Only listen to your users and customers, ignore everyone else.

Don't hire an external CEO unless you're ready to leave. Hiring a CEO will not fix the loneliness of not having a co-founder.

Having haters is part of success. Accept it, and try to not let it get to you.

Don't partner with Red Hat. They are competitors even though they're not honest about it.

Not everyone hates you even though it may seem that way on hacker news and twitter. People actually appreciate your work and it will get better. Keep going.

Post reply on HN