Kubernetes arrives in Docker for Windows, Red Hat acquires CoreOS, and Nintendo revealed details about Switch Online.

Kubernetes in Docker

After coming to the betas for Docker for Mac and then Docker Enterprise, Kubernetes support has now come to Docker for Windows Desktop as well. Considering how much easier it is to create a local Kubernetes cluster for development, it’s great to see that it’s landed for Windows.

Obviously, with all 3 it might still be a matter of waiting for the final versions of the software if you’re not on the beta tracks. That said, if you’re interested in Kubernetes I recommend to at least give it a try for a bit to see how it goes. Either on a secondary computer or by temporarily switching to the edge version.

CoreOS Joins Red Hat

CoreOS, the makers of etcd, rkt, Container Linux¹, and various other container related tools are joining Red Hat. This is an interesting move, but it seems like a good acquisition for both sides.

While CoreOS has a commercial offering with their Tectonic platform, which is basically a custom management layer on top of Kubernetes, they are still best known for their non-commercial tools. In that regard, I think having that be run by a larger corporation will allow them more freedom to work on this.

Considering the importance and open source nature of those tools it would be very strange if Red Hat did anything to mess those up. The only exception would be Tectonic, but as that seems profitable with some large customers I don’t even see that changing in the short to medium term. By now it should be obvious that I’m not a fan of acquisitions and usually see them going wrong, but in this case I can’t see an immediate downside to it.

Nintendo Switch Online

While announcing another smartphone game, Nintendo also dropped details for their online service. Which sounds better than I expected. At least, in a financial sense.

At the moment this service is free, and is what you use for games such as Splatoon². Starting in September we’re going to be paying for this, with a plan that ranges from 4 US dollar per month to 20 dollar per year. Considering you’ll pay less than half price for a yearly plan, I don’t think there will be many people opting for the monthly plan.

In addition to the privilege of playing online games this will also give access to a number of classic Nintendo titles to play. Personally I have no idea whether I’ll make use of that, considering there are plenty of modern games to play on the Switch but we’ll see.

Alexa Ad Recognition

A small article that I found interesting, is this explanation on Bloomberg of why Alexa isn’t triggered by Amazon’s ads. Considering how we own more and more devices that are triggered by phrases I like to see how companies try to ensure they are not accidentally triggered. Especially when you take into accounts last year’s dollhouse story.