​Microsoft plans to bring this popular database software SQL Server to Linux and will be available sometime in mid-2017.  This bold move is betting on that Windows operating servers will still grow while gaining the new set of users from the Linux side.  If you have followed the continuous growth of cloud computing demand and most operating systems in the cloud were Linux-based as Amazon is still dominating the cloud space with over 50% market share, Microsoft must find its future of MS SQL database in Linux and not just confining itself in the Microsoft only systems.

I think this strategic move made by Microsoft is inevitable, and now it is still not too late to decouple its database product from its operating system despite the challenge to separate the SQL server software from the system.  In the era of embracing the big data, one must put more emphasis on database product and loosen up any dependencies and let it strive and evolve freely.  Who knows one day SQL server may rename itself to a different name and accommodates nonSQL and other data structure.  So in this Linux version, it would have limited features especially to those functions integrated deeply with Windows platform. So at this time, we are not sure how much "core relational database capabilities" would be excluded according to Scott Guthrie, an Executive VP of the Cloud and Enterprise group in Microsoft.  But fortunately,  the new and highly anticipated feature of Microsoft SQL Server 2016, Stretch Databases, will be included it. The Stretch Database technology allows a user to migrate exactly the data needed within a hybrid cloud environment and also keeps more of your customer’s historical data at your fingertips by transparently stretching your warm and cold OLTP (On line transaction processing) data to Microsoft Azure in a secure manner without application changes.

Microsoft continues its cross-platform strategy after Satya Nadella took over the helm. There is a recent acquisition of Xamarin, which builds developer tools for building Android and iOS apps.  In late 2015, Microsoft develops its in-house Linux-based operating system called Azure Cloud Switch that used in network devices.  Microsoft also lends a helping hand and made tools for Linux admin user to monitor 43 different metrics such as CPU IO wait time, percentage, disk read/write, and memory used.  All these tools are free and no trick!   Besides fully embracing Linux in their on Azure cloud in Redmond, where it has 60% of images are Linux according to Corey Sanders, director of program management on Azure, Microsoft is also embracing cloud containers running Docker and Mesosphere.  Finally, it recently released stats package R Server for Linux.
 
All these changes are unlike the old Microsoft we used to know, and it is moving in a more open and supportive direction.

​Snapchat has become one of the popular social apps since 2013, and it's available for iOS and Android devices only.  Its logo looks like a happy ghost face which originally inspired by a music group called Wu-Tang Clan. Unlike Twitter or Facebook, it does not have a website interface that you can log in.  You must download the app to the mobile devices to use it.  Besides adding friends to Snapchat and texting to one another, it features photos and videos sharing with the ability to set a timer between 1 and 10 seconds to self-destruct.  And it does not allow the recipient to save the file.  You can take a photo or a video and then add a caption or a doodle. By using your finger, you can do a color drawing or add filters to fit your moods and save in a gallery.  Unlike LINE app, Snapchat is not that user-friendly and requires users to learn all its features to begin to use it. 
 

Despite its popularity, Snapchat is always surrounded by controversies.  In the earlier days, one of the three co-founders, Reggie Brown who initiated massive legal action against the company until it recognized that he was the one who came up with the idea.
 
Due to one of Snapchat's features that the messages will disappear after few seconds after sending out, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigated the company for misleading practices since the recipients still able to retrieve the messages either through screen capture function or from other apps or use another device to capture the image.  There were some incidents reported that intimate photos had unintentionally surfaced to the Internet.  Many parents are concerned and angry about their young kids using Snapchat since it used as a sexting tool or unknowingly exposed privacy information to the Internet.  In Snachat Guide for Parents, it said it's prohibited for a child under 13 to use it, but Snapchat doesn't ask for age on signup.  

​For Windows Phone users, the Snapchat app won't be available in the Microsoft store at all since it's not a matter of bridging the technology.  The Snapchat company purposely does not want to develop the app for Windows devices. The company suits anyone third-party developers tried to develop such app in the Microsoft Store.  For example, in late 2014, Rudy Huyn created a Snapchat client app called 6snap, was forced to pull out from the store.  Just recently, February 2016, a Windows app called Specter was made available by another developer which costs $1.49.  We are not sure the faith of this app and how long it will last.  The Snapchat users who downloaded 6snap last time had their Snapchat accounts warned and locked by Snapchat.  The controversial history of Microsoft's mobile platform is likely to continue.