Azure Notebook

Question

I can't create a project in Azure Notebooks. It shows on the page to migrate my notebooks. So, which notebooks should I use from the alternatives for use Jupyter noteboks on cloud?

Answer 1

MICROSOFT HAS UTTERLY LOST ME WITH THIS (NON) EXPLANATION...

EXPLAIN THIS TO ME:

1. Azure Notebooks is a CLOUD-based JUPYTER NOTEBOOK DEVELOPMENT and EXECUTION environment. KEY CRITERIA:
   • must be CLOUD-hosted;
   • must provide for a "NOTEBOOK" development experience (UI);
   • must provide for EXECUTION of notebooks being developed.
2. The (Microsoft) employee authoring this article asserts that the following technologies (adequately) REPLACE Azure Notebooks: Visual Studio Code (Desktop):
   • NOT cloud-hosted :-(
   • DOES provide a "notebook" development experience :-)
   • DOES provide for execution - but execution that is ONLY as powerful as the laptop or VM on which Visual Studio Code is installed :-|

   ---

   OVERALL MATCH: DISMAL
3. Github Codespaces (beta):
   • IS cloud-hosted, but utterly INCOMPREHENSIBLE so far :-|
   • FORCES you to edit your github-hosted notebook in VISUAL STUDIO CODE on (say) your LAPTOP; utterly MISSING THE POINT :-(
   • does (I guess?) provide for execution, but again INCOMPREHENSIBLE when one is coming from the Azure Notebooks (or Azure Databricks or AzureML) development experience :-(

   ---

   OVERALL MATCH: DISMAL
4. Azure ML ("Studio"):
   • IS cloud-hosted, but FORCES you to now create an AZURE SUBSCRIPTION, PROVISION (at leAST) single-node (expensive) "Compute Instance" in order to execute code :-|
   • DOES provide a (mostly cool, mostly powerful) NOTEBOOK development experience (note: I've been using this professional full-time for the PAST 2 YEARS) :-)
   • DOES provide for EXECUTION of notebooks developed in the editor, but the learning curve here is far far far more COMPLEX than with Azure Notebooks or Azure Databricks :-|

   ---

   OVERALL MATCH: "LESS DISMAL"

WHAT IS THE RESULT OF MICROSOFT'S DESTRUCTION OF AZURE NOTEBOOKS FOLLOWED BY THINLY-VEILED ATTEMPTS TO FORCE USERS ONTO OTHER EXISTING AZURE TOOLS? SHORT ANSWER: users AREN'T moving onto AZURE tools - they're LEAVING !!!!!

• they're mostly moving to GOOGLE and KAGGLE - NICE JOB MICROSOFT (you blew it here)
• some people (like me) HAVE moved to Azure ML Studio, and have FALLEN IN LOVE WITH IT... but I will tell you whole-heartedly it's NOT "AZURE NOTEBOOKS"

ONE LAST THING: Over a YEAR ago Microsoft was promising that GITHUB.COM was going to suddenly "sprout" NOTEBOOK EDITING & EXECUTION capability, but all we got so far is CODESPACES - an utterly DISMAL "replacement"

MICROSOFT NEEDS TO RESTORE AZURE NOTEBOOKS - the ONLY GENUINE COMPETITION for GOOGLE'S notebook labs and KAGGLE'S built-in notebooks.

WAKE UP MICROSOFT - you single-handedly are DRIVING WOULD-BE ADOPTER AWAY FROM YOU and ONTO YOUR COMPETITORS' NOTEBOOK ENVIRONMENTS !!!

Foolish Foolish Foolish

-Mark Vogt, Senior Solution Architect/Data Scientist, AVANADE (a 45,000 consultant global consulting firm 1/3 OWNED by MICROSOFT)

PS: FEEL FREE to chat me up via MS Teams at ******@avanade.com, and I'd be happy to SPEARHEAD a REAL effort to integrate AzureNotebook's functionality into GITHUB.COM, which would be an AMAZING combination ! I'll even tell/show you HOW :-) ...

Answer 2

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out to us.

The Azure Notebooks preview is ending and the site is retiring on January 15th, 2021. You can enjoy powerful, integrated Jupyter notebooks with the following products and services from Microsoft and GitHub.

Notebooks in Visual Studio Code
VS Code is a free code editor and development platform that you can use locally or connected to remote compute. Combined with the Python extension, it offers a full environment for Python development including a rich experience for working with Jupyter notebooks. If you want a best-in-class, free Jupyter experience with the ability to leverage your compute of choice, this is a great option.
Using VS Code, you can develop and run notebooks against remotes and containers. To make the transition easier from Azure Notebooks, we have made the container image available so it can use with VS Code too.
Instructions on how to get started with notebooks in VS Code and migrate your Azure Notebooks projects (optionally using the container)

GitHub Codespaces beta
GitHub Codespaces beta provides cloud-hosted environments where you can edit your notebooks using Visual Studio Code or your web browser, and store them on GitHub. GitHub Codespaces beta offers the same great Jupyter experience as VS Code, but without needing to install anything on your device.
If you don’t want to set up a local environment and prefer a cloud-backed solution, then creating a codespace is a great option.
Instructions on how to get started with notebooks in GitHub Codespaces beta and migrate your Azure Notebooks projects

Azure Machine Learning
Azure Machine Learning provides an end-to-end machine learning platform to enable users to build and deploy models faster on Azure. Azure ML allows you to run notebooks on a VM or a shared cluster computing environment.
If you are in need of a cloud-based solution for your ML workload with experiment tracking, dataset management, and more, we recommend Azure Machine Learning.
Instructions on how to get started with Azure Machine Learning and how to migrate your Azure Notebooks projects
Azure Lab Services
Azure Lab Services allows educators to easily setup and provide on-demand access to preconfigured VMs for an entire classroom.
For educators looking for a way to work with notebooks and cloud compute in a tailored classroom environment, Lab Services is a great option.
Instructions on how to get started with Azure Lab Services and how to migrate your Azure Notebooks projects

GitHub
GitHub provides a free, source-control-backed way to store notebooks (and other files), share your notebooks with others, and work collaboratively.
If you’re looking for a way to share your projects and collaborate with others, GitHub is a great option.
Instructions on how to get started with GitHub and how to migrate your Azure Notebooks projects

Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Yutong