In what would have been an unexpected move just 2 years ago, Microsoft has partnered with open-source powerhouse Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu), as well as industrial giant General Electric (GE) and consumer electronics maker Acer – as well as DataArt, which is contributing its DeviceHive platform to the cause. The end goal is to create a predictive maintenance for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Under its new CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft appears to have opened up to new cloud-based opportunities – trying to push Windows to as many screens and platforms as possible. Consequently, partnering with one of the biggest players in Linux is both a sensible and not entirely unexpected move, especially as Canonical’s Snappy Ubuntu Core…