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Comment by TheCabin

8 years ago

Yeah, I am not saying I would trust any other big competitor more than Microsoft.

However, I am still not convinced that Microsoft really changed as much as many people like to believe. I think it is obvious that they lost the fight against open-standards in many domains. Linux on Smartphones would be one example. Now they have two options, either to embrace these technologies or lose market. The question is: How genuine is their enthusiasm and are they really acting in the interest of open-standards? Do they still have strategies to hurt open alternatives to their own products in the long run?

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TheCabin

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ergomarky  8 years ago

I think the shift from a traditional sales focus to one on subscriptions and "The Cloud" is a pretty monumental change. Losing traditional sales markets like selling phones really hastened that change. I don't think you're looking for proof that they're genuinely enthusiastic, because imo desperation is the rawest form of genuine enthusiasm. It's whether or not they're altruistic in this particular field, and that has yet to be seen.

  • TheCabin  8 years ago

    I don't think you have to be altruistic to have genuine enthusiasm -- some companies have fantastic plans to support open-source as well as their business plans. But I agree with the first point you are making.

    • slg  8 years ago

      I think it is naive to believe than any company that is beholden to investors would choose altruism over profit. Most corporate altruism is just marketing.

      I don't think Microsoft is any more altruistic now, they just have adjusted their corporate strategy to recognize that supporting openness is good for business. That is enough for me.

s2g  8 years ago

and yet the response to anything by microsoft is reminders of EEE, while google gets praised for blatantly awful abuses of power.

  • jorams  8 years ago

    > google gets praised for blatantly awful abuses of power

    Do you have some examples of that? The first things that come to mind are AMP and related announcements, which were not received particularly positively here on HN.

    • falsedan  8 years ago

      mil drone stuff, Reader, the worst customer technical support…

      Cue followup 'Actually these are all extremely good + business-savvy decisions for big G since' posts.

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