4 ms·

The article is not talking about Windows, so folks here aren't either. Why are you surprised that folks are uninterested in Windows? I've preferred Mac systems

The article is not talking about Windows, so folks here aren't either. Why are you surprised that folks are uninterested in Windows? I've preferred Mac systems for longer than most of the HN crowd has been alive, so I understand what it's like to feel ignored and in the minority. For years, Mac users were treated as pariahs. The tables have turned, and as someone who has been in your situation, I should have great empathy for your predicament. And I do, but your tone in general -- and your last sentence in particular -- makes it very hard to empathize. Microsoft used its near-monopoly status to stifle innovation for years, and many of us have figurative scars that will never heal. You seem to think that they are making great strides (while I see them as half-hearted overtures), but either way I'm not about to "throw them a bone." Their decades of misdeeds, in my eyes, will not be expiated so easily. Perhaps Microsoft will someday be worthy of forgiveness, either from the perspective of morality (e.g., Mozilla) or product excellence (e.g., Apple). Until that day, Microsoft will continue to reap what they have sown, given no more attention than they have earned.

KirinDave 11y ago
> And I do, but your tone in general -- and your last sentence in particular -- makes it very hard to empathize. Microsoft used its near-monopoly status to stifle innovation for years, and many of us have figurative scars that will never heal. You seem to think that they are making great strides (while I see them as half-hearted overtures), but either way I'm not about to "throw them a bone." Their decades of misdeeds, in my eyes, will not be expiated so easily. I feel like Apple's has forgotten what was important, created then ruined a market, and lost everything that made it interesting (long before Steve Jobs passed away, by the way). Which cuts all the more deeply because back in the early 2ks they were walking the walk and taking a lot from NeXT's culture of developer friendliness. I grew up deeply invested in Macs and NeXT, which makes the realization painful, but... Apple wants to annihilate maker culture as it monetizes its platform. It's also stopped caring about design on a grand scale, instead appealing to very shallow notions of "visual simplicity". That's all gone now, and they're consequently useless to me. I'd rather patronize a company currently doing the right thing after a troubled past than pretend a previously aligned company was still there. It should be very telling that Apple AND Google's flagship hardware announcement of 2015 was something that Microsoft has been doing for years. And if Microsoft suddenly goes evil again? Fuck them, I'll drop them and move somewhere else. Not Linux, unless the distros pull their act together, but I'm sure a competitor will emerge. Or I'll make one.
- justinmayer 11y ago
  You make some good points here, which I completely understand. Hopefully the future will bring better options for us all.
  - KirinDave 11y ago
    I know your feeling too, thanks for accepting I feel differently. And sometimes I ask myself "What the hell am I doing with this Surface book?" I won't pretend I don't have doubts. It's sort of a rough time for devs right now even as we enjoy unprecedented prosperity and recognition. Big businesses are attempting to monetize and control every aspect of developers.
TheGrassyKnoll 11y ago
"...decades of misdeeds..." Which they benefited handsomely from and were never sufficiently punished. I'm with you, my trust of MS is still pretty close to nil.
cgriswald 11y ago
GP seems to be talking about this line in the article: > Windows: ? (No idea, I haven't touched the platform in a while... should WORK!) I do think the author missed the ball in not doing basic research for the Windows platform. His point is that people should switch from one compression tool to another. If people on Windows were unable to compress or decompress such files, that would be a huge problem for his argument. That said, I don't agree with the GP's tangent.

KirinDave 11y ago

> And I do, but your tone in general -- and your last sentence in particular -- makes it very hard to empathize. Microsoft used its near-monopoly status to stifle innovation for years, and many of us have figurative scars that will never heal. You seem to think that they are making great strides (while I see them as half-hearted overtures), but either way I'm not about to "throw them a bone." Their decades of misdeeds, in my eyes, will not be expiated so easily. I feel like Apple's has forgotten what was important, created then ruined a market, and lost everything that made it interesting (long before Steve Jobs passed away, by the way). Which cuts all the more deeply because back in the early 2ks they were walking the walk and taking a lot from NeXT's culture of developer friendliness. I grew up deeply invested in Macs and NeXT, which makes the realization painful, but... Apple wants to annihilate maker culture as it monetizes its platform. It's also stopped caring about design on a grand scale, instead appealing to very shallow notions of "visual simplicity". That's all gone now, and they're consequently useless to me. I'd rather patronize a company currently doing the right thing after a troubled past than pretend a previously aligned company was still there. It should be very telling that Apple AND Google's flagship hardware announcement of 2015 was something that Microsoft has been doing for years. And if Microsoft suddenly goes evil again? Fuck them, I'll drop them and move somewhere else. Not Linux, unless the distros pull their act together, but I'm sure a competitor will emerge. Or I'll make one.

justinmayer 11y ago
You make some good points here, which I completely understand. Hopefully the future will bring better options for us all.
- KirinDave 11y ago
  I know your feeling too, thanks for accepting I feel differently. And sometimes I ask myself "What the hell am I doing with this Surface book?" I won't pretend I don't have doubts. It's sort of a rough time for devs right now even as we enjoy unprecedented prosperity and recognition. Big businesses are attempting to monetize and control every aspect of developers.

TheGrassyKnoll 11y ago

"...decades of misdeeds..." Which they benefited handsomely from and were never sufficiently punished. I'm with you, my trust of MS is still pretty close to nil.

cgriswald 11y ago

GP seems to be talking about this line in the article: > Windows: ? (No idea, I haven't touched the platform in a while... should WORK!) I do think the author missed the ball in not doing basic research for the Windows platform. His point is that people should switch from one compression tool to another. If people on Windows were unable to compress or decompress such files, that would be a huge problem for his argument. That said, I don't agree with the GP's tangent.