this isn't even a recent shift though. The decoupling of .NET Framework / Visual Studio / SQL Server / IIS years ago was probably indicative of where the puck w

this isn't even a recent shift though. The decoupling of .NET Framework / Visual Studio / SQL Server / IIS years ago was probably indicative of where the puck was going. I was considering buying a Xbox One X to replace my Xbox One but couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger because the only four things I could see as pluses (1. I like console Diablo 3 better than PC. 2. Madden. 3. UHD Bluray Player. 4. Faster hardware) didn't really warrant $500 (and the first two are functional on XB1 regular, just would admittedly look nicer) when I have a gaming PC that can play most of Microsoft's "Console Exclusives" which is another case where they don't force you into specific decisions. Though I agree with your point that when the writing was on the wall, the pivot happened. Unfortunately, the reverse of that has been true as well. We had an issue with a vendor platform where we tested/developed everything in Chrome and it all worked fine. Then, as we're going live with this flip, we learn that the pagination is completely broken in IE9 and I believe IE10. Reason? Their pagination was appending extra elements (? or #, can't remember as it was about 3 years ago) which was against the standard (there could be only one). So in Google's saving you from yourself, they deviated from the standard which caused the platform to function incorrectly in another browser. Let's also not forget their weaponizing of Google services when it comes to other platforms that aren't iOS (because splitting from that amount of marketshare would be ill advised).