3 ms·

The main platform where open source takes place is now owned by a company that thought of open source as a form of cancer, vocally talked against it in a disres

The main platform where open source takes place is now owned by a company that thought of open source as a form of cancer, vocally talked against it in a disrespectful manner for no reason, promoted fear/uncertainty/doubt campaigns, and even to this day continues to troll companies with patents. That is not a great place to be in. Personally, I think everyone should just move their projects somewhere else before Microsoft starts forcibly herding developers their way.

pknopf 8y ago
> thought of open source as a form of cancer, vocally talked against it Not that I deny it, because can you point me to some examples of this?
- detaro 8y ago
  https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_cancer/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_...
  - pknopf 8y ago
    Ahaha! Him today: "I may have called Linux a cancer but now I love it" https://www.zdnet.com/article/ballmer-i-may-have-called-linux-a-cancer-but-now-i-love-it/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/ballmer-i-may-have-called-linu... If you can't beat them, join them. Honestly though, Microsoft was beat into submission here. Developers and applications (in general) are moving to Linux. Microsoft has no leverage. Sure, buying GitHub may be seen as obtaining leverage, but I think it's clear that you can't strong-arm FOSS sustainably. Free and open is built in.
    - partycoder 8y ago
      You are right. Right now Microsoft sounds the same as a politician after losing the primaries, forced to endorse the candidate they competed with and criticized. We know well though, that when there's a new election, all that happy friendship BS will be over and we will see their true colors again.
- partycoder 8y ago
  https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_cancer/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_... Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO said: "Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches" That is a direct attack to open source licensing and open source software. Microsoft had to take that back after they were beaten in the market and lost popularity among developers. Now it's plan B: govern open source projects and infrastructure and put them to the service of Microsoft interests. One way of doing that could be simply mismanaging them and setting them for failure.
  - dboon 8y ago
    That article is written using very inflammatory language -- I am very wary to take it at face value, because an author using this kind of language is very unlikely to deeply analyze what Ballmer actually said. Furthermore, this was said two decades ago. Take it with a grain of salt.
    - partycoder 8y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguis... Some brief history refresher: - Apple + Microsoft "collaborating" on Macintosh software = Windows - IBM + Microsoft "collaborating" on OS/2 = the NT kernel, Windows NT - Sybase + Microsoft "collaborating" on Sybase SQL server = MS SQL Server - Sun + Microsoft "embracing" Java = .NET Framework "Take it with a grain of salt".
      - AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
        You were downvoted... What in the hell is wrong with HN users? Are they all children? These events are well within living memory for a lot of us.
        partycoder 8y ago
        A lot of people do not have a perspective on how greedy Microsoft was. Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world today, not by gathering in circles and singing happy songs. The guy was a monopolist. They wanted everyone to use Microsoft Windows, code in Visual Studio, do their office work in Office, browse the web in Internet Explorer, have a Microsoft e-mail, chat using Microsoft services, and you get the idea. And a lot of that was possible by having Windows preinstalled in new computers, and bundling software with Windows, like Internet Explorer. You could argue Apple is similar, but I do not think Apple is interested in a monopoly of the size of that planned by Microsoft.
- grumbel 8y ago
  Microsoft ran these ads in Germany back in 2000: http://xaharts.org/funny/i/Microsoft_Linux_ad.jpg http://xaharts.org/funny/i/Microsoft_Linux_ad.jpg Translation: An open operating system does not only have advantages An open operating system can mutate. With Windows 2000, however, all services are from a single source. This saves time and thus money. More information at www.microsoft.com/germany/windows2000

pknopf 8y ago

> thought of open source as a form of cancer, vocally talked against it Not that I deny it, because can you point me to some examples of this?

detaro 8y ago
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_cancer/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_...
- pknopf 8y ago
  Ahaha! Him today: "I may have called Linux a cancer but now I love it" https://www.zdnet.com/article/ballmer-i-may-have-called-linux-a-cancer-but-now-i-love-it/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/ballmer-i-may-have-called-linu... If you can't beat them, join them. Honestly though, Microsoft was beat into submission here. Developers and applications (in general) are moving to Linux. Microsoft has no leverage. Sure, buying GitHub may be seen as obtaining leverage, but I think it's clear that you can't strong-arm FOSS sustainably. Free and open is built in.
  - partycoder 8y ago
    You are right. Right now Microsoft sounds the same as a politician after losing the primaries, forced to endorse the candidate they competed with and criticized. We know well though, that when there's a new election, all that happy friendship BS will be over and we will see their true colors again.
partycoder 8y ago
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_cancer/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_... Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO said: "Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches" That is a direct attack to open source licensing and open source software. Microsoft had to take that back after they were beaten in the market and lost popularity among developers. Now it's plan B: govern open source projects and infrastructure and put them to the service of Microsoft interests. One way of doing that could be simply mismanaging them and setting them for failure.
- dboon 8y ago
  That article is written using very inflammatory language -- I am very wary to take it at face value, because an author using this kind of language is very unlikely to deeply analyze what Ballmer actually said. Furthermore, this was said two decades ago. Take it with a grain of salt.
  - partycoder 8y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguis... Some brief history refresher: - Apple + Microsoft "collaborating" on Macintosh software = Windows - IBM + Microsoft "collaborating" on OS/2 = the NT kernel, Windows NT - Sybase + Microsoft "collaborating" on Sybase SQL server = MS SQL Server - Sun + Microsoft "embracing" Java = .NET Framework "Take it with a grain of salt".
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
      You were downvoted... What in the hell is wrong with HN users? Are they all children? These events are well within living memory for a lot of us.
      - partycoder 8y ago
        A lot of people do not have a perspective on how greedy Microsoft was. Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world today, not by gathering in circles and singing happy songs. The guy was a monopolist. They wanted everyone to use Microsoft Windows, code in Visual Studio, do their office work in Office, browse the web in Internet Explorer, have a Microsoft e-mail, chat using Microsoft services, and you get the idea. And a lot of that was possible by having Windows preinstalled in new computers, and bundling software with Windows, like Internet Explorer. You could argue Apple is similar, but I do not think Apple is interested in a monopoly of the size of that planned by Microsoft.
grumbel 8y ago
Microsoft ran these ads in Germany back in 2000: http://xaharts.org/funny/i/Microsoft_Linux_ad.jpg http://xaharts.org/funny/i/Microsoft_Linux_ad.jpg Translation: An open operating system does not only have advantages An open operating system can mutate. With Windows 2000, however, all services are from a single source. This saves time and thus money. More information at www.microsoft.com/germany/windows2000