4 ms·

People keep implying that Microsoft is somehow going to break git and somehow use it to destroy people who want to give away their code. You can just change yo

by danmg 8y ago

People keep implying that Microsoft is somehow going to break git and somehow use it to destroy people who want to give away their code. You can just change your remotes and push to a different server. The protocol was designed to be distributed and prevent a single point of failure. Also, Microsoft and people who develop on Microsoft tools realise that there are network effects of being able to share code. This was just a side benefit and not altruism. What they were after was Electron, since that's a very popular way of writing desktop applications currently.

IncRnd 8y ago
> What they were after was Electron, since that's a very popular way of writing desktop applications currently. Would you mind explaining that? Microsoft doesn't need to purchase Electron for $7.5B of stock in order to write an Electron app. They already write Electron apps, one of which is used by many people who read HN.
- stealthmodeclan 8y ago
  Microsoft doesn't need to purchase Electron for $7.5B of stock in order to write an Electron app. They already write Electron apps, one of which is used by many people who read HN. But not sure if they had control over Electron's future direction which they seem to clearly have atleast now. V8 can also be replaced with Chakra in Electron i think. In that light, GP might be right.
  - IncRnd 8y ago
    True. I'm not necessarily against that position. 100% of the purchase is scheduled to happen in stock, so this may not be a direct cost for MS, even for a benefit that shouldn't be valued anywhere near $7.5B in cash. There is nothing wrong with a win-win deal for everyone involved. If this is a $7.5B purchase of Electron, my gut tells me that it isn't an arm's length transaction. I doubt that would happen in the US for Microsoft today, so I can't help but think there are other reasons than Electron for the purchase. The announcement from MS didn't really spell out the reasons for the prospective purchase other than to support developers. When I see the filing for the purchase, there may be additional reasons listed in that.

by danmg 8y ago

IncRnd 8y ago

> What they were after was Electron, since that's a very popular way of writing desktop applications currently. Would you mind explaining that? Microsoft doesn't need to purchase Electron for $7.5B of stock in order to write an Electron app. They already write Electron apps, one of which is used by many people who read HN.

stealthmodeclan 8y ago
Microsoft doesn't need to purchase Electron for $7.5B of stock in order to write an Electron app. They already write Electron apps, one of which is used by many people who read HN. But not sure if they had control over Electron's future direction which they seem to clearly have atleast now. V8 can also be replaced with Chakra in Electron i think. In that light, GP might be right.
- IncRnd 8y ago
  True. I'm not necessarily against that position. 100% of the purchase is scheduled to happen in stock, so this may not be a direct cost for MS, even for a benefit that shouldn't be valued anywhere near $7.5B in cash. There is nothing wrong with a win-win deal for everyone involved. If this is a $7.5B purchase of Electron, my gut tells me that it isn't an arm's length transaction. I doubt that would happen in the US for Microsoft today, so I can't help but think there are other reasons than Electron for the purchase. The announcement from MS didn't really spell out the reasons for the prospective purchase other than to support developers. When I see the filing for the purchase, there may be additional reasons listed in that.