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Unless you work for one, or have founded a company purpose-built for acquisition, I don’t see how the answer can be ‘No’. For entrepreneurs, the monopolistic s

Unless you work for one, or have founded a company purpose-built for acquisition, I don’t see how the answer can be ‘No’. For entrepreneurs, the monopolistic stranglehold these companies have, make them impossible to beat with a better product. The best possible outcome is acquisition. You may join, but never beat them. For Free Software hackers, the giants turning away from open standards, and towards DRM and abuse of the CFAA, is chilling. For a free society, surveillance capitalism needs to die. If you have ambitions in life beyond RSUs and a regular massage, yes they are too powerful.

neospice 8y ago
As an entrepreneur, I feel that its not always the problem that they can't be beat at the product game- but that the product doesn't really matter. Often people don't look at the product, but the marketing. E.G. It's not a problem that SquareSpaces has an awesome site-builder, but it is a problem that they can afford to use [Keanu Reaves](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqnhN2Rzaqc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqnhN2Rzaqc) as their mascot.
wolfgke 8y ago
> For Free Software hackers, the giants turning away from open standards, and towards DRM and abuse of the CFAA, is chilling. Every DRM needs two sides: A company implementing it and a mass of customers willing to tolerate it. The serious problem that I see is not the DRM itself, but the laws that prohibit people to develop and distribute cracks for the DRM.
wilsonnb2 8y ago
> For entrepreneurs, the monopolistic stranglehold these companies have, make them impossible to beat with a better product. The best possible outcome is acquisition. You may join, but never beat them. Isn't this exactly what everyone said about IBM until Microsoft came along, and then what everyone said about Microsoft until Google/Apple/Facebook/Amazon came along? Why is this time different?
- dralley 8y ago
  Microsoft only stopped being a destructive force of nature after the Department of Justice gave them a kick to the face.
chrisdhoover 8y ago
You got to get in to get out Peter Gabriel sang. I’ll take my RSUs and move fuck the out of here with my analog wife, car, hi fi, and camera. She and I’ll be happy cooking with gas reading books drinking bourbon and watching it all fade in our rear view mirror. We’ll surely be just memory by the time the US devolves into chaos, the oil runs out, and disney has acquired ATT.

neospice 8y ago

As an entrepreneur, I feel that its not always the problem that they can't be beat at the product game- but that the product doesn't really matter. Often people don't look at the product, but the marketing. E.G. It's not a problem that SquareSpaces has an awesome site-builder, but it is a problem that they can afford to use [Keanu Reaves](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqnhN2Rzaqc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqnhN2Rzaqc) as their mascot.

wolfgke 8y ago

> For Free Software hackers, the giants turning away from open standards, and towards DRM and abuse of the CFAA, is chilling. Every DRM needs two sides: A company implementing it and a mass of customers willing to tolerate it. The serious problem that I see is not the DRM itself, but the laws that prohibit people to develop and distribute cracks for the DRM.

wilsonnb2 8y ago

> For entrepreneurs, the monopolistic stranglehold these companies have, make them impossible to beat with a better product. The best possible outcome is acquisition. You may join, but never beat them. Isn't this exactly what everyone said about IBM until Microsoft came along, and then what everyone said about Microsoft until Google/Apple/Facebook/Amazon came along? Why is this time different?

dralley 8y ago
Microsoft only stopped being a destructive force of nature after the Department of Justice gave them a kick to the face.

chrisdhoover 8y ago

You got to get in to get out Peter Gabriel sang. I’ll take my RSUs and move fuck the out of here with my analog wife, car, hi fi, and camera. She and I’ll be happy cooking with gas reading books drinking bourbon and watching it all fade in our rear view mirror. We’ll surely be just memory by the time the US devolves into chaos, the oil runs out, and disney has acquired ATT.