4 ms·

That's because Microsoft's incentives are more aligned with ours. Better, more user-centric software == better outcomes for users, more Microsoft usage/profits.

That's because Microsoft's incentives are more aligned with ours. Better, more user-centric software == better outcomes for users, more Microsoft usage/profits. Google, on the other hand, is fundamentally incentivized to sell ads, which requires collecting data. The more data they collect, the more money they make. As the saying goes, we are the product. No amount of hand-wringing or shaming is going to change that fundamental fact. I think that in 100 years we're going to look back on how personal data is used the way we look at barbaric medical practices of the Dark Ages. People in general just didn't know or expect better.

AnthonyMouse 8y ago
> That's because Microsoft's incentives are more aligned with ours. Better, more user-centric software == better outcomes for users, more Microsoft usage/profits. Microsoft is in the same business as Google. Search, Bing. Gmail, Outlook.com. GCP, Azure. They even operate an ad network. Google has some bad incentives but Microsoft has all the same ones. If not, why isn't there a single button for "never send any of my personal information to Microsoft" anywhere in Windows 10?
- Alterlife 8y ago
  In the meantime, Apple builds walled-garden devices with limited functionality so that users are forced to buy several devices. It's unfortunate that every large vendor today has short-term incentives to screw users.
- krn 8y ago
  > Microsoft is in the same business as Google. Microsoft and Google may have competing products, but they are in completely different businesses. Microsoft is in the business of software, Google is in the business of data. That's why there's a public Bing Search API[1], but there's no public Google Search API. [1] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/cognitive-services/bing-web-search-api/ https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/cognitive-service...
  - AnthonyMouse 8y ago
    > Microsoft and Google may have competing products, but they are in completely different businesses. Microsoft is in the business of software, Google is in the business of data. In what way are Windows and Edge "software" but Android and Chrome are not? > That's why there's a public Bing Search API[1], but there's no public Google Search API. The company that is operating a data service is the one not in the data business?
    - krn 8y ago
      > In what way are Windows and Edge "software" but Android and Chrome are not? > The company that is operating a data service is the one not in the data business? A company in the software business charges for the usage of its software (Windows, Bing API). A company in the data business gives the software for free, and monetizes the data it collects about its users (Android, Google).
      - AnthonyMouse 8y ago
        > A company in the software business charges for the usage of its software (Windows, Bing API). A company in the data business gives the software for free, and monetizes the data it collects about its users (Android, Google). A services API isn't software. You're not buying a copy of the code and running it on your computer. And Google offers the same category of thing (paid services), e.g. the Google Maps API or G Suite, while Microsoft offers free services equivalent to google.com and gmail.com like bing.com and outlook.com. Meanwhile Microsoft has been giving away actual software like Windows 10 for free, along with a variety of other things like IE/Edge (including for non-Windows platforms), VS Express, the Skype software, etc. They're direct competitors operating in largely the same markets and using the same business models.
        krn 8y ago
        > A services API isn't software. You're not buying a copy of the code and running it on your computer. It's called SaaS, which stands for "Software as a service"[1]. > They're direct competitors operating in largely the same markets and using the same business models. Google generates 84% of its revenues from ads[2], Microsoft generates 95% of its revenues from software[3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service [2] https://martechtoday.com/google-posts-31-1b-in-total-revenue-beats-top-and-bottom-line-expectations-214433 https://martechtoday.com/google-posts-31-1b-in-total-revenue... [3] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/earnings/FY-2018-Q1/segment-revenues https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/earnings/FY-2018-Q1...

AnthonyMouse 8y ago

> That's because Microsoft's incentives are more aligned with ours. Better, more user-centric software == better outcomes for users, more Microsoft usage/profits. Microsoft is in the same business as Google. Search, Bing. Gmail, Outlook.com. GCP, Azure. They even operate an ad network. Google has some bad incentives but Microsoft has all the same ones. If not, why isn't there a single button for "never send any of my personal information to Microsoft" anywhere in Windows 10?

Alterlife 8y ago
In the meantime, Apple builds walled-garden devices with limited functionality so that users are forced to buy several devices. It's unfortunate that every large vendor today has short-term incentives to screw users.
krn 8y ago
> Microsoft is in the same business as Google. Microsoft and Google may have competing products, but they are in completely different businesses. Microsoft is in the business of software, Google is in the business of data. That's why there's a public Bing Search API[1], but there's no public Google Search API. [1] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/cognitive-services/bing-web-search-api/ https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/cognitive-service...
- AnthonyMouse 8y ago
  > Microsoft and Google may have competing products, but they are in completely different businesses. Microsoft is in the business of software, Google is in the business of data. In what way are Windows and Edge "software" but Android and Chrome are not? > That's why there's a public Bing Search API[1], but there's no public Google Search API. The company that is operating a data service is the one not in the data business?
  - krn 8y ago
    > In what way are Windows and Edge "software" but Android and Chrome are not? > The company that is operating a data service is the one not in the data business? A company in the software business charges for the usage of its software (Windows, Bing API). A company in the data business gives the software for free, and monetizes the data it collects about its users (Android, Google).
    - AnthonyMouse 8y ago
      > A company in the software business charges for the usage of its software (Windows, Bing API). A company in the data business gives the software for free, and monetizes the data it collects about its users (Android, Google). A services API isn't software. You're not buying a copy of the code and running it on your computer. And Google offers the same category of thing (paid services), e.g. the Google Maps API or G Suite, while Microsoft offers free services equivalent to google.com and gmail.com like bing.com and outlook.com. Meanwhile Microsoft has been giving away actual software like Windows 10 for free, along with a variety of other things like IE/Edge (including for non-Windows platforms), VS Express, the Skype software, etc. They're direct competitors operating in largely the same markets and using the same business models.
      - krn 8y ago
        > A services API isn't software. You're not buying a copy of the code and running it on your computer. It's called SaaS, which stands for "Software as a service"[1]. > They're direct competitors operating in largely the same markets and using the same business models. Google generates 84% of its revenues from ads[2], Microsoft generates 95% of its revenues from software[3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service [2] https://martechtoday.com/google-posts-31-1b-in-total-revenue-beats-top-and-bottom-line-expectations-214433 https://martechtoday.com/google-posts-31-1b-in-total-revenue... [3] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/earnings/FY-2018-Q1/segment-revenues https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/earnings/FY-2018-Q1...