6 ms·

VsCode, Typescript, Github, NPM. And Microsoft doesn't even have to maintain the main runtime, Google does. What a clever strategy!

lucideer 7y ago
In fairness to Microsoft, they did at least spend a little bit of time considering / working toward maintaining the runtime part, before deciding otherwise https://github.com/nodejs/node-chakracore/issues/628#issuecomment-586139750 https://github.com/nodejs/node-chakracore/issues/628#issueco...
swyx 7y ago
to be clear, Chrome's overall value to Google probably dwarfs all those things combined.
sitkack 7y ago
They could fork it, the core of the runtimework is moving to WebAssembly anyway which is a much more tractable problem. Sure this is a boatload of JS work to do at the interface boundary but the amount of hard compiler and jit work that needs to be focused on by main runtime is much lower. Someone at MS knows strategic and tactics. When MS and Windows bootstrap themselves into the cloud, they will have some software to land on.
BiteCode_dev 7y ago
Yes, they almost own the entire JS ecosystem at this point. They lost a decade of battles for the web, but it seems they just found a way to get back in the fight. Now at the IE 6 times, that meant monopoly, and it was terrible news. But today, it means more competition between the giants, which is very good for us.
- sbarre 7y ago
  One could argue that the IE6 of our times is Google Chrome at this point..
  - impatient_bacon 7y ago
    Safari.
    - stingraycharles 7y ago
      Safari doesn’t have the market share that IE6 had, though. Chrome has.
    - dlivingston 7y ago
      Care to explain? Safari has one of the highest standards compliance of any modern browser [0], which IE famously did not. It has been argued with various success [1] that Chrome is the new I.E., due to "Chrome exclusive" web standards. [0]: https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-30/firefox-60/edge-12.html https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-30/... [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16070595 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16070595
      - sgtfrankieboy 7y ago
        If you are going to compare browsers make sure you aren't comparing against a version of Chrome from 2013. Here is the correct comparison: https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-68/firefox-60/edge-18.html https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-68/... Which clearly shows its the worst of the bunch. Edit: Also just noticed, the latest Chrome version that the site has is 68. We're currently on 80+
        nickpresta 7y ago
        A more up-to-date, although not complete, comparison is available here: https://caniuse.com/#compare=firefox+74,chrome+80,safari+13 https://caniuse.com/#compare=firefox+74,chrome+80,safari+13
      - saagarjha 7y ago
        Chrome is pushing version 80, I'm not sure why that website is using a version from seven years ago…
- CSMastermind 7y ago
  I think it's important to remember that IE6 was an amazing browser when it was first released. The problem is that it was left to stagnate after Microsoft won.
Scarbutt 7y ago
and Edgeium.
dgb23 7y ago
To be honest I like this new Microsoft. VSCode is a really good tool, C# is amazingly performant and they don‘t talk quite the same BS lingo as some other big players. Also MS research produces some really good stuff.
- peglasaurus 7y ago
  These tools are worthwhile additions. Vscode is a important toolkit item for many. Just having it on multiple platforms is a useful common denominator that reduces friction.
Ayesh 7y ago
Also the new Chromium Edge is making its way. This will give some leverage on the browser front too.
- millstone 7y ago
  What leverage?
searchableguy 7y ago
Let's not forget electron, atom and a few other things...

lucideer 7y ago

In fairness to Microsoft, they did at least spend a little bit of time considering / working toward maintaining the runtime part, before deciding otherwise https://github.com/nodejs/node-chakracore/issues/628#issuecomment-586139750 https://github.com/nodejs/node-chakracore/issues/628#issueco...

swyx 7y ago

to be clear, Chrome's overall value to Google probably dwarfs all those things combined.

sitkack 7y ago

They could fork it, the core of the runtimework is moving to WebAssembly anyway which is a much more tractable problem. Sure this is a boatload of JS work to do at the interface boundary but the amount of hard compiler and jit work that needs to be focused on by main runtime is much lower. Someone at MS knows strategic and tactics. When MS and Windows bootstrap themselves into the cloud, they will have some software to land on.

BiteCode_dev 7y ago

Yes, they almost own the entire JS ecosystem at this point. They lost a decade of battles for the web, but it seems they just found a way to get back in the fight. Now at the IE 6 times, that meant monopoly, and it was terrible news. But today, it means more competition between the giants, which is very good for us.

sbarre 7y ago
One could argue that the IE6 of our times is Google Chrome at this point..
- impatient_bacon 7y ago
  Safari.
  - stingraycharles 7y ago
    Safari doesn’t have the market share that IE6 had, though. Chrome has.
  - dlivingston 7y ago
    Care to explain? Safari has one of the highest standards compliance of any modern browser [0], which IE famously did not. It has been argued with various success [1] that Chrome is the new I.E., due to "Chrome exclusive" web standards. [0]: https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-30/firefox-60/edge-12.html https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-30/... [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16070595 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16070595
    - sgtfrankieboy 7y ago
      If you are going to compare browsers make sure you aren't comparing against a version of Chrome from 2013. Here is the correct comparison: https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-68/firefox-60/edge-18.html https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-68/... Which clearly shows its the worst of the bunch. Edit: Also just noticed, the latest Chrome version that the site has is 68. We're currently on 80+
      - nickpresta 7y ago
        A more up-to-date, although not complete, comparison is available here: https://caniuse.com/#compare=firefox+74,chrome+80,safari+13 https://caniuse.com/#compare=firefox+74,chrome+80,safari+13
    - saagarjha 7y ago
      Chrome is pushing version 80, I'm not sure why that website is using a version from seven years ago…
CSMastermind 7y ago
I think it's important to remember that IE6 was an amazing browser when it was first released. The problem is that it was left to stagnate after Microsoft won.

Scarbutt 7y ago

and Edgeium.

dgb23 7y ago

To be honest I like this new Microsoft. VSCode is a really good tool, C# is amazingly performant and they don‘t talk quite the same BS lingo as some other big players. Also MS research produces some really good stuff.

peglasaurus 7y ago
These tools are worthwhile additions. Vscode is a important toolkit item for many. Just having it on multiple platforms is a useful common denominator that reduces friction.

Ayesh 7y ago

Also the new Chromium Edge is making its way. This will give some leverage on the browser front too.

millstone 7y ago
What leverage?

searchableguy 7y ago

Let's not forget electron, atom and a few other things...