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Can we like... stop building these ginormous conglomerates? Thanks.
by formerly_proven 4y ago
Can we like... stop building these ginormous conglomerates? Thanks.
- ReactiveJelly 4y agoIf intellectual property (specifically software patents) were weakened, this would be less of a problem, right? Companies don't buy companies, they buy IP, as I understand it.
- alberth 4y agoConsolidation in mature markets inevitably happens.
- nousermane 4y ago...absent functioning antitrust legislation, yes.
- streblo 4y agoIs there an antitrust case to be made here? Antitrust means a lot more than just 'big company'.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- nicoburns 4y agoYou seem to be asking if there is a case within current legislation. Whereas the parent is suggesting that more cases ought to be covered by future stricter legislation (which could at least in principle be as simple as "big company").
- mc32 4y agoSo you put a cap in it, what happens, mitosis? I’m not sure it would have that big of an effect. It would certainly help in some areas like search and social networks though.
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- kortilla 4y agoNo, not in the software industry. Nothing VMware has in pure IP is that special. I can’t think of any of the big tech companies that even use VMware. Broadcom is paying for the huge enterprise customer base, sales and support connections, mindshare, and engineering org that has proven adaptable to market demands.
- Octoth0rpe 4y ago> I can’t think of any of the big tech companies that even use VMware. I would be shocked if every single 'big' tech company didn't use _some_ vmware product _somewhere_ internally. Their software portfolio is a hell of a lot bigger than just the actual vmware product. Example: where I work we use the vmware product Carbon Black for 'endpoint protection', which as I understand it is virus scanning + some amount of port monitoring.
- ergonaught 4y agoYou don't have to think, you can just browse their list, filter by industry, and have fun as you will: https://www.vmware.com/company/customers/index.html# https://www.vmware.com/company/customers/index.html#
- grumple 4y agoNote that this is just a tiny subset of companies that use VMWare (those that have writeups). I've worked for some very big companies that used it but aren't listed.
- cagataygurturk 4y ago> I can’t think of any of the big tech companies that even use VMware. You are quite wrong…
- davidandgoliath 4y agoUh, except everyone that uses VMWare, which is a massive list.
- scarface74 4y ago
- AndrewStephens 4y agoMaaaaaybe. I am not a fan of software patents but intellectual property laws are the only thing stopping Big Company A from just cloning Small Company B's product. At least now they have to go to the trouble of buying them. Of course, it goes both ways and laws often favor the strong against the weak. But it is not all one-sided.
- netr0ute 4y ago> Big Company A from just cloning Small Company B's product That's called competition
- erklik 4y ago> intellectual property laws are the only thing stopping Big Company A from just cloning Small Company B's product Is that really the case? Does it work? Isn't Instagram basically cloning TIkTok right now? and cloned Snap before that? Apple with Alfred, Spotlight, F.lux etc are also examples. Seems like for software, either patents aren't utilized or simply can't be enforced.
- AndrewStephens 4y agoInstragram/TikTok/Snap aren't exactly novel ideas, the only valuable thing about them are the brands (also intellectual property but not what we are talking about). I only know VMWare from its days as virtualization software. I would put money on them having had a bunch of patents on the specific techniques they used. Software patents sometimes work out, sometimes not. If I were king of the world I wouldn't get rid of them but narrow the scope down to protecting specific implementations, none of this "Buying stuff of the internet" pantenting that invested the 00s.
- yjftsjthsd-h 4y agoWasn't there a whole thing about big tech companies interviewing small companies as if to acquire them and then just cloning the product anyways?
- 4y ago
- efficax 4y agocompetition requires consolidation in order to acquire new lines of profit, it’s inevitable
- pooper 4y ago> competition requires consolidation in order to acquire new lines of profit, it’s inevitable It may be inevitable but I think I have a solid idea to at least check its explosive growth. The CEO and the board (includes President) ought to be personally civil as well as criminally liable for any actions of the employees, contractors, or agents of the company if they cannot prove that the employees, contractors, or agents acted against company policy. Elimination of the "right to work" is a precondition to this proposal.
- ronnier 4y agoWe can but asia won’t. We can stop and let Asian tech giants eat us alive.
- SilverBirch 4y agoI may have missed something but hasn't China recently demonstrated that it absolutely is not willing to let its tech giants get too big and powerful. Take a look at what has happened with BABA.
- Sakos 4y agoChina doesn't care about the size of companies. Alibaba ran into political problems because they wanted to compete in an industry with established players with strong relations to regional governments and different parts of the CCP.
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- parkingrift 4y agoYou're saying "Asia" but you're really referring to China. There is no reason for the west to allow Chinese companies to compete in their markets. Reciprocal market access or no access at all. If western trade agreements forbid companies of a certain size from selling locally there is no alternative for Asian companies but to split or exit the market. We aren't helpless passengers on a worldwide economic joyride.
- fourstar 4y agoSure right after we dismember NATO. Oh wait… EDIT: NATO shills don't like this comment!
- dang 4y agoWould you please stop posting flamebait and/or unsubstantive comments to HN? You've been doing it a lot lately, unfortunately, and we ban that sort of account. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html