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I don't follow what you've taken for granted. Why not buy the best product at the price you're willing to pay for it, even from a company with the values you s

I don't follow what you've taken for granted. Why not buy the best product at the price you're willing to pay for it, even from a company with the values you share? Where does company size take precedent?

RootKitBeerCat 4y ago
Who shares Microsoft’s “values”, and what are they?
- minraws 4y ago
  Microsoft? from what the flowing winds tells me, they seem to be, > A very rich, multi-trillion dollar asshole-ish corporation, that feels lonely on it's birthday and goes on a bender buying less rich and asshole-ish companies to successively kill them, to calm it's mood. Not sure how true that is, but something tells me it might just be the reality.
MatthiasPortzel 4y ago
Two reasons. If you don’t make an effort to try smaller company’s products, you’re going to be biased towards bigger companies by virtue of them having better marketing and network effects. Some conscious preference to smaller companies can help counteract this. And even if the smaller company has a worse product initially, some people using it anyways can help keep them alive in order to fund innovation. Smaller companies tend to be more willing to experiment or innovate, but that can’t happen if no one is willing to make a long-term bet.
kelnos 4y ago
I think it's more nuanced than that. I'm happy to buy from a smaller producer that may not have the absolute best product, as long as it meets my needs. I think consolidation and concentration of capital is one of the worst features of capitalism, and we should patronize smaller producers when it's reasonable to do so. Having said that, I still buy a lot of things from Amazon because it's much more convenient than the alternatives. It's a habit I've been trying to kick, but I have a ways to go.
- wnolens 4y ago
  Consolidation is efficient. It frees up capital to be used elsewhere. No need for 10x accounting and marketing and sales department when 10 companies exist instead of one. Of course a homogeneous world is less interesting. And anti-competitive behaviors are net bad and need to be disincentivized. Big company hate just seems misplaced.

RootKitBeerCat 4y ago

Who shares Microsoft’s “values”, and what are they?

minraws 4y ago
Microsoft? from what the flowing winds tells me, they seem to be, > A very rich, multi-trillion dollar asshole-ish corporation, that feels lonely on it's birthday and goes on a bender buying less rich and asshole-ish companies to successively kill them, to calm it's mood. Not sure how true that is, but something tells me it might just be the reality.

MatthiasPortzel 4y ago

Two reasons. If you don’t make an effort to try smaller company’s products, you’re going to be biased towards bigger companies by virtue of them having better marketing and network effects. Some conscious preference to smaller companies can help counteract this. And even if the smaller company has a worse product initially, some people using it anyways can help keep them alive in order to fund innovation. Smaller companies tend to be more willing to experiment or innovate, but that can’t happen if no one is willing to make a long-term bet.

kelnos 4y ago

I think it's more nuanced than that. I'm happy to buy from a smaller producer that may not have the absolute best product, as long as it meets my needs. I think consolidation and concentration of capital is one of the worst features of capitalism, and we should patronize smaller producers when it's reasonable to do so. Having said that, I still buy a lot of things from Amazon because it's much more convenient than the alternatives. It's a habit I've been trying to kick, but I have a ways to go.

wnolens 4y ago
Consolidation is efficient. It frees up capital to be used elsewhere. No need for 10x accounting and marketing and sales department when 10 companies exist instead of one. Of course a homogeneous world is less interesting. And anti-competitive behaviors are net bad and need to be disincentivized. Big company hate just seems misplaced.