4 ms·

As a Linux user who keeps a Windows desktop around just for Netflix and Steam, I find this deeply (and devilishly) satisfying. Telling people they're platform i

by pgroves 15y ago

As a Linux user who keeps a Windows desktop around just for Netflix and Steam, I find this deeply (and devilishly) satisfying. Telling people they're platform isn't supported because it's just not an important enough market is something I've been hearing for over a decade now. MS coming out the message "but...but...but...you should support everybody!" is a bit of a pot/kettle situation and I hope they are treated with the same passive-aggressive apathy as they treated Linux and Mac users for all those years. I know I'm being petty but I can't seem to make myself stop smiling.

protomyth 15y ago
I would have hoped we all know how we felt and try not to do the same things Microsoft did. What comes around goes around and I really don't want to be on the receiving end again.
- beagle3 15y ago
  > he same things Microsoft did. Are still doing. > What comes around goes around and I really don't want to be on the receiving end again. You're still on the receiving end. And "what comes around goes around" is simply what's happening to Microsoft in this case.
  - generalk 15y ago
    Let's be fair though -- Microsoft went ahead and grabbed the open-source code and provided a patch that makes it mostly work under WinAPI. In my book, that's pretty decent behavior.
    - beagle3 15y ago
      > In my book, that's pretty decent behavior. I'd reserve judgment about this specific case until we see how things actually turn out. I've been dealing with Microsoft for more than twenty years, and I'm not holding my breath for their decent behavior, although it happen occasionally.
  - protomyth 15y ago
    I think that acting like those you despise might get you ahead in the short term, but will ultimately make you just as despicable as them.
    - beagle3 15y ago
      Except antirez' argument is actually technical. It is not for political gain of any kind. I really have no idea where you are coming from with this statement. My observation of the world is that "give the other cheek" gets you slapped twice and doesn't eventually put you in a better place (unless it is after you get to heaven, which I haven't yet experienced)
      - protomyth 15y ago
        I wasn't arguing the technical, I was pointing out to the person making the comment about being a little happy about this that doing it out of revenge is not a good thing. Doing it for purely technical reasons is a good reason. Doing it because Linux "won" isn't since it hasn't.
tghw 15y ago
First, let's not get confused here. If you keep a Windows box around for Netflix and Steam, that has nothing to do with Microsoft's "passive-aggressive apathy". It has to do with the fact that Netflix and Steam chose not to develop for Linux, just like antirez is choosing not to develop for Windows. I would bet that having to keep that extra Windows box around is at least a minor annoyance to you, that you'd much rather be able to use Linux for everything, including Netflix and Steam. This is the exact same situation Windows users are in with Redis. Except that, instead of just "coming out the message 'but...but...but...you should support everybody!'", Microsoft actually did something very helpful. They didn't just complain, they took it upon themselves to help improve the situation with Redis by providing the patch. Let's also be clear that when comparing Microsoft and antirez (or open source software in general), we're comparing two very different things. We all know that Microsoft is a for-profit company, so expecting them to go out of their way to improve their competitors isn't really reasonable. Open source software, however, is about making software freely accessible to everyone, so an expectation, or hope, that antirez would embrace Windows support is quite reasonable. Of course, that's not to say he has to. It is his project, and there for his right to choose not to support it. But I personally think it's a mistake. He is encouraging a fork, and forks generally lead to problems. Client libraries will have multiple versions to target. Developers will have more to learn, and more time will be spent trying to keep feature parity between the forks.

by pgroves 15y ago

protomyth 15y ago

I would have hoped we all know how we felt and try not to do the same things Microsoft did. What comes around goes around and I really don't want to be on the receiving end again.

beagle3 15y ago
> he same things Microsoft did. Are still doing. > What comes around goes around and I really don't want to be on the receiving end again. You're still on the receiving end. And "what comes around goes around" is simply what's happening to Microsoft in this case.
- generalk 15y ago
  Let's be fair though -- Microsoft went ahead and grabbed the open-source code and provided a patch that makes it mostly work under WinAPI. In my book, that's pretty decent behavior.
  - beagle3 15y ago
    > In my book, that's pretty decent behavior. I'd reserve judgment about this specific case until we see how things actually turn out. I've been dealing with Microsoft for more than twenty years, and I'm not holding my breath for their decent behavior, although it happen occasionally.
- protomyth 15y ago
  I think that acting like those you despise might get you ahead in the short term, but will ultimately make you just as despicable as them.
  - beagle3 15y ago
    Except antirez' argument is actually technical. It is not for political gain of any kind. I really have no idea where you are coming from with this statement. My observation of the world is that "give the other cheek" gets you slapped twice and doesn't eventually put you in a better place (unless it is after you get to heaven, which I haven't yet experienced)
    - protomyth 15y ago
      I wasn't arguing the technical, I was pointing out to the person making the comment about being a little happy about this that doing it out of revenge is not a good thing. Doing it for purely technical reasons is a good reason. Doing it because Linux "won" isn't since it hasn't.

tghw 15y ago

First, let's not get confused here. If you keep a Windows box around for Netflix and Steam, that has nothing to do with Microsoft's "passive-aggressive apathy". It has to do with the fact that Netflix and Steam chose not to develop for Linux, just like antirez is choosing not to develop for Windows. I would bet that having to keep that extra Windows box around is at least a minor annoyance to you, that you'd much rather be able to use Linux for everything, including Netflix and Steam. This is the exact same situation Windows users are in with Redis. Except that, instead of just "coming out the message 'but...but...but...you should support everybody!'", Microsoft actually did something very helpful. They didn't just complain, they took it upon themselves to help improve the situation with Redis by providing the patch. Let's also be clear that when comparing Microsoft and antirez (or open source software in general), we're comparing two very different things. We all know that Microsoft is a for-profit company, so expecting them to go out of their way to improve their competitors isn't really reasonable. Open source software, however, is about making software freely accessible to everyone, so an expectation, or hope, that antirez would embrace Windows support is quite reasonable. Of course, that's not to say he has to. It is his project, and there for his right to choose not to support it. But I personally think it's a mistake. He is encouraging a fork, and forks generally lead to problems. Client libraries will have multiple versions to target. Developers will have more to learn, and more time will be spent trying to keep feature parity between the forks.