4 ms·
> Gates's view was always to just let anybody write anything they wanted, and the market would sort the good from the bad. Gates's view was also that, once the
by pdonis 3y ago
> Gates's view was always to just let anybody write anything they wanted, and the market would sort the good from the bad.
Gates's view was also that, once the market had sorted the good from the bad, Microsoft would, if desired, just implement whatever killer apps third party developers had discovered and make them part of Windows, cutting the floor out from under the third party developers. In other words, Gates viewed third party developers as doing market research for Microsoft that Microsoft didn't have to pay for.
> ultimately I think Jobs was correct that the mere existence of low-quality software hurts your entire platform
Windows is still well ahead of both macOS and iOS in terms of market share, so I think it's more that Jobs and Gates had different definitions of success.
- sealeck 3y agoHow is Windows ahead of iOS in terms of market share? The Windows phone was discontinued _years_ ago?
- DerekL 3y agoIf you look at all types computing platforms combined, then Windows is ahead of iOS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_systems#Web_clients https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_syste...
- nuancebydefault 3y agoMS made killer software, literally killing the competition by any means.
- fulladder 3y agoYep, and Apple does this too. The Spotlight feature in macOS (OS-wide search, it's the little magnifying glass in the top right) was a feature that Apple blatantly ripped off from a popular early-2000s third party extension. Adding this to the OS killed that company overnight. Forget their name, but someone else might remember. All platform vendors seem to do this, which is unfortunate.
- Jtsummers 3y agoIt's an easy thing to find, the name even became a verb. Sherlock was the program: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sherlocked https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sherlocked
- ttepasse 3y agoTwice: The usage of a giant text input box as a launcher or command palette was pioneered on the Mac by LaunchBar and Quicksilver and later Alfred, etc. Spotlight for a long time was only a menu extra.
- liotier 3y ago> Gates's view was also that, once the market had sorted the good from the bad, Microsoft would, if desired, just implement whatever killer apps third party developers had discovered and make them part of Windows, cutting the floor out from under the third party developers. In other words, Gates viewed third party developers as doing market research for Microsoft that Microsoft didn't have to pay for. Reminds me of how Amazon sees third-party sellers. Maybe that is the standard abusive strategy of platforms that hold a dominant market position.
- lotsofpulp 3y agoCopying others’ successful strategies is probably something that has existed since before apes even evolved into humans.