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The .com bubble was driven by tech companies that were unprofitable. The current rally is being driven by some of the most profitable companies in modern histor

by 0xDEF 3y ago

The .com bubble was driven by tech companies that were unprofitable. The current rally is being driven by some of the most profitable companies in modern history.

candiddevmike 3y ago
Are they profitable because of their monopoly power? If tomorrow the US and the rest of the world passed more stringent data privacy laws, would they still be that profitable? Seems like there should be some alarms sounding when a handful of companies carry a stock index like this. Not something that should be celebrated.
rightbyte 3y ago
Ad pricing is a scam and AWS and Azure make money of abstractions and JS being bloated. There is no way Ford is less valuable (70 times) than Microsoft which you could replace with Ubuntu and LibreOffice. It doesn't make any sense. It is a psychosis.
- sgift 3y ago
  Ubuntu had the goal to replace Windows since it's inception. It's literally Bug 1 in their database. And yet, it still hasn't happened. Do you really want to argue that billions of people are all mad, stupid or have a "psychosis"? Or could there be, maybe, just maybe, a reason besides psychosis that people continue to use Windows and Office?
  - rightbyte 3y ago
    I am sorry. I meant the valuation of Microsoft (and big tech in general, compared to say Ford) is a psychosis. Not that people want to use Windows over say Ubuntu.
  - greenyoda 3y ago
    Ubuntu may have failed to replace Windows/Office, but there are more significant threats to Microsoft's market. Some big companies (like the one I work for) are scrapping MS Office and Teams and moving everyone to Google Workspace. Consumers who only use computers for web browsing are less likely to need Windows PCs - they could switch to Chromebooks, iOS/Android tablets or phones.
- themoonisachees 3y ago
  on the whole i agree with you, but pragmatically these companies generally hold most of their markets hostage in monopolies. yes, windows can be replaced with linux distros and office with alternatives, but in reality this will not happen for at least 5 years, and microsoft will continue selling a licence with every personal computer sold during that time. google (the product) is replaceable nowadays by for example kagi, but in reality it won't. for as long as this is true, these companies can extract a lot of money from their users without consequence and their stock price will reflect that. ford, to take your example, could be replaced overnight if for example another pinto happens and users wil both still have their cars and be able to buy new ones from other manufacturers and the power vacuum will be relatively minor. if tomorrow microsoft dissolves through an act of god, the power vacuum of "who will get $100 everytime hp, dell et al sell a computer" will be gigantic.

by 0xDEF 3y ago

The .com bubble was driven by tech companies that were unprofitable. The current rally is being driven by some of the most profitable companies in modern history.

candiddevmike 3y ago

Are they profitable because of their monopoly power? If tomorrow the US and the rest of the world passed more stringent data privacy laws, would they still be that profitable? Seems like there should be some alarms sounding when a handful of companies carry a stock index like this. Not something that should be celebrated.

rightbyte 3y ago

Ad pricing is a scam and AWS and Azure make money of abstractions and JS being bloated. There is no way Ford is less valuable (70 times) than Microsoft which you could replace with Ubuntu and LibreOffice. It doesn't make any sense. It is a psychosis.

sgift 3y ago
Ubuntu had the goal to replace Windows since it's inception. It's literally Bug 1 in their database. And yet, it still hasn't happened. Do you really want to argue that billions of people are all mad, stupid or have a "psychosis"? Or could there be, maybe, just maybe, a reason besides psychosis that people continue to use Windows and Office?
- rightbyte 3y ago
  I am sorry. I meant the valuation of Microsoft (and big tech in general, compared to say Ford) is a psychosis. Not that people want to use Windows over say Ubuntu.
- greenyoda 3y ago
  Ubuntu may have failed to replace Windows/Office, but there are more significant threats to Microsoft's market. Some big companies (like the one I work for) are scrapping MS Office and Teams and moving everyone to Google Workspace. Consumers who only use computers for web browsing are less likely to need Windows PCs - they could switch to Chromebooks, iOS/Android tablets or phones.
themoonisachees 3y ago
on the whole i agree with you, but pragmatically these companies generally hold most of their markets hostage in monopolies. yes, windows can be replaced with linux distros and office with alternatives, but in reality this will not happen for at least 5 years, and microsoft will continue selling a licence with every personal computer sold during that time. google (the product) is replaceable nowadays by for example kagi, but in reality it won't. for as long as this is true, these companies can extract a lot of money from their users without consequence and their stock price will reflect that. ford, to take your example, could be replaced overnight if for example another pinto happens and users wil both still have their cars and be able to buy new ones from other manufacturers and the power vacuum will be relatively minor. if tomorrow microsoft dissolves through an act of god, the power vacuum of "who will get $100 everytime hp, dell et al sell a computer" will be gigantic.