3 ms·

At this point, Windows's application binary interface is something of a common good, at the same level as roads and utilities. Shouldn't we have a piece of legi

by dsign 2y ago

At this point, Windows's application binary interface is something of a common good, at the same level as roads and utilities. Shouldn't we have a piece of legislation that forces Microsoft to offer that binary interface in the same way as utilities sell power? I love Linux, and I think that Linux desktop is fairly usable, but a bunch of software I rely on works much better on Windows.

Dalewyn 2y ago
>a bunch of software I rely on works much better on Windows. So buy and use Windows. Windows remains the king of desktop because everyone wants/needs Windows programs.
- DrSiemer 2y ago
  The monopoly Windows currently has allows them to create a user hostile environment.
- hsbauauvhabzb 2y ago
  The parent post is a pretty good indicator that not everyone wants windows.
  - Dalewyn 2y ago
    Everyone wants Windows software, which unsurprisingly runs best on Windows. Normal people don't care what OS they use, they care about using the software they want/need.
    - hammyhavoc 2y ago
      ... Everyone doesn't... There's plenty of heavy-hitters on Linux natively now, including DaVinci Resolve (Hollywood's #1 post tool), Bitwig, Studio One, Reaper et al. Even Unreal Engine. Blender perf is much better on Linux too. Your head canon of software has yet to update to the latest commit.
linguae 2y ago
Here’s a fun fact that may interest you. There was an attempt in the 1990s outside of Microsoft to make the Windows API an official standard to help other operating systems run Windows software, but Microsoft balked, asserting its IP over the Windows API: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_Programming_Interface_for_Windows https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_Programming_Inte...
- dtquad 2y ago
  >Windows 3.1 API I am always surprised to learn how big Microsoft was by the Windows 3.x era. Bill Gates was already the richest person in the world before the release of Windows 95. Maybe it's because I am young and I assumed their total dominance emerged in the Windows 98 to XP era with only receiving some pushback with the emergence of Intel Macs in the late 2000s.
  - rabf 2y ago
    The Acquired Podcast has a great episode on the history of Microsoft. Well worth a listen for any one interested. https://www.acquired.fm/ https://www.acquired.fm/
    - lukeh 2y ago
      Can't say enough good things about this podcast!
      - rabf 2y ago
        Should be required listening in business schools and for anyone thinking of starting a company. Its amazing to hear about all these behomoth companies, how they were once startups themselves, how they often lost there way after success, how they changed and morphed through history! Each time I listen to an episode about a company I think I won't be interested in I'm blown away.
mrweasel 2y ago
While I don't regret my career decisions, one thing that always comes back is the thought: What if I had doubled down on the Windows API and C++. I don't see many job openings for those types of jobs, but I would have had an incredibly stable platform for the past 25 years. If you wrote a service for Windows in the early 2000s, it seems like it wouldn't be that much work keeping it running today. I have seen examples of companies managing to lock their software to Windows Server 2008 by accident, so there is some room for failure, but that might very well just be incompetence.

by dsign 2y ago

Dalewyn 2y ago

>a bunch of software I rely on works much better on Windows. So buy and use Windows. Windows remains the king of desktop because everyone wants/needs Windows programs.

DrSiemer 2y ago
The monopoly Windows currently has allows them to create a user hostile environment.
hsbauauvhabzb 2y ago
The parent post is a pretty good indicator that not everyone wants windows.
- Dalewyn 2y ago
  Everyone wants Windows software, which unsurprisingly runs best on Windows. Normal people don't care what OS they use, they care about using the software they want/need.
  - hammyhavoc 2y ago
    ... Everyone doesn't... There's plenty of heavy-hitters on Linux natively now, including DaVinci Resolve (Hollywood's #1 post tool), Bitwig, Studio One, Reaper et al. Even Unreal Engine. Blender perf is much better on Linux too. Your head canon of software has yet to update to the latest commit.

linguae 2y ago

Here’s a fun fact that may interest you. There was an attempt in the 1990s outside of Microsoft to make the Windows API an official standard to help other operating systems run Windows software, but Microsoft balked, asserting its IP over the Windows API: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_Programming_Interface_for_Windows https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_Programming_Inte...

dtquad 2y ago
>Windows 3.1 API I am always surprised to learn how big Microsoft was by the Windows 3.x era. Bill Gates was already the richest person in the world before the release of Windows 95. Maybe it's because I am young and I assumed their total dominance emerged in the Windows 98 to XP era with only receiving some pushback with the emergence of Intel Macs in the late 2000s.
- rabf 2y ago
  The Acquired Podcast has a great episode on the history of Microsoft. Well worth a listen for any one interested. https://www.acquired.fm/ https://www.acquired.fm/
  - lukeh 2y ago
    Can't say enough good things about this podcast!
    - rabf 2y ago
      Should be required listening in business schools and for anyone thinking of starting a company. Its amazing to hear about all these behomoth companies, how they were once startups themselves, how they often lost there way after success, how they changed and morphed through history! Each time I listen to an episode about a company I think I won't be interested in I'm blown away.

mrweasel 2y ago

While I don't regret my career decisions, one thing that always comes back is the thought: What if I had doubled down on the Windows API and C++. I don't see many job openings for those types of jobs, but I would have had an incredibly stable platform for the past 25 years. If you wrote a service for Windows in the early 2000s, it seems like it wouldn't be that much work keeping it running today. I have seen examples of companies managing to lock their software to Windows Server 2008 by accident, so there is some room for failure, but that might very well just be incompetence.