3 ms·

> Ironically the fact that the howls need to come from the other side of the Atlantic, rather than having any domestically, should tell anyone all they need to

by oblio 1mo ago

> Ironically the fact that the howls need to come from the other side of the Atlantic, rather than having any domestically, should tell anyone all they need to know about the situation. Europeans by and large don't care about American companies these days. They use American software products because frequently there are no alternatives. And most of the news about them are negative.

WarmWash 1mo ago
>They use American software products because frequently there are no alternatives Hint hint
- oblio 1mo ago
  Hint hint to what? South Korea is a very dynamic, tech heavy country and it hasn't managed to push any software product as a market leader. The EU is bigger, but it's fractured, so functionally it's basically 2-3x South Korea in terms of "software power". And that's not enough to compete with the much larger US juggernaut. Only China has managed to hold its own by simply banning US software all together. I'm actually all in favor of the EU banning all American software. Fairly sure that after a huge initial tumble a healthy EU software market would thrive. Edit: I need to brace myself, the Americans are waking up :-)))
  - mitxela 1mo ago
    Hint hint, if you're European, wake up and make some good software!
    - oblio 1mo ago
      The EU needs a real single digital market with single patents, copyright, IP licensing. The EU also needs easier financing of risky ventures, probably with tax incentives associated. The EU needs specific regulation to facilitate accelerated scaling across all its countries. This last part is the hardest to do because by definition startups are challenges to big and rich incumbents. I would just ban US software companies like China did (I'd obviously also ban Chinese software companies, too). The resulting chaos would end up with some pretty solid EU software companies, the know how is there.
      - mitxela 1mo ago
        You can't have good regulations and also have all the world's evil billionaires pouring their money in. You get to pick one of those.
        oblio 1mo ago
        Shockingly Europe had and still has a lot of money. Estimated GDPs for 2026: US $32tn. EU $23tn. It's not like the EU only has couch cushion money for investments.
  - WarmWash 1mo ago
    Europe had the opportunity to create a silicon valley 30 years ago. They fumbled it so badly that most euro tech talent went to the US and worked or even founded their companies there. They still have not (and likely never will) implement the general reforms needed to create fertile grounds for tech to compete with the US. If the current EU mindset existed 150 years ago, they would have banned steam engines because they are too loud and annoying. That's the level of shortsighted immediate gratification we are dealing with. I don't know what SK has to do with this, they are basically still close to an emerging economy. Europe had a roaring economy when SK was still mostly farming.
    - nradov 1mo ago
      You will actually find European HN users who will unironically say that we should have never started using fossil fuel engines at all.
      - ceejayoz 1mo ago
        Let's assess that opinion in a hundred years. Maybe they're just Michael Burrys.
        oblio 1mo ago
        Both of you, have fun fighting non existant 0.001% strawmen.
      - mitxela 1mo ago
        starting was okay but it got way out of control. The environment can absorb pollution, just not as quickly as we're currently polluting. It's okay to emit pollution sometimes. I'm totally in favor of heritage railways running their ancient smoke-belching steam trains on the third Sunday of every month so we can see them go. Just not every day.
    - oblio 1mo ago
      > Europe had the opportunity to create a silicon valley 30 years ago. I really like history but nothing like this come to mind, I'd be happy to read about it, what exactly did they do/not do?
jryle70 1mo ago
They also totally don't care bout Chinese companies, they use those products because there are really no alternatives. Apple and Samsung (reluctantly) comply. I guess we know which other companies don't?

by oblio 1mo ago

WarmWash 1mo ago

>They use American software products because frequently there are no alternatives Hint hint

oblio 1mo ago
Hint hint to what? South Korea is a very dynamic, tech heavy country and it hasn't managed to push any software product as a market leader. The EU is bigger, but it's fractured, so functionally it's basically 2-3x South Korea in terms of "software power". And that's not enough to compete with the much larger US juggernaut. Only China has managed to hold its own by simply banning US software all together. I'm actually all in favor of the EU banning all American software. Fairly sure that after a huge initial tumble a healthy EU software market would thrive. Edit: I need to brace myself, the Americans are waking up :-)))
- mitxela 1mo ago
  Hint hint, if you're European, wake up and make some good software!
  - oblio 1mo ago
    The EU needs a real single digital market with single patents, copyright, IP licensing. The EU also needs easier financing of risky ventures, probably with tax incentives associated. The EU needs specific regulation to facilitate accelerated scaling across all its countries. This last part is the hardest to do because by definition startups are challenges to big and rich incumbents. I would just ban US software companies like China did (I'd obviously also ban Chinese software companies, too). The resulting chaos would end up with some pretty solid EU software companies, the know how is there.
    - mitxela 1mo ago
      You can't have good regulations and also have all the world's evil billionaires pouring their money in. You get to pick one of those.
      - oblio 1mo ago
        Shockingly Europe had and still has a lot of money. Estimated GDPs for 2026: US $32tn. EU $23tn. It's not like the EU only has couch cushion money for investments.
- WarmWash 1mo ago
  Europe had the opportunity to create a silicon valley 30 years ago. They fumbled it so badly that most euro tech talent went to the US and worked or even founded their companies there. They still have not (and likely never will) implement the general reforms needed to create fertile grounds for tech to compete with the US. If the current EU mindset existed 150 years ago, they would have banned steam engines because they are too loud and annoying. That's the level of shortsighted immediate gratification we are dealing with. I don't know what SK has to do with this, they are basically still close to an emerging economy. Europe had a roaring economy when SK was still mostly farming.
  - nradov 1mo ago
    You will actually find European HN users who will unironically say that we should have never started using fossil fuel engines at all.
    - ceejayoz 1mo ago
      Let's assess that opinion in a hundred years. Maybe they're just Michael Burrys.
      - oblio 1mo ago
        Both of you, have fun fighting non existant 0.001% strawmen.
    - mitxela 1mo ago
      starting was okay but it got way out of control. The environment can absorb pollution, just not as quickly as we're currently polluting. It's okay to emit pollution sometimes. I'm totally in favor of heritage railways running their ancient smoke-belching steam trains on the third Sunday of every month so we can see them go. Just not every day.
  - oblio 1mo ago
    > Europe had the opportunity to create a silicon valley 30 years ago. I really like history but nothing like this come to mind, I'd be happy to read about it, what exactly did they do/not do?

jryle70 1mo ago

They also totally don't care bout Chinese companies, they use those products because there are really no alternatives. Apple and Samsung (reluctantly) comply. I guess we know which other companies don't?