9 ms·

> I honestly don't think Microsoft would start a mutually assured destruction war I don't think they would, at the moment. I do think they might at some point

> I honestly don't think Microsoft would start a mutually assured destruction war I don't think they would, at the moment. I do think they might at some point in the future. > can't we all just get along? Sadly, Microsoft's business model and future profits depend on limiting our freedom when we use computers, so no, we can't just get along.

hvs 17y ago
I think Microsoft would be most likely to start firing patent lawsuits at a time where Mono started to gain real traction in the free software community. So, if the community did start adopting Mono as a major platform and developed a lot of good software for it, that is when Microsoft would pull the trigger. So, either way, Microsoft gets what it wants. They limit adoption by holding patents that could be later used against the community, and if it does get adopted they can start suing. I say this as someone who really likes the .NET platform and think it could add a lot of value to the free software community. But I have to agree with the FSF on this one.
- j_baker 17y ago
  > I think Microsoft would be most likely to start firing patent lawsuits at a time where Mono started to gain real traction in the free software community. So, if the community did start adopting Mono as a major platform and developed a lot of good software for it, that is when Microsoft would pull the trigger. You know, it is possible that Microsoft has some grand master plan here. But I have to invoke Occam's razor here: it's more likely that MS is ok with Mono. After all, they don't make money off of .Net directly. They give it away. They make their money by selling Visual Studio. If you were on the fence, wouldn't you be more willing to buy Visual Studio if you knew you could use it to write programs for Windows, Linux, and OS X? And of course, if you have to buy Visual Studio, you have to buy Windows too.
  - nkohari 17y ago
    They really don't make their money selling Visual Studio either. They make their money selling Windows, which Visual Studio (and their .NET implementation) is 100% geared towards.
  - ZeroGravitas 17y ago
    They don't need to have a master plan. Just leaving ammo lying around when a future Microsoft could have any of a million reasons to use it is the problem.
itgoon 17y ago
I disagree. Microsoft has had to make these community-oriented changes because they have been losing the community. It is, and has been, necessary for that bottom line for these changes to come about. They are finally come to realize, at a more fundamental level, that they need us more than we need them. And we need them less and less, every day. As long as OSS keeps pushing the envelope, both technically and in mind-share, Microsoft will keep their promises, expressed and implied.

hvs 17y ago

I think Microsoft would be most likely to start firing patent lawsuits at a time where Mono started to gain real traction in the free software community. So, if the community did start adopting Mono as a major platform and developed a lot of good software for it, that is when Microsoft would pull the trigger. So, either way, Microsoft gets what it wants. They limit adoption by holding patents that could be later used against the community, and if it does get adopted they can start suing. I say this as someone who really likes the .NET platform and think it could add a lot of value to the free software community. But I have to agree with the FSF on this one.

j_baker 17y ago
> I think Microsoft would be most likely to start firing patent lawsuits at a time where Mono started to gain real traction in the free software community. So, if the community did start adopting Mono as a major platform and developed a lot of good software for it, that is when Microsoft would pull the trigger. You know, it is possible that Microsoft has some grand master plan here. But I have to invoke Occam's razor here: it's more likely that MS is ok with Mono. After all, they don't make money off of .Net directly. They give it away. They make their money by selling Visual Studio. If you were on the fence, wouldn't you be more willing to buy Visual Studio if you knew you could use it to write programs for Windows, Linux, and OS X? And of course, if you have to buy Visual Studio, you have to buy Windows too.
- nkohari 17y ago
  They really don't make their money selling Visual Studio either. They make their money selling Windows, which Visual Studio (and their .NET implementation) is 100% geared towards.
- ZeroGravitas 17y ago
  They don't need to have a master plan. Just leaving ammo lying around when a future Microsoft could have any of a million reasons to use it is the problem.

itgoon 17y ago

I disagree. Microsoft has had to make these community-oriented changes because they have been losing the community. It is, and has been, necessary for that bottom line for these changes to come about. They are finally come to realize, at a more fundamental level, that they need us more than we need them. And we need them less and less, every day. As long as OSS keeps pushing the envelope, both technically and in mind-share, Microsoft will keep their promises, expressed and implied.