4 ms·

His charity (while good for the world) doesn't undo the damage he caused when he was CEO of Microsoft.

by penprog 12y ago

korzun 12y ago
What damage. How did it impact you.
- x0x0 12y ago
  Well, ms crippled the web as an application development target by freezing ie for somewhere between 5 and 10 years, in order to support their desktop software monopoly. A monopoly that used to cost on the order of $100+ per pc. So they got probably an extra $400 from me.
gearoidoc 12y ago
I'd also question what damage he did as MS CEO that can in any way take away from the good his foundation is doing/has done.
- pyre 12y ago
  I'm generally opposed to the idea that people can crush others in their pursuit of wealth, and then become "good" now that they are part of the uber-rich (and can afford to just toss money around). It encourages the idea that the ends justify the means.
  - gearoidoc 12y ago
    It's business - you play to the limit of the rules and if you break them then you try your best not to get caught. MS didn't crush people - it crushed companies. There's a big difference.
    - riquito 12y ago
      > MS didn't crush people - it crushed companies. There's a big difference. Companies run by robots, I suppose.
      - gearoidoc 12y ago
        No, run by people - as your facetious comment sarcastically points out. However, it is entirely possible for these people to get another job.
        penprog 12y ago
        So, because people can "always get another job", you think it's right that Microsoft under Bill Gates (unethically) crushed the companies that they put their time, money and effort into? Man you must be drinking some crazy corporate kool aid
        vinceguidry 12y ago
        Yes. A company is not a person, a person is not a company. Attacking one should not be considered the same as attacking another, our entire economic system is based around the abstraction of organization so as to shield people from legal liabilities incurred by simply pursuing trade. You can't have it both ways, to both enjoy the legal benefits of a corporate structure, and then to be able to claim public sympathy when you get beaten in the market. Corporate personhood is a dangerous legal concept that Americans believe in for unfathomable reasons, and it causes all sorts of ethical problems, particularly legalization of political manipulations that are considered corruption in other parts of the world.
        pyre 12y ago
        The idea that "it's just business" so it's ok to do anything and everything that you can get away with (up to and including breaking the law) is a harmful idea. "Crushing" other businesses by participating fairly in the market is different than using under-handed tactics to win at all costs ("history is written by the victors," "might makes right" and all that).
- penprog 12y ago
  I never said it took away from the good. I said that the damage he caused doesn't disappear because he is doing good.

His charity (while good for the world) doesn't undo the damage he caused when he was CEO of Microsoft.

by penprog 12y ago

His charity (while good for the world) doesn't undo the damage he caused when he was CEO of Microsoft.

korzun 12y ago

What damage. How did it impact you.

x0x0 12y ago
Well, ms crippled the web as an application development target by freezing ie for somewhere between 5 and 10 years, in order to support their desktop software monopoly. A monopoly that used to cost on the order of $100+ per pc. So they got probably an extra $400 from me.

gearoidoc 12y ago

I'd also question what damage he did as MS CEO that can in any way take away from the good his foundation is doing/has done.

pyre 12y ago
I'm generally opposed to the idea that people can crush others in their pursuit of wealth, and then become "good" now that they are part of the uber-rich (and can afford to just toss money around). It encourages the idea that the ends justify the means.
- gearoidoc 12y ago
  It's business - you play to the limit of the rules and if you break them then you try your best not to get caught. MS didn't crush people - it crushed companies. There's a big difference.
  - riquito 12y ago
    > MS didn't crush people - it crushed companies. There's a big difference. Companies run by robots, I suppose.
    - gearoidoc 12y ago
      No, run by people - as your facetious comment sarcastically points out. However, it is entirely possible for these people to get another job.
      - penprog 12y ago
        So, because people can "always get another job", you think it's right that Microsoft under Bill Gates (unethically) crushed the companies that they put their time, money and effort into? Man you must be drinking some crazy corporate kool aid
        vinceguidry 12y ago
        Yes. A company is not a person, a person is not a company. Attacking one should not be considered the same as attacking another, our entire economic system is based around the abstraction of organization so as to shield people from legal liabilities incurred by simply pursuing trade. You can't have it both ways, to both enjoy the legal benefits of a corporate structure, and then to be able to claim public sympathy when you get beaten in the market. Corporate personhood is a dangerous legal concept that Americans believe in for unfathomable reasons, and it causes all sorts of ethical problems, particularly legalization of political manipulations that are considered corruption in other parts of the world.
        pyre 12y ago
        The idea that "it's just business" so it's ok to do anything and everything that you can get away with (up to and including breaking the law) is a harmful idea. "Crushing" other businesses by participating fairly in the market is different than using under-handed tactics to win at all costs ("history is written by the victors," "might makes right" and all that).
penprog 12y ago
I never said it took away from the good. I said that the damage he caused doesn't disappear because he is doing good.