Comment by valarauca1 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by valarauca1 | Hacker News Reader

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>I feel like the media wants to paint a comeback story a la Apple a lot more than one actually exists.

In terms of an Apple come back story that's blatantly false. Microsoft was never in dire financial straights since practically the mid-80's.

The Benefit of the Doubt is more because of their attitude to the OSS community. For nearly its entire life Micro$oft has been seen as the prime enemy of the OSS community, a role which it willingly and almost happily embraced.

Today Microsoft has open sources it main .NET runtime. Opening up C#/F# 2 great languages. Its opening the JS Engine in Edge. Compared to Gates/Balmer area Microsoft it very much feels like a different company.

I would not happily return to them. In fact, I see no reason why. To me, they are still in their same embrace, extend, extinguish mode only that now their cycle is a lot longer. It could even be that nadella really thinks that he will always be in the embrace and extend phase. My gut feeling is that as soon as it becomes hugely beneficial to them somebody within the company will advocate for the extinguish phase. Don't trust Microsoft. It is in their DNA to screw you.

"Don't trust Microsoft. It is in their DNA to screw you."

Companies don't have a DNA. Humans do. Companies change as employees come and go, as the environment changes, etc. Don't antropomorphize them.

Companies act in their financial interest. Very rarely not, but mostly yes. I don't know why is it so hard to accept that.

> Companies don't have a DNA

What then is this "company culture" I hear about all time on HN? Also, what percentage of employees have changed at Microsoft since the "old" Microsoft - 60, 75, 90%?

If companies don't have DNA/culture/behavioral momentum and can change at the drop of a pin, it implies all the work that has been done can be undone by Nadella's successor in short order.

"The guest who has escaped from the roof, will think twice before he returns by the door." - Gandalf, to Saruman.

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