My take is that in the most central sense,
what Nadella and Microsoft are doing
with the code editor, .NET, their free
IDE, etc. is following a standard,
powerful, old
script:
If have something popular, e.g., .NET,
then make it open and promote it as a
standard. Then come out with enhancements
every few months.
Part of the script is what Ballmer
once said in his uniquely understated
way -- "Developers! Developers!
Developers!"
Then initially many
developers will adopt and use the
standard because it's open and, thus,
close to
universal, at least pretty
good, and free.
Then, later, as Microsoft
makes improvements each few
months, it will be next to
impossible for anyone else to
make a fork that is competitive
so that Microsoft will, then,
continue to own the standard.
Or, if a developer wants some new
feature X, then they will likely
just wait for the next version of the
standard and hope.
So, thusly owning the standard,
Microsoft controls
a major part of computing which
can be very powerful for Microsoft
and a farm where only Microsoft
plows, seeds, and harvests.
E.g., nearly all the developers
would be on .NET, etc., but
Microsoft and only Microsoft knows
where the .NET standard will be
in version n + 1, n + 2, ... out
several years into the future.
Then the rest of Microsoft can
start development now that
exploits the standard, say,
two years from now while everyone
else has to wait two years
even to start. Bingo. Presto.
The parts of Microsoft that
exploit the standard get a
two year head start.
Or, maybe at one time a computer
company, say, HAL, designed, manufactured,
and sold hardware, operating system
software, middle ware software,
and applications software. Then
they had hardware enhancements
right along, say, each year or so.
Well, the hardware specification
about had to be in the manual
Principles of Operation and, thus,
essentially open. So, some
plug compatible manufacturer, say, GA,
could get the manual and build
a cheaper version of the hardware.
Well, the HAL software people knew
what good, new functionality was
coming to their hardware some years
before GA or
anyone else did and could have
a head start of those years.
One heck of an advantage.
Net, thusly owning an open
standard can be very valuable.