Apple fans: Microsoft is no longer the enemy
Brent Simmons writing for Macworld:
One of the guys who works on Windows Azure Mobile Services gave me a demo of its support for iOS.What? Microsoft supporting iOS? What? That isn’t the Microsoft (I thought) I knew.
Once I got over the shock, I expected that I’d have to write code in C# (a Microsoft language), that services would run behind IIS (a Microsoft webserver), and that I’d have to use Visual Studio (a Microsoft developer tool) on Windows, which I don’t have. That would be typical Microsoft, right?
Instead: The code is JavaScript, the webserver is Node.js, and I can write code in any text editor. No Microsoft things. The company even released some related code as open source and put it on GitHub.
(Microsoft? Hello, are you feeling okay?)
In other words, Microsoft noticed the world outside Redmond, and it likes it.
And I like them for liking it. And it doesn’t even hurt.
What I see is Microsoft being scared shitless that they are losing developer minds, that there are now thriving ecosystems that Microsoft does not control and their own attempts of building new fortresses is going nowhere slow. So now they are willing to bend over backwards to look good again. See also all the marketing around IE10 targeted to developers.
I like to see Microsoft doing this, but I don’t view it as “look we are the good ones now”, but as a “look how scared we are”. They have to prove they are actually also good at the new services they offer. We’ll see.
Via Daring Fireball
As I see it, they have cloud services and need the subscribers. It’s all about money, not the cool. ;)
I think that both you and Aleš are right, but that the problem is deeper.
I think Microsoft’s core problem is that they don’t have strong values, no strong mission to hold onto.
From my personal perception, Apple pursues *user experience perfection* over anything else, open-source companies pursue *freedom for their customers* over anything else, but I don’t see any particular values being pursued by Microsoft, they do whatever brings money.
They didn’t have to care about values for a long time. In late 80’s / early 90’s they gained an immense market share and they have been profiting on that ever since. But during 2000’s things began to change and I think they got into defense on every front and they aren’t exactly winning.
So my opinion is that yes, they are opening to Apple ecosystem because they want money, and yes, they don’t do it because they want to cooperate or be the good guys, I think they do it because they don’t have a choice. I think if they could profit and keep people locked into their tech at the same time, they would. But it seems they are not able to do this anymore.
Ah I actually forgot to write why having values matters :)
When you have values, you have a chance to lead in some sense and attract a certain type of customers. You have a chance to be the best choice for them, because they share your values.
When you don’t have values and just go for money, you can’t be excellent at things. You are not proactive leader, you are reactive follower. That way you are always a step behind someone else.
@Jiří Stránký: I agree with the value thing. This was just quick comment on the notion that Microsoft is now trying to be the good guy.