Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#1

Post by howard941 » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 7:15 PM UTC

Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs
onezero.medium.com

Re: Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#2

Post by mfatica » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 7:58 PM UTC

Amazon was ever considered a neutral platform?

Re: Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#3

Post by product50 » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 8:01 PM UTC

Why is this a problem? Aren't these companies there to take a cut of the service they put in? If Amazon can incorporate those services/tools and that reduces the prices for the end users, why is it looked as wrong?

This is basically the middlemen analogy in commerce which internet completely decimated by allowing manufacturers/retail to go directly to users.

Re: Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#4

Post by mooreds » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 8:02 PM UTC

So actually, they are talking about AWS. I clicked through expecting to read about FBA and the Amazon basics, but this is more technology/open source oriented.

Re: Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#5

Post by epa » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 8:06 PM UTC

When AWS launched, they cut the price of a typical VPN service by 80% or more. They were cutthroat from the start. Amazon did not price for the existing market, they priced for a theoretical market they knew could exist when prices were that low.

Re: Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#6

Post by pkaye » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 8:09 PM UTC

product50 wrote: post #3

Why is this a problem? Aren't these companies there to take a cut of the service they put in? If Amazon can incorporate those services/tools and that reduces the prices for the end users, why is it looked as wrong? This is basically the middlemen analogy in commerce which internet completely decimated by allowing manufacturers/retail to go directly to users.

If Amazon takes too much of the revenue stream from those companies that produce the software might not be able to fund development.

Re: Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#7

Post by edoo » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 8:10 PM UTC

mooreds wrote: post #4

So actually, they are talking about AWS. I clicked through expecting to read about FBA and the Amazon basics, but this is more technology/open source oriented.

That is what I thought too. If you have a hit product Amazon will roll their own version and drink your milkshake.

Re: Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#8

Post by petra » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 8:10 PM UTC

Article is pay-walled. any tricks ?

Re: Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#9

Post by adamnemecek » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 8:13 PM UTC

Amazon was neutral?

Re: Amazon Has Gone from Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor: Open Source Devs

#10

Post by capkutay » Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 8:13 PM UTC

Step 1: Launch company to monetize open source hoping to get rich in IPO.

Step 2: Be shocked when Amazon uses your open licenses exactly how they're allowed to

Step 3: Write angry letter about Amazon monetizing the project you were trying to monetize.

Open source isn't meant to be a get-rich quick scheme for founders to generate cheap buzz off their 'free' project. It's literally designed to be forked and used in whatever way the user/developer sees fit. You can't just unrealistically hope that a large company won't exploit it in whatever way they can.