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Visual Studio kerfuffle: Is Microsoft suicidal or out of good options?

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Re: Visual Studio kerfuffle: Is Microsoft suicidal or out of good options?

#11

Post by unimpressive »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #9
cico71 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably nothing. I strongly believe that Microsoft was already trying to become a gatekeeper a decade ago setting the stage with Hailstorm. Only the fear for anti-trust authorities blocked them IMO. Now Apple cleared the way and Microsoft already has a much stronger infrastructure in place to become a gatekeeper. I'm pretty sure they will fail at becoming THE gatekeeper, but I think they will still become A pretty l…

"People should have voted with their wallet back when the walled garden xbox and iphone were released." With very few exceptions, phones and video game consoles have always been "walled gardens".

>With very few exceptions, phones and video game consoles have always been "walled gardens".

True. The problem comes when people try to use them as general computing devices. Or even, when manufacturers treat general computing devices like phones and consoles.

Re: Visual Studio kerfuffle: Is Microsoft suicidal or out of good options?

#15

Post by cico71 »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #9
cico71 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably nothing. I strongly believe that Microsoft was already trying to become a gatekeeper a decade ago setting the stage with Hailstorm. Only the fear for anti-trust authorities blocked them IMO. Now Apple cleared the way and Microsoft already has a much stronger infrastructure in place to become a gatekeeper. I'm pretty sure they will fail at becoming THE gatekeeper, but I think they will still become A pretty l…

"People should have voted with their wallet back when the walled garden xbox and iphone were released." With very few exceptions, phones and video game consoles have always been "walled gardens".

I guess it all depends on how picky one want to be.

Before the generation of consoles that includes the xbox, I can't remember of any real attempt to lock them down by preventing unsigned code the be run (and I don't consider not releasing an SDK really a walled garden).

I also don't remember Windows Mobile preventing people to run homebrew code and Symbian enforced signed-only code roughly when Nokia N82/N95 came around.

Anyway, locking some API/functionalities is different from requiring all code to be signed which in turn is different from requiring that all code must be distributed by a single entity (that can apply arbitrary terms of conditions to distribute it).

Although In logic "slippery slope" reasoning is a fallacy, in -real-life, it happens all the time. Draconian rules are introduced one step at a time so I still think that was about the right time to vote with your wallet.

Re: Visual Studio kerfuffle: Is Microsoft suicidal or out of good options?

#16

Post by cico71 »

unimpressive wrote: post #11
Turing_Machine wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"People should have voted with their wallet back when the walled garden xbox and iphone were released." With very few exceptions, phones and video game consoles have always been "walled gardens".

>With very few exceptions, phones and video game consoles have always been "walled gardens". True. The problem comes when people try to use them as general computing devices. Or even, when manufacturers treat general computing devices like phones and consoles.

I'm not sure what you mean here. Consoles and smartphones are general computing devices and are clearly marketed as such. Consoles are not only used for games/audio/video and smartphones are definitely not used for phone calls.
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