Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#1

Post by seanmcdirmid » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 12:53 AM UTC

When new the Nokia tablet was announced yesterday, submissions made it to the front page but were promptly flagged off by many saying "this wasn't relevant to HN;" regardless of all the excitement over the new iPad.

So is HN basically becoming Slashdot where Microsoft hate occurs by default? Is it ethical to flag something because the article is related to a company you don't like, even if the source is generally reputable (theverge, engadget, ars)?

Full disclosure: I work for Microsoft (research) and my wife works for Nokia; so ya, ouch.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#2

Post by informatimago » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 12:58 AM UTC

I was thinking, the new iPad Air are so expensive, I won't have money left to buy and try a Nokia tablet...

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#3

Post by seanmcdirmid » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 1:01 AM UTC

informatimago wrote: post #2

I was thinking, the new iPad Air are so expensive, I won't have money left to buy and try a Nokia tablet...

:) they haven't announced pricing for the Nokia tablet yet, and the air definitely looks nice. I mean, they are both interesting stories, and there is no reason to flag one of them to bury it just because it is Microsoft/Nokia/whatever.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#4

Post by anigbrowl » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 1:11 AM UTC

I agree, it's just pack behavior. And no, I don't work for MS, nor have I ever.

Having said that, launching the day before the iPad was bound to invite negative comparison without something really special, notwithstanding the good value proposition of this tablet. What has personally held me back is that Windows RT has nothing in particular for me because it can't run any x86 legacy apps, while surface Pro seems rather expensive.

As with Google & Android, and MS with many previous versions of Windows, this platform is poor for musicians and not great for visual artists. I know creatives are a small market, but they're a very influential one. I don't like Apple or iOS much, but next time I buy a tablet with a view to making music, what other choice do I have?

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#5

Post by rajivtiru » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 1:17 AM UTC

I'm relatively new to HN. It's disappointing but I kind of just accepted the Microsoft hate, as a given(like nick cage on reddit).

Also recently I started to see posts from older HN members who don't like what the community is turning into.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#6

Post by benologist » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 1:17 AM UTC

If you see a comment you think is ridiculous click "link" and you should be able to flag them. I don't think HNers in general hate MS but this community is pretty biased towards OS X and Linux, it's hard to feign interest in stuff you don't use.

Engadget and The Verge are professional plagiarists, it would be bad for this community to adopt those sites as some kind of standard for tech news, and it's awesome seeing them fail over and over again to get a foothold here.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#7

Post by bra-ket » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 1:20 AM UTC

closed source since 1975.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/shouldbefree.html

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#8

Post by jorganisak » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 1:21 AM UTC

I agree. Even the biggest Apple fanboys should keep an open mind towards at least reading the reviews of other products. Only competition (even if you deem it inferior competition) can give rise to disruptive technology.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#9

Post by seanmcdirmid » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 1:22 AM UTC

anigbrowl wrote: post #4

I agree, it's just pack behavior. And no, I don't work for MS, nor have I ever. Having said that, launching the day before the iPad was bound to invite negative comparison without something really special, notwithstanding the good value proposition of this tablet. What has personally held me back is that Windows RT has nothing in particular for me because it can't run any x86 legacy apps, while surface Pro seems rath…

> What has personally held me back is that Windows RT has nothing in particular for me because it can't run any x86 legacy apps, while surface Pro seems rather expensive.

I agree with that personally, but I would hope that Windows RT could grow a strong enough ecosystem that this wouldn't be a big deal.

> As with Google & Android, and MS with many previous versions of Windows, this platform is poor for musicians and not great for visual artists. I know creatives are a small market, but they're a very influential one. I don't like Apple or iOS much, but next time I buy a tablet with a view to making music, what other choice do I have?

I think focusing on creatives is key also. In particular, I would like to see some decent touch-friendly programming environment on a tablet; without which I'm still stuck using a laptop for relatively dumb reasons.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#10

Post by shearnie » Wed, Oct 23, 2013, 1:24 AM UTC

My startup friends and I here in Brisbane, Australia talk quite a bit about going to San Fran to "soak up the start-up vibe".

I often joke about having the nerve to set up camp in a coffee shop there and whip out my Surface Pro, fire up visual studio, and sling some C# and see how quickly I'll get hated on.

I do wonder, will that really happen? Honest question.