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Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

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Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#71

Post by rcirka »

nikatwork wrote: post #16

I started my career working on VB apps, and ASP then ASP.NET websites, using a Windows dev box. After learning several OSS stacks, I have nothing but contempt for Microsoft technologies. I wouldn't say I hate MS - they are what they are - but I am certainly conditioned to be very suspicious of their offerings. I would never take a job working on a MS stack again, ever. I currently work for a large enterprise that use…

In what ways is RoR superior to asp.net (besides the fact it is not microsoft?) RoR is still it it's relatively infancy, has security issues, is significantly slower, and good luck finding a good IDE. To the author's point, don't just hate, give some specific reasons why one technology is superior or inferior.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#72

Post by iamshs »

tptacek wrote: post #55
iamshs wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6590378

I see one guy saying he flagged the story ('JanezStupar). That person abused the flag button and needs to stop doing that. I don't see a lot of people saying the story wasn't relevant, or saying they flagged the story. I'm asking because there is more than one reason why a story might drop off the front page; flagging is one of them, but so is the voting ring detector.

Here's the chart for that story: http://hnrankings.info/6590378/

I do not know what the correct interpretation of it is though. Not at persons flagging will write a comment though.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#73

Post by seanmcdirmid »

martey wrote: post #56

You have not provided any evidence that flagging is the reason that articles about the Nokia Lumia 2520 fell off of the front page. It is entirely possible that they disappeared because not enough people were interested in upvoting marketing information about a tablet running Windows RT. So is HN basically becoming Slashdot where Microsoft hate occurs by default? The guidelines for this site suggest that it is bad fo…

The article definitely had enough upvotes to stay on the front page; it was definitely knocked two pages back for some reason, and someone admitted to flagging.

My account is more than a year old, I have 3000+ karma, and I have a low number on Slashdot as well (and made the front page in 1998).

The bias is real and documented. I posted my own original comment with no expectation but to express my pleasure, most people who know me on HN know my affiliation, and it is in my user info. I didn't start fighting until the comments got very nasty. I reposted because I didn't think the article got a fair shake the first time.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#74

Post by mikeash »

quaffapint wrote: post #54
mikeash wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And much like the Communist thing, there are some good underlying reasons even if the end result is not necessarily good. For the Communists, it's because they were horrible oppressors. For Microsoft, it's because they nearly destroyed the industry back in the day, and to many of us it seems like they set back computing about a decade with their monopolistic tactics. That doesn't mean that the Microsoft of today, muc…

Then why such crazy love for Apple when Jobs was trying to do the same thing with the iphone suing companies left and right and patenting a button? They both have bad sides, it just seems one is ignored.

Apple never did anything remotely comparable to MS's rampage of destruction in the 90s. A few lawsuits against smartphone makers is small potatoes by comparison, especially since they didn't really work out. How many competitors has Apple put out of business, not by having better products, but by simply leveraging a monopoly to drive them out? The answer, of course, is none, because they don't have any monopolies and aren't in a position to drive better products out of business.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#75

Post by seanmcdirmid »

anigbrowl wrote: post #17
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Since you work for MS Labs, I beg you to investigate the state machine possibilities of tools like Reaktor and Flowstone, which are geared towards signal processing but which are plenty versatile, and seem like they'd be ideal for touch deployment in principle. I can rant on about this at length in email if you're interested.

Let me take a look. This isn't my field but I have a couple of colleagues who might have an interest here.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#76

Post by jesserosenthal »

tptacek wrote: post #63
iamshs wrote: post #40

In that particular thread, I was accused of being a shill and an astroturfer by 3 members. All of the accusers had karma greater than 1500, and atleast two of them were on HN since at least 2 years. Why? Because I posted the spec list of the tablet. And I do not have allegiance to any of the tech companies at all, except having used their products one time or another. MS hate is vicious on here. I remember recoiledsn…

Nobody in the history of HN has ever made themselves look smarter by calling someone else a shill, and that thread is no exception.

Pleasingly ambiguous phrasing. The first two times I read it, I got that this was the smartest anyone had ever looked (no one has ever looked smarter). Apologies for going off-topic, but I hadn't come across this particular cramp in the language before.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#77

Post by abraxasz »

In my case it's more grudge than hatred. The fact that a company made me pay for VISTA is unforgivable. \joke

More seriously, I've noticed that a large portion (like in 90%) of the CS department and Statistics department in my Uni (US, Ivy) run mac os x, or linux. Is that a general trend elsewhere? I have my own reasons for preferring OSX, and I have a hard time believing that these 90% picked osx or linux just because of a "vogue" or "trend". Genuinely curious here.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#78

Post by seanmcdirmid »

tacoman wrote: post #32

For me, it's kind of like sports. Why do you hate certain teams? I'm a 90's linux user so my hate for MS is self explanatory and these days mostly irrational. Recently I found myself working with a group of Microsoft employees and it's tough to "hate" them, their company or the really nice products they flaunt around (Surface, Windows Phones, etc). There are a lot things that continue to feed my dislike for the compa…

You don't have to love MS or upvote their articles, just not use the flag button to kill articles because you don't like them.

I definitely empathize with much of what you are saying. But many of us are just average joes working for a big company with diverse interests. You might still want to interact with us because we know things and have interesting stories to tell. Even if you hate a certain team, would you really give their players a cold shoulder?

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#79

Post by edderly »

Up front, social media is largely about signalling. If X is deemed unpopular amongst 'those in the know', you signal your disapproval and vice versa.

Context matters a lot for Microsoft.

Amongst older people, there are enough casualties of Microsoft's success around to warrant a default hatred for the company and it's values.

However, the saddest indictment is even at the height of their success many people didn't like or even hated using their products (take the parody of Windows/BG in South Park the movie in 1999 as an example if you like).

So I think Microsoft as a deserved reputation for considering the enjoyment of their products as a separate from the success of their business, at least in the mainstream. It's not to say that Microsoft don't do good products, but it's difficult to regain trust which is lost.

Re: Ask HN: Why the Microsoft hate?

#80

Post by seanmcdirmid »

abraxasz wrote: post #77

In my case it's more grudge than hatred. The fact that a company made me pay for VISTA is unforgivable. \joke More seriously, I've noticed that a large portion (like in 90%) of the CS department and Statistics department in my Uni (US, Ivy) run mac os x, or linux. Is that a general trend elsewhere? I have my own reasons for preferring OSX, and I have a hard time believing that these 90% picked osx or linux just becau…

I think this is a real trend. When I go to an academic CS conference, 70% of my peers are using Macbooks these days.
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