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HockeyApp Joins Microsoft

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Re: HockeyApp Joins Microsoft

#21

Post by scholia »

woogle wrote: post #14
untog wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not too worried about it. After all, MS has released Office on iOS, and partnered with Xamarin for iOS development. They'd be insane to buy HockeyApp then kill everything it has and replace it with a Windows Phone only solution. It's weird, but MS is almost one of the best large companies to do cross-platform dev with these days.

I agree with that, but things may be different in 2 years. And MS is also the company that gains the most money with each Android phone sold.

Microsoft has also been providing software for Macs since 1984, when it appeared at the launch, and it generally makes more money per head from Mac users (who buy lots of copies of Windows and Office) than Windows users (roughly $45 each per 4-5 years).

The only reason it would quit on iOS is if it couldn't make any money from iOS users. And the only reason it wouldn't be able to make money from iOS users would be if Apple went down in flames.

Re: HockeyApp Joins Microsoft

#22

Post by scholia »

tehcodez wrote: post #11

Remember when Apple bought test flight? That sure worked out well for people building apps for multiple platforms. I'm sufficiently concerned.

Apple uses software to sell hardware, and usually stops supporting other platforms when it buys things. That's how its closed, proprietary world works.

Microsoft makes its money from software not hardware, and most of it comes via third parties not direct sales. It licenses most of its software across multiple brands of hardware, and it's been supporting non-Windows platforms (in the form of Mac OS and iOS) for a long time. It's already hosting Linux on Azure.

It's not going to close off markets for doctrinaire reasons, only if there's no money in them...

Re: HockeyApp Joins Microsoft

#23

Post by scholia »

smackfu wrote: post #15
tehcodez wrote: post #11

Remember when Apple bought test flight? That sure worked out well for people building apps for multiple platforms. I'm sufficiently concerned.

I really doubt Microsoft is going to make it Windows Phone only. Windows Phone is just not that valuable as a platform.

Windows Phone and tablet software is free as in beer ;-)

Re: HockeyApp Joins Microsoft

#24

Post by scholia »

NicoJuicy wrote: post #13
andyjohnson0 wrote: post #5

I just signed-up with HockeyApp this morning and have been very impressed with the experience. Congratulations to the team! Previously we'd been using TestFlight for iOS and the PLsy Store's built-in beta-test functionality for Android, but it is convenient to have one service that supports a range of mobile OSs and a lower-friction deployment process. When TestFlight was bought by Apple, they fairly quickly abandone…

Microsoft realizes it has to be cross platform... Most important change since the new CEO arrived :)

Except that change was already well under way long before the new CEO arrived ;-)

Re: HockeyApp Joins Microsoft

#26

Post by NicoJuicy »

scholia wrote: post #24
NicoJuicy wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft realizes it has to be cross platform... Most important change since the new CEO arrived :)

Except that change was already well under way long before the new CEO arrived ;-)

They didn't went all in ( Office = milk cow), they did a huge shift now with Satya Nadella.

That is a fundemental change vs. a change from the inside ( before it was pushed because some people grasped the concept and they were allowed to try it out)

Re: HockeyApp Joins Microsoft

#28

Post by potatolicious »

scholia wrote: post #21
woogle wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with that, but things may be different in 2 years. And MS is also the company that gains the most money with each Android phone sold.

Microsoft has also been providing software for Macs since 1984, when it appeared at the launch, and it generally makes more money per head from Mac users (who buy lots of copies of Windows and Office) than Windows users (roughly $45 each per 4-5 years). The only reason it would quit on iOS is if it couldn't make any money from iOS users. And the only reason it wouldn't be able to make money from iOS users would be if…

> "Microsoft has also been providing software for Macs since 1984, when it appeared at the launch, and it generally makes more money per head from Mac users (who buy lots of copies of Windows and Office) than Windows users (roughly $45 each per 4-5 years)."

All true, but that hasn't prevented the quality of MS software on Macs from varying between first class and complete bottom of the barrel.

Right now iOS/OSX seems to be enjoying high priority at Microsoft, but this hasn't always been the case, even when Macs were popular.

Normally I'd say that this is all fairly inconsequential, but HockeyApp is a very core part of our development process and build system, and disentangling ourselves of it is going to be a lot more complicated than, say, swapping analytics providers. Definitely not something you can do on a dime, which makes any potential sudden moves pretty concerning.

And post-acquisition startups (regardless of who acquired them) tend to be full of sudden moves...

Re: HockeyApp Joins Microsoft

#29

Post by dragonwriter »

scholia wrote: post #24
NicoJuicy wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft realizes it has to be cross platform... Most important change since the new CEO arrived :)

Except that change was already well under way long before the new CEO arrived ;-)

> Except that change was already well under way long before the new CEO arrived

Nadella didn't emerge out of nowhere, he was already an executive at Microsoft and was driving many of the kinds of changes that have accelerated since he became CEO even before becoming CEO.

Re: HockeyApp Joins Microsoft

#30

Post by nailer »

NicoJuicy wrote: post #26
scholia wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that change was already well under way long before the new CEO arrived ;-)

They didn't went all in ( Office = milk cow), they did a huge shift now with Satya Nadella. That is a fundemental change vs. a change from the inside ( before it was pushed because some people grasped the concept and they were allowed to try it out)

Yeah it was shortly after Satya taking over that MS Office for iPad was released. They'd obviously had the code there, but the authority to actually get it out seemed to be lacking.
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