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What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

jacquesmattheij.com

151–160 of 228 posts

Re: What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

#151
post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's because Microsoft's reason for doing this is plausible and not as anti-competitive as that comment makes it seem - locking down the boot process has serious security benefits.

I admit I may be ignorant, but could you spell out the security benefits of going from "locked down but user-openable" to "not user-openable"? (edit: specifically benefits that couldn't be effectively addressed by making it a little difficult and scary to open that lockdown?)

If it's openable it's not locked down. If I can't trust the kernel then every level above it is tainted (this is assuming you can trust the CPU and firmware, but at least ARM is better than Intel here).

Re: What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those may be norms for IT professionals, but the needs of IT professionals are very different from those of standard users. Realistically most people (numerically) don't want a computer, they want a thing that lets them communicate, create and consume content. Lockdown isn't a problem for them, and walled gardens like iOS are generally the best way for them to stay secure. If you provide a method to escape the sandbo…

That's why I'm entirely OK with making it scary and a little difficult. And it's not just IT professionals, but also their friends and family, especially those that can't afford to or don't want to get a new device that often. I think this is a pretty significant set of people.

So are you not ok with the concept that some people don't need that option and, as long as the vendor is clear about what is and isn't possible, having some devices that are more locked down that others is acceptable?

Re: What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

#154
post #106

Microsoft is not a company that ever contributed my life as a Linux user and open source contributor for years. In fact, it always made life harder for me. Here is a recent example; because Microsoft made a deal with Lenovo, now new Thinkpads are designed for just Windows. If you're a Linux user, good luck in your new adventure. People say "isn't it like IOS or Android?"; it's not. We had this freedom of using Linux,…

You know that Microsoft are the largest corporate contributor to open source projects on Github right?

They are the biggest software company, so when they decided they want to embrace and extend open source, it's not surprising the quantity of released code is higher than of smaller companies. The argument here is different: we don't really believe MS changed much from the time they called Linux and GPL "cancer" and used all possible means, some of them quite grey, to completely annihilate all significant competition.

Re: What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

#155
post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grep 150,000 source files on Linux and on WSL and come back to me. That's a pretty standard console load. It kills git operations, package managers, compilers, the lot. ALL the tools I use it for. Well USED it for. Real data: linux -> 1.3 seconds, all from buffer cache on a cranky old 10 year old HP desktop with 8 gig of RAM and bottom end SSD. wsl -> over a minute on a 12 core i7 with high end m2 SSD, every time. Th…

Source code files are small... but hardly a lot though. I've usually been doing extensive search on big files, and ripgrep is great for that (and available for windows).

I just use `git grep` which isn't as fast as ripgrep (https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep), but is still damn fast (on Windows).

Re: What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

#156
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft don't have a competing product in their portfolio to extinguish Github in favour of - and any overt moves like kicking projects off the platform would instantly torpedo any value the acquisition brought as every single project left the service in protest. I don't really see how anything other than being perfect stewards of Github works out in their favour.

> Microsoft don't have a competing product in their portfolio to extinguish Github in favour of Actually they did (VSTS, TFS), but it was so hilariously bad that they started moving to git a couple years ago.

They also used to have CodePlex, but eventually they killed it and migrated projects over to GitHub.

Re: What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

#157
post #143
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's wrong with this? I don't want unauthorized infringing projects jeopardizing the service the rest of us use legally and ethically. Invalid DMCAs are another story, but what's the harm of respecting an IP owner's valid DMCA request?

it will become a sterile, homogenous environment. Its the diversity (like the repos mentioned above) that made github the goto code-sharing site. I, for one, would rather jeaopardize the service to defend the rights of such fringe developers. Together we stand.

You might think that the reason GitHub exists is to be an altruistic public service to all developers, but that's not the case. This is: https://github.com/pricing As a paying user of GitHub and a member of organizations that use its commercial services, it would be completely absurd for them to put a dozen employees out of work because they have to support a pointless lawsuit of not removing an infringing repository that isn't making them any money in the first place.

Re: What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

#158
post #106

Microsoft is not a company that ever contributed my life as a Linux user and open source contributor for years. In fact, it always made life harder for me. Here is a recent example; because Microsoft made a deal with Lenovo, now new Thinkpads are designed for just Windows. If you're a Linux user, good luck in your new adventure. People say "isn't it like IOS or Android?"; it's not. We had this freedom of using Linux,…

You know that Microsoft are the largest corporate contributor to open source projects on Github right?

What are you basing this off? This article?[0] If so, then it only supports my shared belief with roadbeats that Microsoft out of most of those companies has had little impact on my life as an open source user.

[0]: https://medium.freecodecamp.org/the-top-contributors-to-gith...

Re: What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

#159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about Atlassian?

Atlassian would have pretty much no reason to buy GitHub, unless it's to shut it down. They have Bitbucket and I think is pretty safe to say that they don't care about people hosting their open source stuff. Of course you can use Bitbucket for free but where the big bucks are for Atlassian is the enterprise market. I don't have market data but I don't think there are many big corps using GitHub as opposite to Bitbuck…

You'd be surprised. Case in point is my current main client, a huge national broadcasting company which is using Jira and Confluence for everything on one hand, but is just setting up a GitHub private instance on the other.

Re: What is wrong with Microsoft buying GitHub

#160
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another recent example: lockdown of ARM-based Windows machines, preventing the installation of other operating systems.

You mean like Android or iOS?

You mean unlike most other desktop/laptop OEMs/manufacturers?

(which would be the more apt point of reference)

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