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NPM Is Joining GitHub

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221–230 of 588 posts

Re: NPM Is Joining GitHub

#222
post #187

I'm surprised there's not a single mention of "Microsoft" in this or the npm announcement [1], given the old-evil-history of Microsoft and the new-nice Microsoft we have today. I would expect that there was at least a mention, considering the reason that most modules in npm are still in ES5 is exactly because of the monopolistic practices that Microsoft followed back in the day which makes Internet Explorer still rel…

Microsoft wants to host as much information as possible so it can collect data on developers and users. It is very hard to avoid giving data to Microsoft. GitHub, NPM, LinkedIn, Office 365, Teams, the lock-in is still alive. A decentralized web or a non-for-profit like Wikipedia is a much better model for these infrastructure projects.

I'm not using any of those.

Re: NPM Is Joining GitHub

#223

I'm surprised there's not a single mention of "Microsoft" in this or the npm announcement [1], given the old-evil-history of Microsoft and the new-nice Microsoft we have today. I would expect that there was at least a mention, considering the reason that most modules in npm are still in ES5 is exactly because of the monopolistic practices that Microsoft followed back in the day which makes Internet Explorer still rel…

I installed Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 on an older machine just now. The MSFT of today is definitely a far cry from the MSFT of yesteryear. Such a thing would have been unheard of 15 years ago.

You do remember one of the original Windows NT subsystems was OS/2 1.x, right? http://www.os2museum.com/wp/nt-and-os2/ And look how that turned out :)

Re: NPM Is Joining GitHub

#224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does a trustworthy Microsoft look like to you?

I’ve been a developer for nearly 25 years. I’m not sure if there is anything MS could ever do to regain my trust. Unfortunately this seems to be the way of large tech companies. At one time I thought Google was the best thing ever (don’t be evil). Now I find that I view Google in much the same way as I do MS. A huge corrupt behemoth that needs to be broken up.

Well you certainly picked a username that reflects your views.

Re: NPM Is Joining GitHub

#225
post #205
post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy where they get acquired by a newly-reformed Sun Microsystems (where no stock is owned by Oracle or Oracle shareholders). EDIT: I'm mostly kidding, but you can't really expect true change of morals when the vast majority of the upper management is the same under the new CEO as under the old one.

At the risk of sounding somewhat naive, I think people do have the capacity to grow over time. Perhaps part of the reason why Microsoft has seemingly turned over a new leaf in recent years is that upper management has learned from their past mistakes? I do see your point though, and I think it's stuck in the back of a lot of our minds.

Not to mention that upper management doesn't consist of the same people as 15 years ago.

Re: NPM Is Joining GitHub

#226
post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft wants to host as much information as possible so it can collect data on developers and users. It is very hard to avoid giving data to Microsoft. GitHub, NPM, LinkedIn, Office 365, Teams, the lock-in is still alive. A decentralized web or a non-for-profit like Wikipedia is a much better model for these infrastructure projects.

Git was designed to be decentralized from the start. Is there a way to revitalize that heritage? Discoverability and pull requests are two big benefits that GitHub has offered. Could we create decentralized open source solutions to provide those benefits? Are there other benefits that we’d need to provide to have viable alternatives to centralization?

https://notabug.org/peers/forgefed is one attempt at that.

Re: NPM Is Joining GitHub

#227
post #14

This seems like a good outcome overall. NPM being such an important pillar in the software supply chain while having an unviable business model and largely being funded by VC money was never a good position to be in. There are problems with more of the software ecosystem consolidating with a single entity but it still feels like an improvement.

I'm not sure I like the continued consolidation of all things tech around just a few large companies. That's generally not a good place to be.

given the significant returns to scale in the tech industry this is a pretty natural development and it happens in most tech sectors over time as monopolistic competition generally outperforms the 'bazaar' economy.

'small business' is only the equilibrium in sectors that can't increase aggregate output by growing or capital investment like say, the restaurant industry.

Re: NPM Is Joining GitHub

#228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Safari.

Care to explain? Safari has one of the highest standards compliance of any modern browser [0], which IE famously did not. It has been argued with various success [1] that Chrome is the new I.E., due to "Chrome exclusive" web standards. [0]: https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-30/... [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16070595

If you are going to compare browsers make sure you aren't comparing against a version of Chrome from 2013.

Here is the correct comparison: https://html5test.com/compare/browser/safari-11.2/chrome-68/...

Which clearly shows its the worst of the bunch.

Edit: Also just noticed, the latest Chrome version that the site has is 68. We're currently on 80+

Re: NPM Is Joining GitHub

#229
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft turned their reputation around in recent years with developers but I wonder how long it will last.

I think people are "okay" with Microsoft because so many hackers have a problem with the data agglomeration and monetization strategy of Google and Facebook, but this Microsoft "embrace" will come to a head within the next couple years and I just can't wait for it. The way people think Microsoft's embrace of open source, GitHub, and now NPM is genuine is completely ridiculous. Microsoft had to change because much of…

I don't give any credence to the idea that Microsoft under Satya Nadella is the same company as Microsoft under Gates or Ballmer, much less the idea that it is secretly lying in wait to go back to its old, far-less-profitable ways. It has behaved differently. It is making its money differently. It no longer stack-rank fires people. And it is making a whole lot more money doing things this way than it made the way it used to behave.
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