Microsoft joins Eclipse Foundation. Odd thing for a competitor to do Microsoft is joining the Eclipse Foundation as a Solutions Member, according to an announcement today at the EclipseCon event in Reston, Virginia. The Eclipse Foundation is the non-profit organisation responsible for the Java-based Eclipse IDE and tools platform. Solutions membership is the second level behind the top-tier …
I feel like I'm watching the beginning of one of those shows that has a season-long plot arc, and you're only given hints as to the antagonists plans.
All these linux-friendly announcements seem so good on the surface, but I'm having difficulty repressing my "It's a trap!" instinct.
I don't think it is a trap. I think the idea is that the old school people like Ballmer saw everything that wasn't made at MS as an enemy. Either MS was going to get 100% or 0% from a project/deal... now they are looking at some of those situations where they got 0% and are thinking some percent would be better than 0%.
I don't think so... back in the day maybe, but I think Satya is pretty realistic about the situation - Microsoft is not going to dominate the IT industry. Linux is going to be around, Java is going to be around (if it does go away, it will be because of other open languages and not MS). Ballmer and co would have never accepted that. Satya still wants Microsoft to be the biggest, most important player in the IT industry, but recognizes that there will be other technologies and players. Nothing they can do about it. So might as well get as much as they can from a multi-vendor world.
Eh, no surprise really. Microsoft is a software company, and they're branching into other areas of software. Yay. It's hardly unexpected, nor is it evil, monopolistic, nor unfair or wrong. Just a good business strategy of diversification like anyone else would.
Not that it'll stop the nutjobs claiming otherwise with nary a shred of proof of 'evil' intentions.
And what koolaid would that be? You missed the point entirely there, chap. They're a company (Like say, Canonical) that make software (Like say, Ubuntu), and like any other company, choose to diversify their product line in (hopefully successful) various other flavours and formats (Like say, Ubuntu Phone... no, wait...)
I'm not promoting them, but neither am I denigrating them. I'm just stating why they'd do such a thing, and at the same time, point out that the rabid lunatics with a persecution complex will always assume the worst in anything they do.
(And yes, the hidden satire there is that their own offering of Windows Phone isn't exactly flying off the shelves either. Thought I'd point that out before those who aren't aware of irony jump in and get all smug...)
well, it's not the FIRST 'foot in the door' Microsoft has done...
they invested in Apple after being sued by them.
they effectively bought STAC after being sued. end of controversy.
many OTHER technologies have ALSO been "assimilated" by the Borg.
Why does this surprise anyone?
It's step 1 in TAKING OVER CONTROL OF THE PROJECT. Then it's "Microsoft Eclipse", no longer free, no longer java-centric, and as one person already suggested, includes the same kind of ad/spy-ware as windows 10 by "offering" you ".Not"-based solutions.
but first... MONO as a run-time dependency! You just wait, it's coming! [this may make gnome's stupid decision to go with 'gnome 3' and the resulting Mate desktop based on 'gnome 2' a "drop in the bucket" controversy].
Time to fork Eclipse. but what to call it... ?
Yeah, I think that is the case. Satya realizes that, while they might not be able to get everyone on pure MS stack and nothing but MS stack, they can make a dent in Oracle by opening up SQL's platforms. While they would prefer everyone use .NET with Visual Studio, Eclipse and Java are going to be around so maybe they will try to sell some Java tools like IBM and Oracle. Just trying to sell some stuff, fellas. No need to start stockpiling food in your bunker.
Diversifying into new niches, nothing new there. Being successful at it, very rare for Microsoft. With new management they're going to do it more and in surprising areas but I have trouble believing they'll have a higher success rate.
Monkey wrenching Eclipse... I doubt there's any damage they could do anyone would notice in the rest of the Eclipse car wreck and zero chance of any takeover succeeding.
Erm, not evil or monopolistic ? Wait a minute, aren't we talking here about a company that has been convicted of monopolistic business practice on three continents ? Just do a summary reading of court documents from Comes vs Microsoft or Barnes & Noble vs Microsoft and come back here to tell us MS is not evil.
Sheesh!
"It's hardly unexpected, [...] Just a good business strategy of diversification like anyone else would."
Ah, but you see that's precisely why it is _is_ so unexpected: it's a sane, reasonable, business decision.
It's just so far off from the Microsoft SOP of:
1. declare war on <whatever>.
2. load defective gun with wrong ammunition.
3. pull trigger without aiming.
4. blow off right hand and left foot.
5. limp home leaving a massive trail of red
6. declare victory!
7. repeat
Such negativity in bounds, gallonz. tons, tonnes and even more of the same?
How about:
one of the biggest direct to consumer/business software giants in the whole earthly mass-ness and vastness of planet Earth decides to get involved in Rasp Pi and also in linux.ing SQL servant thingie and continues the same in some weirdness nomenclature'd with the suns Eclipse
As an eternal optimist I do hope there is useful cross-pollination between VS and Eclipse.
I always seem to need both of them (different tools for different platform) so anything that makes my cross-platform life easier, I'll be happy about.
Now I regret having written that, as I've been having unpleasant flashbacks to working with Xamarin.
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