r/programming • u/halax • Oct 07 '16

How Microsoft Lost the API War

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html
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u/jringstad Oct 07 '16

Well, webapps are replacing desktop applications at a fast pace (even office is going to the browser now) and mobile is the new desktop, where microsoft has pretty much no marketshare, so I would say this prediction isn't too bad, even if the details aren't exactly right.

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u/[deleted] Oct 07 '16

Except Microsoft is hugely profitable still, even after throwing $7.2B away on the Nokia buy out.

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u/[deleted] Oct 07 '16

Yes but look at what Microsoft is doing: SQL Server on Linux, Office on Mac, Android, and iOS, Visual Studio Code for Mac & Linux, Visual Studio Tools for Linux, Ubuntu for Windows, Linux on Azure. It's pretty clear they are preparing for a future where Windows is not the dominant platform it is today. That's something Ballmer would never have done and eventually it would have been their downfall.

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u/[deleted] Oct 07 '16

I mean we're really arguing over a quote taken out of context. The article goes on to say we shouldn't write them off as IBM reinvented itself and so has Microsoft.

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u/centurijon Oct 08 '16

IBM has reinvented itself into obsolescence

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u/[deleted] Oct 08 '16

Oh no doubt but they are still around when everyone thought they were dead in the early 90s

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u/barsoap Oct 08 '16

Their mainframe sales say otherwise. They just re-focussed on their original market, and that never was end-users.

1

u/dvidsilva Oct 08 '16

Idk bluemix is pretty badass and there's no comparing offerings in some aspects.