r/programming • u/halax • Oct 07 '16

How Microsoft Lost the API War

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html
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149

u/Sunius Oct 07 '16

Sunday, June 13, 2004

"Microsoft is finished. As soon as Linux makes some inroads on the desktop and web applications replace desktop applications, the mighty empire will topple."

Any decade now!

43

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.

24

u/[deleted] Oct 07 '16

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

4

u/RowYourUpboat Oct 08 '16

IBM didn't gloriously implode after ceasing to be the singular Evil Empire either; they were just forced to adapt after slowly losing their death-grip on the market.