The latest articles on Forem by BTernaryTau (@bternarytau). https://forem.com/bternarytau https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F70397%2F188622b7-a5ac-41b5-b98d-b583419bb10a.png https://forem.com/bternarytau en BTernaryTau Mon, 04 Jun 2018 21:47:21 +0000 https://forem.com/bternarytau/my-thoughts-on-microsoft-acquiring-github-2h0p https://forem.com/bternarytau/my-thoughts-on-microsoft-acquiring-github-2h0p <p>(Cross-posted from <a href="https://bternarytau.github.io/2018/06/04/my-thoughts-on-microsoft-acquiring-github">my blog</a>; last paragraph contains content that is somewhat political, particularly if you follow some of the links)</p> <p>Today it was announced that <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/4/17422788/microsoft-github-acquisition-official-deal">Microsoft is acquiring GitHub</a>. The responses to this event have been mixed, with some people expressing optimism and others fear. I have two lines of thought regarding this subject.</p> <p>First of all, I don't expect Microsoft to ruin GitHub. I agree with those who believe that <a href="https://dev.to/resir014/the-microsoft-thing-cb">Microsoft genuinely cares</a> about open source. So long as software is a complement to Microsoft's products, Microsoft is <a href="https://www.gwern.net/Complement">incentivized to support open source software</a>. I was worried when I discovered that <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2016/this-is-the-new-microsoft-windows-slips-to-no-3-as-company-shifts-to-the-cloud/">Microsoft's revenue from Windows is dropping</a> since operating systems are an obvious complement of software, but luckily Microsoft seems to be pivoting to cloud services, another complement of software. Therefore, I expect that Microsoft will at least avoid damaging GitHub in any way since it stands to gain from open source.</p> <p>What does worry me is the larger pattern that this acquisition is a part of. Microsoft has made <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft#Key_acquisitions">a lot of acquisitions</a> in the past, and it's far from the only company to do so. This pattern, along with some other factors, has resulted in a <a href="https://srconstantin.wordpress.com/2018/05/31/monopoly-a-manifesto-and-fact-post/">major increase in market power</a>, which means there's a lot less competition among companies. This leads to a variety of problems, including <a href="http://rooseveltinstitute.org/how-widespread-labor-monopsony-some-new-results-suggest-its-pervasive/">lower wages</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-01/america-s-superstar-companies-are-a-drag-on-growth">less economic growth</a>, and the phenomenon known as <a href="https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/09/considerations-on-cost-disease/">cost disease</a>, among many others. So while I don't think there's anything wrong with this acquisition specifically, in context it is part of an extremely harmful pattern that needs to be ended.</p> github microsoft opensource