Welcome to the Jungle (Redux)

When I read this post asking Microsoft to make .NET cross-platform, I wondered myself why they did not use Java -the one and only truly cross-platform environment-. Apart from the the obvious, Microsoft has very good reason to avoid making .NET cross-platform:

1. The jewel of the crown is Windows, so opening .NET to OS X and Linux is like shooting on your feet.
2. As Steve Ballmer said he loves 'developers'... because they build 'applications'...for the Windows OS. Fuck the Linux communists and the OS X snobs! If you get the same functionality on a free OS, why are you going to pay for Windows?
3. Performance and cross-platform do not match. The good performance of .NET comes from its architecture, using the Windows OS APIs when dealing with I/O and display. It took years to Java to improve his performance, and now they are taking an approach similar to .NET.
4. Most of the people think that .NET is a rip off of Java. May be if .NET does not take the cross-platform way to avoid legal IP problems with SUN... who knows!
5. Microsoft does not care about .NET. The real sources of incomes are Windows and Office licenses. .NET is the key lock to keep developers in the Windows platform. If the key lock is opened, then they should throw away the key lock and buy a new one.
6. Making .NET cross-platform is expensive, as SUN knows. If .NET does not give them direct revenue, there is no reason to invest on it. The business model is nonexistent for Microsoft.

When I read the slashdot post about internal emails from Microsoft, I did not realize of the content of this email until it was posted in javalobby.

The content is scary. The mail thread comes from 1997, so after reading this emails, you can interpret the history of Java, .NET and Microsoft-Sun trial upon a several clear facts:

• Microsoft did not ever want to suport Java.
  
• Microsoft does not care about cross-platform.
• Microsoft wanted to 'steal Java', so they liked Java.
• Microsoft commitment with open standards is 'a politically charged topic'.
• Microsoft did want to screw Sun.

Well, I have been working 13 years in the Technology Market, and when I hear expressions like 'screw somebody/someone', I know there is something very wrong with that person. And if that person is an engineer, then it is a bad engineer. A good engineer is always thinking on how to improve things, how to solve problems. NEVER on how to 'screw' something. If this email is the 'Microsoft way', then I understand why they are losing all good engineers in favour of Google.

But what I have never, ever heard is the expression 'let's steal the technology to this guys'. Not even to business (evil...) people. I have words to explain my feelings about these kind of people, but I cannot use it in my blog. The pride of this expression is enormous and really scares me.

Everybody knows what happened after 1997: Microsoft put all their strengths to defeat Java... cloning Java. They created .NET, a rip off of Java to compete with Sun's technology. Meanwhile, they forced Sun to take legal actions against them. Why? Because legal actions usually exhaust corporations. Microsoft knew they had more (financial) muscle, and that's always a big advantage. Microsoft started to push some standards, and they even supported some cross-platform initiatives (Mono).

After last agreement with Novell, Microsoft put the cards on the table: Microsoft failed to defeat Java, .NET is complete failure -only Vb6 programmers are the only developers that have migrated-, and their hated cross-platform CAN work. It's not surprise that Microsoft and Novell signed and agreement to avoid legal actions because patent infringement. Microsoft have catch Novell by its testicles, and who knows, may be SAMBA is not the only reason why they will not tighten them: may be it's mono.

Call me paranoid if you want...