Hacker News Reader

Comment by donmcronald | Hacker News Reader

I disagree. How much innovation did we lose because of 90s Microsoft? We might be 5 years more advanced in tech if Bill Gates hadn’t been such an asshole. The same goes for Intel, Amazon, etc.. They're stifling innovation for their own personal gain.

View on HN

In your view, what does tech advancement mean though? Its easier to discuss data, rather than argue over opinion. We did get better hardware, better client software from other vendors, etc. Or are you limiting innovation to mean they didn't improve their browser? Personally, I think the hardware wasn't ready in the 90s for full blown web-apps. Just look at the computing requirements of most websites today. For the hardware that I had in the 90s, I could barely play mp3's and run 1-2 apps without the audio skipping.

im not sure who said it, but theres a quote that said something like "in 150 years the world will not remember microsoft or any of these tech companies but they will remember the legacy of bill gates's philanthropy."

5 years of lost tech advancement means nothing to history.

In 150 years people will absolutely remember Microsoft and Amazon, just like we remember standard oil, Carnegie steel, and bell. Though, I get the point of the statement.

What would we remember his philanthropy for? Is there something yet to come or are the mosquito nets the thing to remember?

Polio?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com