Re: [boost] C++ announcements coming tomorrow

Subject: Re: [boost] C++ announcements coming tomorrow
From: Paul Mensonides (pmenso57_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-11-05 18:56:44

On 11/5/2012 11:44 AM, Brian Wood wrote:
> From: Paul Mensonides
>
>
>> In that last announcement talk alone together with the follow-up Q & A
>> there are numerous "subtle" bits of marketing.  The entire general trend
>> is one of attempting to turn a product (software) into a service.  That
>> is an anti-consumer nickle-and-dime model which is just as anti-consumer
>> as trying to trick people that can't afford something into making
>> payments.  It is just as anti-consumer as many other related things
>> occurring in the software industry nowadays--microtransactions being one
>> of them.
>
>
> I bet MS investors would think differently. Is there another option
> available
> to them than services?

There isn't anything wrong with services.  There is something wrong with 
taking something that is fundamentally a product and artificially 
turning into a service.

For paid software, as with any other product manufacturing, the solution 
is providing a product at a "reasonable" price that people want to buy 
and are willing to buy at that price.  Obviously, "reasonable" price can 
vary all over the place depending on what it takes to do the R&D and 
create the software.  Regardless, creating products which people want 
ends up coming down to innovate or die.  A constant cycle of innovation, 
in fact.  My concern is not MS investors, nor is it really consumers in 
general.  My concern is the future of software and its value to all of 
humanity--both businesses and consumers alike.  The pressure to innovate 
is necessary for that.  That's hardly to say that all innovation is 
successful or all risk results in reward.

Taking a few things in particular.  Cloud computing and the service of 
using cloud services is valid, but it is way oversold.  Most software 
would not benefit from it and likely never would.  The Windows 8 Metro 
UI, is another example.  In a usability sense, the UI is fine for phones 
and tablets (i.e. devices that are not really productivity devices), but 
the real problem with it is the app store.  That is essentially MS 
earning money for other people's work (instead of innovating)--just as 
they do with (e.g.) the 360--which is an unethical abuse of power. 
Beyond that, it devolves into the same broken single point problem that 
Linux distros have--which stifles progress.  Even worse that that, with 
Metro, MS has gone out of their way to force it on consumers--e.g. 
intentionally disabling the ability to opt-out and intentionally 
removing would be alternatives such as menu.

Obviously, MS is far from the only company to perform these kinds of 
shenanigans.  But it is because of these and similar shenanigans that I 
distrust MS.  These things have nothing to do with C++ other than that 
MS has tried to exploit the C++ community in pursuit of these things. 
In turn, when Herb goes around evangelizing these types of things, it 
comes off as untrustworthy.  Several days ago we were notified on this 
list of this big announcement talk that is relevant to Boost and C++ in 
general.  A small part of that talk was.  The rest of it was a gigantic 
MS advertisement.

Regards,
Paul Mensonides