> if we see Microsoft making tangible changes to their behavior, and we reward that with more derision and distrust, then we aren't exactly incentivizing them - or anyone wathcing - to do more

Well, if we are speaking of incentives, then here's one ...

Don't screw with open source or open standards or your legitimate competitors by unfair competition, because many people will never forget it, so don't be surprised if 10 years later you still have a negative image that lingers, in spite of your huge marketing department that keeps paying shills.

This is much like in society really. If somebody screws me or my family, I'll probably cut all ties with that person forever. Being marginalized is a natural reaction. Why should companies have their cake and eat it too?

Microsoft can't undo the past, and they aren't going away. Your choice boils down to a single question: do you want the Microsoft of tomorrow to be different from the Microsoft of yesterday? If so, then quit hating and start celebrating the victories.

Their past makes their starting position now more difficult. They have to make up for their past deeds, after all.

Someone, who didn't do thing like Microsoft did, has it easier now. It sounds only fair to me.

They have nothing to atone for, and they don't owe you anything. Either you appreciate the steps they're taking, or you keep on living in the past.

Yes, they do. They used every dirty trick in the book, and invented a few new ones. They damaged the computing environment we all have to live in.

I have no problem pointing out, that this is the company that to this day possesses (and still abuses) advantages gained by playing dirty. If they want to have an image of a good guy, they have work hard on it. Harder, than any random company that appears out of the blue.

The standard they are judged by is and will be definitely affected by their past.

This.

We can’t forget or forgive the sins of the past, those who remember.

But generations will pass, and yesterday’s sinners will become conquerors, philantropes, savior of mankind.

In the end, history is written by the mighty and they can market themselves however they wish.

But some won’t forget, at least not this easily. It is the least we can do.

Microsoft burned that bridge a long time ago. My organization's LOB app is going web-based next version, so we can finally update almost every computer to anything but Windows. For the very few users that still require some other Windows-only app, we'll probably still give them a Windows-based computer. We already have a GSuite setup in place so it's really just about giving our users something that isn't too much of a culture shock. I'm looking forward to it!

I'm confused, the article doesn't say anything negative about Microsoft. Did you intend to reply to some specific comment?

I'm replying to the general tone of the HN discussion, which is (or was at the time of comment) largely negative in most of the threads.

I'm aware that this behaviour is somewhat "popular" on HN, to make their comment kind-of "stand above all other's", but I'm not sure if that is actually a good idea.

The authors of those comments almost certainly won't notice your reply if it is in a new thread. And the others (like myself) are confused as soon as your fuzzy reference becomes more and more ambiguous.

I mean, that's not really the purpose of my comment. The purpose is more that I don't want to copy+paste my comment on the 30 different negative threads, nor do I think I should.