
Ahh to be a Startup in this crazy Web 2.0+ world - drm237
http://blogs.msdn.com/msmossyblog/archive/2008/01/13/ahh-to-be-a-startup-in-this-crazy-web-2-0-world.aspx
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daniel-cussen
Why would any startup join Microsoft's thing? They only give you their
software. From the minutes I regret having spent on the site (the banner that
says "we value innovation" tells you what you're in for) they give you
software if you join. That's it. You have to run your stuff using .NET. It
doesn't say anything about funding, lawyer time or hacker time. That is, none
of the things they offer are better than what you can get for free at
sourceforge. Again, this is what I saw in the first few minutes of browsing
the site. If they do provide funding, then that's another story.

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ivankirigin
What is the benefit of the MS startup zone?

Doesn't it make it easier for MS to control you without actually giving you a
payout?

I'm trying to think of this from the perspective of someone that fears MS as
competition or desires MS as an acquirer or as someone who doesn't care about
either. Why would anyone want it?

~~~
andreyf
Someone who wants MS as an aquirer would probably benefit from it... it's just
a way of spreading their software to people who can't really afford it - like
their Academic Alliance programs ("free" software for students). The point is
to compete with F/OSS as a choice for startups until they go public, then
making loads of $$$ on license fees because they're stuck with MS tech.

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iamelgringo
I checked into this last year. If you want to develop software for the
desktop, and become an ISV like Xobni, they actually have some really good
deals to help get you off the ground.

And, I tend to be fairly OS agnostic. I like to use whatever technology is the
best fix for the problem. I'm certainly not shilling for MSoft, I'm doing all
my work on Linux at this point. But, I might decide to switch in a couple of
years, we'll see.

I forget if it's through their Start up Accelerator program, or another
program, but you can get an "Action Pack" of Microsoft software:

[https://partner.microsoft.com/US/program/managemembership/ac...](https://partner.microsoft.com/US/program/managemembership/actionpack/mapscontents)

And, you get all of this software for the low low price of $299. I'm sure that
Xobni is using this. It's a very cheap way to get a bunch of Windows Licenses.
If you don't mind being Windows based, it's a great way to lower your
Licensing fees while you're getting off the ground.

It's a pain to develop for the Windows Desktop, but there is a good bit of
money to be made. And, if they keep developing Languages like PowerShell,
IronPython, IronRuby and F#, it might become less painful for language
geeks/hacker types in the next couple of years. C# already has some pretty
cool functional programming features.

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kleevr
MS Shill (?version).0

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gibsonf1
Prepare to be assimilated... Resistance is futile. :)

