[untog]

I'm not too worried about it. After all, MS has released Office on iOS, and partnered with Xamarin for iOS development. They'd be insane to buy HockeyApp then kill everything it has and replace it with a Windows Phone only solution.

It's weird, but MS is almost one of the best large companies to do cross-platform dev with these days.

[woogle]

I agree with that, but things may be different in 2 years. And MS is also the company that gains the most money with each Android phone sold.

[scholia]

Microsoft has also been providing software for Macs since 1984, when it appeared at the launch, and it generally makes more money per head from Mac users (who buy lots of copies of Windows and Office) than Windows users (roughly $45 each per 4-5 years).

The only reason it would quit on iOS is if it couldn't make any money from iOS users. And the only reason it wouldn't be able to make money from iOS users would be if Apple went down in flames.

[potatolicious]

> "Microsoft has also been providing software for Macs since 1984, when it appeared at the launch, and it generally makes more money per head from Mac users (who buy lots of copies of Windows and Office) than Windows users (roughly $45 each per 4-5 years)."

All true, but that hasn't prevented the quality of MS software on Macs from varying between first class and complete bottom of the barrel.

Right now iOS/OSX seems to be enjoying high priority at Microsoft, but this hasn't always been the case, even when Macs were popular.

Normally I'd say that this is all fairly inconsequential, but HockeyApp is a very core part of our development process and build system, and disentangling ourselves of it is going to be a lot more complicated than, say, swapping analytics providers. Definitely not something you can do on a dime, which makes any potential sudden moves pretty concerning.

And post-acquisition startups (regardless of who acquired them) tend to be full of sudden moves...

[scholia]

> All true, but that hasn't prevented the quality of MS software on Macs from varying between first class and complete bottom of the barrel.

Life isn't that simple. Somebody once had the idea that, to save money, the Windows version of Office could be converted for Mac OS instead of developed separately. Apple users quickly let Microsoft know that they didn't like it, and Microsoft went back to the earlier system.

Meanwhile, Apple doesn't bother trying to program stuff for Windows. Its Windows programs are crap but it just ignores the cries of pain from Windows users of iTunes.

> Right now iOS/OSX seems to be enjoying high priority at Microsoft, but this hasn't always been the case, even when Macs were popular.

Macs have never been popular, by DOS/Windows standards, and they still represent a very small minority of the installed base. However, Microsoft understands the difference between the installed base and the actual market (ie people spending money). A Mac user who buys Windows from Microsoft is much more profitable than a Windows user who gets a bundled OEM version.

[potatolicious]

I don't see the relevance to the point I'm making, which isn't a value judgment on Microsoft.

It's apprehension because Microsoft in the past decade has been full of sudden strategic shifts and abandoned platforms. I'm mildly concerned about HockeyApp for this reason.

For the most part's Microsofts wishy-washy strategy - especially when it comes to support of Apple's platforms - is fairly inconsequential. The sucky version of Office for OSX was, at the end of the day, a minimal pain.

HockeyApp on the other hand is a very deeply integrated part of my development stack. I can't weather the same amount of uncertainty and sudden movement as I can some of my other tools. This makes me mildly nervous about their future.

[scholia]

Don't agree with your perception of Microsoft's strategy, most of which makes perfect sense if you apply one simple rule: follow the money.

Since HockeyApp is now part of Microsoft's cross-platform, mobile-first strategy, the main question is whether a failing HockeyApp would be more likely to survive on its own or as part of Microsoft.

If it's a success, it's never going to be a problem -- or at least, not until Windows Phone/Windows 10 has a hugely dominant market share in smartphones and tablets. If that happens, I expect you'll have other things to worry about ;-)