Somehow I'm picturing Bill Gates / Steve Ballmer saying "we've got to be more like IBM..."

To be fair, IBM trying to be more like Apple (among other microcomputer makers) resulted in Microsoft ;-)

Funny you say that - in the seven+ years I worked there I heard (serious, not ironic) versions of this phrasing _many_ times from various senior managers and execs, especially as related to IBM's consulting business.

Cool repost to Tech2IPO: http://tech2ipo.com/5890

so true.

Seriously, this isn't a place for comic strips! How is this related to startups and hacker culture?

Apparently enough people found it interesting enough to upvote. Vote up the articles you find interesting.

Sounds to me like you are discriminating against people who prefer to express themselves in non-standard ways. Bet you wouldn't have had any trouble with this submission if it was a blog post expressing the same sentiment.

What sentiment? It's a joke at Microsoft's expense. There is no "point" being made other than someone expressing their dislike of Microsoft in a snarky webcomic.

You won't find anybody who dislikes Microsoft any more than I do. I completely uprooted my career about ten years ago, to move myself out of their ecosystem. But I don't read this as a joke at their expense. More like: Perhaps there is a final configuration that all successful companies reach, and Microsoft was in this one instance a pioneer, and got there first.

Besides, even if it is a joke at Microsoft's expense, why would it be okay to say in a blog post, but not in a comic?

I thought Microsoft came off rather well in that strip. It was also a very quick way to make the point. Would you rather have had a 1000 word article droning on about how all the tech companies are copying each other these days?

Yea, you're right. There's no place for humor in the startup culture. </sarcasm>

There are millions of places I can go on the internet for poorly written jokes. I don't need HN to start supplying me with lolcats.

comics = lolcats?

Looking at all these big players juggling the same small set of pieces as part of their corporate strategy makes it clear that the market is ripe for disruption. There's a Google-sized opportunity for a startup that can hit these guys in their collective blindspot.

how those former startup companies have been and will be evolving is part of the story. comics cant be interesting unless it really sees the point.