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and it is official - Microsoft Xamarin!
KasperLarsen
AEMember ✭
AEMember ✭
in General
congrats to Xamarin & Microsoft (pending regulatory approval)
So Microsoft and Xamarin finally agrees and Microsoft will be the future owner of Xamarin
More here: http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2016/02/24/microsoft-to-acquire-xamarin-and-empower-more-developers-to-build-apps-on-any-device/
and from Xamarin - https://blog.xamarin.com/a-xamarin-microsoft-future/
/k
3
Posts
It had to happen at some point ... great news, guys!
Hallelujah !!!!
Congratulations to the whole team!!!
Hope Microsoft will bring entreprise class QA processes and revamp the xamarin pricing policies.
Changes on the xamarin pricing policies would be awesome!
Really awesome news, shared some thoughts on our blog, looking forward to hearing more at Build & Evolve http://www.rarelyimpossible.com/blog/2016/2/24/microsoft-acquires-xamarin-and-why-this-is-awesome-for-everyone
@LeeMallon great post! Thanks for your insights. I hope you are right
Amen to that.
That's certainly my prediction:
http://windingroadway.blogspot.com/2016/02/ms-buys-xamarin-analysis-248.html?m=1
I can't understand this enthusiasm. Nobody knows which way Xamarin goes and I'm concerned. There are no facts about the deal available. Pricing issn't anything. Whats about Xamarin Studio on Mac ? Will it persist ? Whats about the really great Xamarin Support ? Does Microsoft have any developer support ? Whats about University ? There are a lot of questions to be answered.....we will see, what the future brings.
Congrats - been waiting for this one!! Crossing my fingers for the continuity of all your great tools!
@AxelStallknecht:
MS have the MSDN (MicroSoft Developer Network) where you can create real tickets (that also will be answered in a short time).
Whereby I could imagine, that Xamarin Studio on MAC will be canceled some times...
@AxelCharpentier
Exactly
Especially the "enterprise class QA processes" are missing extremely regarding .Forms.
Here, I really hope, that things will be change soon
@AxelStallknecht If you follow tha MS news regarding developpement, you'll see that they have opened source .NET framework (and revamp it, see .NET Core 1.0 )to be able to spread this technology to all platform (linux/mac/whatever), buying Xamarin makes lot of sens regarding this policy of "openess" => Make the .NET framework a 1st class technology on all available platforms (cloud, premise, mobile, watches, vacum cleaner)
Regarding pricing : MS now distribute free version of VS ("Community edition") that is very complete. once again it makes sens to make free dev tools to spread .NET technology on all platform.
So, here is my guess : Xamarin tools will be available in the VS Entreprise edition, at the same cost that now, meaning that if you have an MSDN subscription it will be free
Regarding support and quality : No arm to Xamarin guys that make their best, but MS support and quality is no common mesure to what Xamarin does, go to MSDN as @FredyWenger said... Bringing MS quality process into Xamarin will dramatically improve Xamarin release.
Regarding Xamarin Studio : My guess here is that it will be merged with Visual Studio Code... but that's only a guess
Here are my bets, but I pretty sure that could only make Xamarin better.
I agree with @AxelStallknecht. I think there's too many unknowns. I have just subscribed to the University and now worried I've just wasted a lot of money on something that could become worthless in less than a year. Microsoft have their own certification programs and I expect Microsoft to absorb Xamarin into their own program. So where would that leave the then 'unofficial' certification. Also, what will Apple's response be now that their biggest software rival controls an alternative way of producing apps for IOS. Remember the clause in the IOS developers licence agreement that said we had to use Apple provided software. Also, there's the technical challenges that Xamarin are facing with Bitcode on the Apple Watch. What's to stop Apple now putting something in place that prevents Xamarin at a technical level from working. I think @NatFriedman and @MigueldeIcaza owe it to the whole community to put our minds at rest before Evolve. There are many whose livelihoods rely on Xamarin and the period of uncertainty is not a very good place to be.
I can see Xamarin actually benefiting from this, like most of you have said about Support, Quality and Pricing. For Xamarin developers using Mac/Xamarin Studio...I have no hope in that. But let's wait to see!
That video is awesome! But I hope you won't be correct with your comparison of Xamarin Forms and Silverlight. I predicted the death of Silverlight around 2010. ;-)
It seems like we all have the same feelings about this. It's long due and can only be good for everybody.
Quality will increase, prices will drop and support will hopefully become better.
I'm a bit concerned about the speed of new releases though. Only time will tell.
I also think that Xamarin Studio will be merged into Code. They don't need three IDEs. But that doesn't mean that any features will be dropped.
I'd like to see what they do about pricing. Especially after just helping a customer make the decision to licence Xamarin and they have spent a considerable amount on licencing.
With regard to the VS Community Edition - that still annoys me as a long time Professional subscriber. They basically gave away the same product I pay to use... And I am tied into a multi-year renewal cycle on it as well...
With regard to Mobile Certification and University - I'm in a similar position to, I guess, many others... Do I pay the fees and do the courses needed for renewal.. Do I let it lapse and wait to see what happens with Microsoft...
So, lets wait and see and hope. But, I really hope that Nat or Miguel or someone at Xamarin make some announcements before the conference so that we get an idea of what is going to happen...
After saying all that.. Xamarin still rocks! I really hope they keep the name
@AxelCharpentier:
It really seems as we have the same mindset
@GavinGrant:
I understand your fears... but we only can hope the best and see what happens in the feature...
@FredyWenger Yes. Swiss is close from France
Or they might keep the current pricing structure and, since XS at this point makes little sense, get rid of the VS limitation for Indie licenses (bonus points if they should decide to bundle the Indie edition, without support of course, in the Community Edition of Visual Studio :-) ). Anyway, this would dramatically lower the entry barrier to Xamarin.
This is probably the best result we're going to get from this. QA for Xamarin has been, well, let's say "peculiar" (I know there are many people doing a lot of hard work, and I know Xamarin was stretched particularly thin, so I'm being particularly kind here).
VS and VS Code are two completely different beasts, so no overlap there. I guess Xamarin Studio will return to its roots as MonoDevelop and progress (or not) from there. While it's a very good IDE, obviously it can't compete with Visual Studio.
Insights will be probably merged into Azure: I switched a couple of months due to the insane pricing/feature changes in Insights, it took me a whole couple of hours, and I never looked back.
University will probably continue in the current form, with some possible re-labeling/merging/integration under the MSDN umbrella.
RoboVM, that Xamarin recently has acquired, is not going to survive long in its current form.
Hi guys,
surely it is not a short process, Xamarin is still alive and will be for the next years. IMHO the current Xamarin subscriptions, like University, are still valid, but, as a first step, I think that in the next monts we will see many of the Xamarin Business subscription features simply integrated in the MSDN subscriptions. Maybe Xamarin Studio will be renamed as Visual Studio for Mac
Fabio
@FredyWenger @AxelCharpentier Italy too
Big business conglomerates buy small competitive companies especially when they constitute a threat to their business model. When these small companies participate in open source and free software, the threat is considered even worse by these big companies. One way to circumvent this "thorn in the throat", is to acquire the small "threatening" companies, then claim you'll support or merge their "products", then later, a bit later, cancel their products claiming they do not fit your business model any longer. This happens ALL the time.
By acquiring Xamarin, Microsoft strategically gains the monopoly on C#. Bye bye Xamarin Studio. Bye bye MonoDevelop. Bye bye Mono. Bye bye C# on Linux, the OS competing with the "great" Windows. Bye bye C# on Mac-OS. The only way to develop with C# is to buy a Windows OS license and work on Windows. If you want to develop iOS apps or cross-platform applications, then develop on Windows OS.
After having taken 2 big commercial flops (at least!), one with disappointing Windows 8 (8.x) and one with Windows mobile, Microsoft decided it would be better to suffocate the "opponents". Unlike what the repliers in this thread might think about Microsoft, this company is not benevolent nor interested with its clients needs. As a big company, its main purpose is to maximize its profit whatever are the means or ways used to reach this goal, even those that are "tacky" unethical. Microsoft, Apple and Google, to mention a few, have acquired many small competitive companies only to shut them down, potentially acquiring their patents.
Monopolies have NEVER revealed themselves as a good thing. Never...
Oups, forget to mention an article in "The Register", dated 25th Feb 2016, and entitled "Microsoft acquires Xamarin: An obvious move not without risks", available on "The Register" web site...
Sorry, but that's exactly the opposite of what Microsoft have been doing for the last several years.
I think there are two facts that don't match with this vision:
As mostly (
) @DaveHunt hits the nail on the head (with his big hammer 
)
Where I would not say the last several years - maye 1-2 years.
The mindset of MS has changed since Balmer (fortunately) was gone.
And since 1-2 years also the strategy has (noticeable) changed (e.g. MVC 6 with selfhosting also on Linux and MAC) , what are really good news!
Yes, I see this overall as a positive. But I wouldn't be too sure that pricing will "improve" from everyone's perspective. Xamarin may just be rolled into VS Professional, which would mean you'd have to purchase that to play. Great if you already have it, great for moving Xamarin into corporations where VS is ubiquitous, but not so great if you want a "cheap" solution. And bye bye Xamarin Studio, eventually.
Also, I wouldn't expect to hear anything specific from the Xamarin folks, at least in the short run. This is Microsoft's show now and they control the publicity and talking points, which is typical for an acquisition.
Hey guys, the acquisition isn't complete and until it is we won't be able to say a lot about future plans. Pending regulatory approval, we hope to close the acquisition prior to Build and we'll be able to say a LOT more then.
That said, Microsoft is buying Xamarin because it likes what we do and wants to make it even bigger, and so I think in the meantime you can rest assured that support for Xamarin will only increase going forward. We're here because of you, and we hope to support you even more in the future!
If you want to hear Microsoft's perspective, there are some nice quotes from Scott Guthrie in his blog and in the various press reports from our joint interviews.
This is a GREAT day for Xamarin customers. Stay tuned for more, and I hope to see many of you at Build and Evolve.
@NatFriedman Thanks for your comment. I hope that the deal makes Xamarin stronger than ever. I also hope especially that Xamarin Studio on Mac will not dropped.
And I look forward to what the future holds.
Don't worry – Xamarin Studio on Mac has a very bright future.
VS2015 Professional is US$ 499 for a perpetual license (or US$ 1,199 if you need/want MSDN). It still would beat the current Business license price (US$ 995 x platform a year) hands down; I currently pay US$299 a year for an Indie license (single platform, no VS support).
@mridoni I think that would be a pretty good deal if it happens. I'll probably be buying Visual Studio for the first time if that's the case, and would be able to recommend the "free" Xamarin at work, since we already have VS there.
But a vocal minority would like a model like Unreal Engine where the software costs $0 until you start making money in the App Store. I just can't see that happening, especially given the (pending) new ownership.
What about those of us that have been with Xamarin since the mono touch days who were grandfathered into the original upgrade prices. Will this still be honoured by Microsoft I wonder. Can't see that happening so a bit of a kick in the teeth for our loyalty.
@GavinGrant - I am wondering the same regarding the grandfathered upgrade prices.
I hope our re-sub cost will be honored. I can easily imagine it doubling.
I am also concerned with documentation quality, which is much better and deeper on Xamarin than on MSDN. Also concerned with the future of Xamarin Studio which, even if a bit buggy, is rather enjoyable to use. I'm also concerned about our proximity to the Xamarin team. Even if it's irregular and we sometimes complain about it, I found the Xamarin staff much easier to reach than the Microsoft's one. When I create an issue on a Microsoft's github repo it takes them three weeks not to answer my question.
It is great if you still believe in companies buying other for the sole purpose of giving them independence and not change anything but experience has taught me scepticism and I will remain cautious until I am given proofs of the benefits of it.
Mind you, I am not pessimistic but I cannot jump on the train of the happiness without a little bit of apprehension.
I am an in independent developer, I have 2 platforms at business level, and renewal is due in 2 weeks. I also already have MSDN.
Do I renew? I would say it is unlikely at the moment unless someone can tell me I am not throwing my money away.
@DarrenMunson I would maybe try emailing your account manager at Xamarin. Explain that you are due to expire but because of the lack of information, you think it only fair they extend your licence until after the announcement at Evolve. You will then be able to make an informed decision. Worth a try I would have thought.
@mmDart well IMHO you have it all wrong :
Why xamarin would threat MS ? Xamarin enable the whole .NET community to develop easly on platforms that were not available previously, Xamarin is a hugh opportunity for Microsoft to spread their technologies, it is not a threat
Do you heard about .NET Core ?, MS is revamping the whole .NET framework (including asp.net) to make it cross plateform (ie Linux/OSX/Unix), and it is open source you can even add your own pull request : https://github.com/dotnet/corefx
So their is no monoploy of c# on windows
Well, again did you heard about Visual Studio Code ? https://code.visualstudio.com/ 1st c# ide to develop on Mac and Linux, made by MS, it far from prefect but it is here.
I think your stuck in the MS vision that prevaled in the 2k's year, things have changed.... a lot....