Keep in mind that this time they are not just giving away stuff "free as in beer" they are also giving it away not under AGPL, not under GPL, not under LGPL but under a MIT License which is one of the most permissive licenses out there.
Contrast this to Oracle/Java. Or about any other huge corporation.
Using a permissive license is the strategy that makes the most sense when your primary goal is proliferation over developer community. Thus, it's nothing surprising.
- they have an history of discarding products on a whim,
- playing the strategic game and stifling smaller competitors,
- having a new CEO doesn't mean it's a new company. The people are still there, there are still fragmentation and silos, and the attitude.