Journal Felinoid's Journal: What really makes Microsoft evil anyway?
Some people like to pick apart the whole "Microsoft is evil" type rant showing how other operating systems do in fact share the same problems found in Windows and other Microsoft products.
The reality is that it's not 1 or 2 problems that make Microsoft evil but the whole pacage.
Microsoft as a monopoly isn't evil. It's undesirable. Os flaws aren't evil they are undesirable. Every complaint isn't evil they alone are undesirable.
Linux has a few undesirable trates so dose MacOs. The Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST. There isn't a single system that has ever been on the market that didn't have an undesirable trate.
The Farchild game console Channel F would burn out after so many hours. That is VERY undesirable. Then what? Buy a new Channel F? Not nessisary you could buy anything. No monpoly.
IBM had a near stranglehold on the mainframe industry. But IBM did make reasonably good systems. People had complaints but they did the job.
EA pulled that nifty stunt on the Atari ST buying up all the Atari titles and re-releasing them for the Amiga. But the Amiga was a nice machine and that did EA more damage to themselfs than anyone would like to admit. Also it sure didn't help Amiga any and Atari did themselfs in before EA could do any real damage to Atari.
Every stunt Microsoft pulled was done before. But that hardly makes it ok. I'll forgive Linux for not being user friendly not like it effects me and others will forgive MacOs for being bloated they want the power that results from it not the raw uncut CPU power that comes from streamlining.
Tradeoffs.
But Windows isn't trading off. It's just slapping stuff on and not doing any real work to fix the problems already in place.
Microsoft has an industry of excuses and this is one undesirable trate nobody forgives.
So the end it's not one mistake or one undesirable trate. We could pick and pick and pick. But the shear body of it all is the problem.
Microsoft Windows has a few desirable trates and has a few fans. We should respect that.
However I have one retort to the whole clame "If Linux was as populare as Windows it would have the same problems" There is no reacurence to show this. Windows is unqiue in it's problems where as other platforms had the majority spotlight only Windows had the problems.
No I have two... If Windows lost the spotlight it would die. Microsoft relys on the 90% markeshare to keep Windows alive.
Linux drivers are chipset driven Windows drivers are product driven. If 10% of the PC hardware produced today didn't have Windows drivers Microsoft would be in a world of hurt. Linux was alive and well at only 10% driver support. Maybe someday Linux will have full covrage with EVERY card manufacter making a Linux driver. But Windows couldn't survive with anything less than 100% support.
Fact is before Linux would reach a point where it would have clueless users, viruses or anything else that pleages only Windows users Linux would need at least 45% marketshare. Windows would never survive it and to be totally honnest I don't think Linux would ever make it.
The market will be fragmented between OSes. Linux is just one OS. I don't think anyone had 90% marketshare before and maybe they are right about the "popularity" thing.
Linux thrives on fragmentation. BSD users almost demand it. Unix needs it.
It's all about tradeoffs. Everyone has undesirable trates and so long as that is the case just make sure the product you use dosen't have the trates that are undesirable to you.
If you can.
Can you find the software tools you need on a platform that preforms the way you want?
Today the answer is no. Windows has the tools you need as dose Linux but nither preform the way YOU want.
Unless your not in need of a user friendly environment or willing to baby the computer.
What really makes Microsoft evil anyway? More Login
What really makes Microsoft evil anyway?
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