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Don't Blame Microsoft

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I read an interesting article that really went into depth on the rise of Microsoft Windows and the failures of some big companies that really set the Computer Industry behind by about a decade. It also talked about some simularities on Microsoft as they are now and how Apple was in the same situation then. It was interesting that the NextStep operating system was years ahead of it's time and that Sun Microsystem, Dell, and HP killed it. Apple actually fired Steve Jobs because he wanted to make the Next OS but Apple wanted to support a much inferior product that almost killed the company. What's even more funny (or sad) is that after Sun had officially killed NextStep, they then sold and Steve Jobs back to Apple, thus NextStep then became the Foundation of OS 10. By all rights OS 10 should of been a Sun OS that should be running on Sun Macs. At least Sun did something right and sold it back to Apple. We could all be running Sunpods right now :) . Remind me to never invest in Sun Microsystems.
So many companies had to fail in so many ways just for Microsoft to be where they are now that it is just mind boggling to comprehend. Linux should be a much more advanced OS that is called Openstep and that is the OS we should be running our Computers on. There shouldn't even be a Microsoft but because of IBM, Dell, HP, Apple, Sun, and many more failing in so many different areas, for so many years in a row, there now exists not only Microsoft but also a Linux. Come to think of it, if there hadn't been a Microsoft there probably wouldn't be PC's right now. At least one corporation kept the ball moving in the right direction and got us to the point where we currently are at this period of time. I wasn't a big Microsoft fan up till I read the articles and I don't think the articles were supposed to shine Microsoft in a positive light. Either way I have never read how so many companies going out of their way to kill an Industry and just through blind luck we have gotten to the point where we are now. Interesting read and there is a lot of parts to it. All them Mac and Linux fans owe a bit of gratitude to Microsoft. They may not like the way Microsoft does Business but at least they kept the business going.

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Q4.06/53A72293-957E-40...

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Microsoft has also been fairly predatory and abusive.

If you want that bright glow you have on MS to go away, look into CALs and server OS pricing.

Basically, yeah, server OSs should be fairly pricey. I can accept that. And workstation OSs are not cheap. I can accept that.

So a company has a server and 25 workstations. To use this legally they need to purchase 1 server license, 25 workstation licenses, and 25 CALs or Client Access Licenses. Thats right, you need to not only pay for the server and the workstations, but also for the right to connect the workstations to the server over a network.... how is that for abusive. And it doesn't end there. You won't catch me shedding a tear for good ol MS.
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It's no secret that Microsoft has repeatedly abused its market position (numerous findings against them in the US and EU attest to this) and has subsequently become the bogeyman of the computing world.

However, let us not overlook the fact that Microsoft are hardly alone in engaging in dubious practises. Apple - the darling of the trendy crowd - appear to be going down a disturbing route of shipping products with design flaws and imposing unnecessarilly onerous restrictions on downloaded content. Google's deal with the human-rights abusing regime of China didn't exactly escape public notice, and let's not even get started on Sony and Securom.

The simple fact is - the computer industry is big bucks and big bucks encourages shoddy behaviour. Microsoft is no saint but they're by no means alone.

Lets not forget Micosoft turning a blind eye to piracy in the early days to get market share.
I might not be a big fan of how they go about doing stuff but their OS is at present the best OS for the majority of people. So many people moan about microsoft but still use the OS.

well very true but, if a gaming company decided to make games compatible with linux as well as Windows i would jump to linux before you could blink.

MS is similar to intel has alot of fingers in alot of honey pots, its all those OEM contracts that have got them where they are.

I don't know Flakes. If that happened we would begin to see things in Linux that Windows 95, 98, and Me were noted for which was incosistent driver flaws which led to BOSD failures. Linux to me is about 2 years behind XP and about 5 years behind Vista. It's catching up but the OS is going to need to adress the Driver issue if they want to (the Group as a whole) move into PC Gaming.
To me Linux makes a much better Large Corporation Server Product and Workstation OS where security is a main concern and costs need to be kept down. Big Corporations can then create an inhouse IT Group that can tailor make a Linux OS that works best for them.
The Research and Science Industry also needs the flexiability of Linux to tailor make a Product that works best for them.
If Linux wants to make inroads into PC Gaming they will need to create an OS that is specific in that one area. Not to say it can't be done. Imagine if 10 of the most notable Gaming Companies came together and created a Free Linux OS Tailored made just for their games and then gave the OS out for free. Who wouldn't make the switch over? Something like that would crush Microsoft.
The Power of Linux is not that it can be everything to everyone but that it can be really great in one or two things for whatever that person wants it to be. It would need to be simple, easy to use, and very robust in the things that most people want which is a Home Entertainment Center.
The article to me describes how so many companies failed us as a whole. Don't blame Microsoft for being what they are. They were created out of a need due to the multiple failings of the companies before them. I blame Sun and Apple mostly for holding down progress. We all should be running a NextStep OS and Openstep should be ingrained in all of our lives but thanks to IBM, Dell, Sun, Apple, HP, and more it isn't.
Microsoft kept progress going and the least thing we should be doing is blaming Microsoft for slowing it down. Without them we would have nothing.

Cuddles said:
Imagine if 10 of the most notable Gaming Companies came together and created a Free Linux OS Tailored made just for their games and then gave the OS out for free. Who wouldn't make the switch over? Something like that would crush Microsoft.

I'm not convinced that it would. A large amount of Microsoft's business is corporate customers - a huge number of businesses use Windows as their terminal OS (and indeed server) and Office as their word processing/data/email package. Add onto that all the home users who would continue to buy Windows/Office so that their home PC/laptop is "like the one they use at work" and they have a huge customer base.

Whilst they would no doubt regret the loss of the PC gaming enthusiast market, lets not kid ourselves into thinking that this group dominates the OS market.

An OS tailored just for games?? Theres a few of them about already and free. Don't Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft already do them and put them in a box tailored just for games?
Can't see the games companies putting all the money needed into the dev and support of a new OS that would probably only get rejected by end users anyway. Your taking away a main benifit that people buy a PC for flexibility.
Thats my two pence.

Open GL isn't up to snuff at this point, compared to Direct 3d. You can do some nice things in openGL, but any of the ports (UT2k4 on the Mac and linux as an example) don't run nearly as well in those platforms natively than they do in Windows. Also let's not forget the other critical drivers for gaming, those of the mouse. When I launched UT2k4 in Linux I found the mouse to feel just weird, I didn't get the finesse tuning that I get in Windows.

Belinda makes a good point too, Windows is already loosing to the Nintendo and Sony OS when it comes to gaming, as well as it's own Xbox OS.

crom said:
Open GL isn't up to snuff at this point, compared to Direct 3d. You can do some nice things in openGL, but any of the ports (UT2k4 on the Mac and linux as an example) don't run nearly as well in those platforms natively than they do in Windows. Also let's not forget the other critical drivers for gaming, those of the mouse. When I launched UT2k4 in Linux I found the mouse to feel just weird, I didn't get the finesse tuning that I get in Windows.

Belinda makes a good point too, Windows is already loosing to the Nintendo and Sony OS when it comes to gaming, as well as it's own Xbox OS.
I'm not so sure; id is still using OpenGL with their new engine, Tech 5.
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