Is It Wrong to Love Microsoft?

vd writes "Given most comments on Slashdot, it would appear that anyone with even a slight knowledge of computers hates Microsoft. An article on CoolTechZone, though, argues that not everyone should dismiss Microsoft outright. According to Varun Dubey, Linux is over-rated, Macs aren't worthy and Windows deserves respect and some love. From the article: 'What has Microsoft given us? It has given us Windows, sure, it was buggy earlier and a lot of things didn't work like they were supposed to (plug and play springs to mind) but it was a pioneering effort. No one was even close to the ease of use that Windows offered. Sure, Mac OS was a lot prettier but then it cost the moon and the stars along with both your arms and legs.'"

Comments

wrong

[tomstdenis]

Windows is NOT easy to use *correctly*.

This "ease of use" includes people running as Admin with all the services running and basically wide open to the universe. That's "ease of use".

I won't pretend that Linux or BSD is any easier but I really don't think this "ease of use" label is meaningful.

"Chainsaws are easy to use!" -- Said the current reigning king of the one armed people.

Tom

Re:There is a price for what you want

[IAmTheDave]

I'm a software developer by trade, but am I the only one who owns a Mac and runs virtual PC with Windows XP, 2000, and Linux (Ubuntu, in my case)??

Or perhaps runs Windows XP and uses QEMU for Windows 2000 and Linux or runs Linux, and uses VMWare for Windows XP and PearPC for Mac OSX?

My point is that all of these OS wars, and I use - actively - all three major flavors. And I know I can't be alone. Why use only a hammer to build a house when you have so many different tools in your toolbox?

Re:Freak

[garett_spencley]

There is nothign illegal about having a monopoly.

Say for instance you develop a unique product that no one else has ever developed before. As long as your company is the only one to develop that product you automatically have a monopoly on that product. How can you be punished for something that's beyond your control ?

Microsoft has done a lot of shady business practices.. no one is arguing that. But having the monopoly alone does not make them criminals. It's how they abused their monopoly to wipe out future competition and to screw over their customers that got them in trouble.

8.3

[goombah99]

"Don't you think MS and everybody else would have liked to change the 8.3 filenames faster then what was happening."

put down the crack pipe and step away from the keyboard. Are you kidding? Apple had long filenames on Windows disks long before Windows 95 did. How did they manage that? It was pretty easy, and in fact the same way windows 95 later copied. they just wrapped the old 8.3 names with a layer that looked up the short name as was actually stored on the DOS disk.

What do you think would happen to the world economy if Microsoft only would release longhorn for PPC?

Uh dude, apple has switched many times and many processors and never left their currentusers behind. I was playing crystal quest, a game from the mid 90's on my OSX computer, just yesterday. When apple switched to intel they are still going to be compiling apps for my present computer.