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Why Doesn't Microsoft Have A Cult Religion?
rs232 writes "'Apple has one. So does the Java community, Oracle, IBM, and Google. Lord knows anyone who uses Linux or free and open source software is dedicated to spreading the gospel of St. Linus Torvalds and St. Richard Stallman. But does anyone really worship the Gods of Redmond?' While many Microsoft employees are pumped to work there, article author Michael Singer explores why even enthusiastic Microsoft-watchers acknowledge that customers and product developers are unenthusiastic about the software giant. He theorizes that it comes down to passion: Microsoft lost that a long time ago, he says, and so passionate people gravitate to other projects and products."
Here ya go.
True, it's not for Windows, but you take what you can get.
I assume the author has never had any experience with a small ISP attempting to sell microsoft small business server. In that market you will find the people that worship the juggernaut.
They called it MSCE. You got one, and you got yourself a $20+/hr job. Then the suits engineered a surplus of techs and outsourced every job they could, and that $20+/hr job became a $9.50 an hour job, and low and behold people weren't so happy with Microsoft anymore. Especially since a lot of them where still making payments on student loans.
Yeah, some of the blame goes to paper MSCEs, But not nearly as much as you think. And besides, paper MSCEs don't really care enough to bother proselytizing. OTOH, those ninnies do drive down the value of real techs.
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Slasdot is obsessed with MS, everything they do or say is subjected to unending speculation here, albeit negative. Outside of Slashdot I dont know a soul who really gives a rats ass what MS do and would never in a million years even consider discussing MS in the sort of emotive language used here.
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
If you had had the fun I had last week with Exchange 2003 I don't think you would be calling MS the "best". It certainly wasn't an adjective that could be found in my vocabulary at that point in time.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
If that were true there would be no hardcore Yankees fans because well, they win almost all the time(by virtue of having the most money, which shows that fans are giving them said money to spend, but I digress), and yet there are a ton of hardcore Yankees fans.
Being an underdog might inspire some people to become devoted to something, but the big dogs have doting fans as well. Just not Microsoft.
Monstar L
I got to disagree with the idea that Microsoft never produce anything really good.
Excel might be an exception as its interface at least used to be considered very good.
2 years ago at least one HCI researcher at kth.se admired Excel wrt her field.
I am using OO Spreadsheet nowadays as it is good enough and comes with Ubuntu, but it is still not as good as Excel was 10 years ago.
But then, I guess, 10 years ago there existed more of a Microsoft cult.
Microsoft does have followers/fans, and I'm one of them. So, the article & comments that folks like me don't exist is just wrong. Folks are just not looking in the right places. I founded and run the New York [Microsoft] Exchange User Group http://www.nyexug.com/ . It's over 2 yrs old as well. We meet monthly at Microsoft's NYC office, have about 175 people on the mailing list and all we talk about is Exchange Server. Yes, Microsoft Exchange Server. We are not alone. The same night there's a Microsoft Excel User Group. Yes, you heard that right, Excel! I couldn't handle one of those meetings, so I would consider that a cult of Excel. There's also Small Business Server and Enterprise Windows User Groups. See NYPC for more information on those other groups. http://nypc.org/sigs.php So, there are Microsoft fans out there, you just need to know where to look.
"Easiest target" is so right - but the "biggest" is not the "best", and the majority need not be a "cult" in itself; rather, it embodies a lack of one.
The cult is where the choice is. On the desktop side of things, Mac users chose to split with the "I use it because everyone's using it" majority, and now have a much better (and safer!) OS to be proud of. For the 'behind the scenes' cults, it all depends on trade: the *nix 'cults' know they're the majority in everything web and server - but the strength of their unity relies on the sheer weight of their knowledge (they almost have their own language for lord's sake) - quite the opposite of the 'collective delusion' sentiment of the Microsoft masses.
If you're still a Microsoft 'militant', you're either ignorant, working for the company or just plain cherry-picking mad. The Microsoft 'movement' is ignorance - forced or feigned.
Microsoft owes its fortune to ignorance. Gates saw a way to 'educate' first-time computer users to 'his' (not his own work, actually) platform through selling it to computer manufacturers - something the other 'cults' did not do. I would have no bone at all with this were Microsoft the best product out there - if they were, they would even qualify for a justifiable 'cult' status of their own (by those who chose to use it for its qualities) - but theirs has never been the best and, if they don't change their strategy, it never will be. Even if many tecnologically advanced countries may be wising up to the existence and quality of 'altrenate OS's', I don't see Microsoft changing anytime soon because of the fortune waiting in the hundreds of developing countries awaiting conquer in exactly the same way - through first-time user ignorance.
Microsoft is a culture of lemmings. The choice, thus the 'cult', lies elsewhere.
No, no sig. Really.
ThePromenader