MS originally got big because it was so easy to copy their OS for free! Be it DOS or win3.1 or win95 or whatever. I didn't get any books or support or know its inner workings, but I was able to copy the disks easily, or install offa someone else's CD, and there was no repurcussion. Repurcussions only happened to certain companies.. so the commercial client had to pay, nobody else did. So DOS and WIN proliferated wide and far.. I never paid for upgrades neither. Plus, I never paid for any OS ever, because I always made my own computer out of parts. Nice system, that. Well the 2nd part of the tactic happened: the contracts with computer sellers. Not too many people make their own boxes, they just buy em pre-assembled. Which is how DELL gets big, selling to folks who don't want to monkey with screwdrivers. But the way the contract goes is, every computer they sell has to go with windows, and the reseller gets the Windows for cheap. And then MS start to crack down on resellers who copy the completely unprotected OS without paying. Mac never got going as good, with a superior product, because they never had that free aspect before. They still don't. Although if MacOSX becomes available on the PC I may copy a CD sometime. But anyway, now there's Linux, and it's free and not only that, you never have to pay! All updates for free! To me, that's what's going to wipe out Windoze. That, and the judge's decision that they have to stop exclusive contracts from PC builders. If you don't have to buy Windows with your new box, and you can get it working better with Linux anyway, well then forget Windows! I mean, dead right now.
You guys wax a little hard about lack of personal liberty and the decision of the man and all that crap. Gimme a break. Microsoft only made contracts with computer rebuilders, who only signed because of price breaks. The example of buying a car, gimme a break. When you buy a car, you get just a car, you don't get any fabrication details or anything. You don't get any engineering performance data or NUTHIN. You get a car & a coupla sets of keys & get to pay now.
For a much more sinister system, check out the rules of your local union shop. If you take a job there, first thing you find out is you have no choice but to join the union! When decisions are made, you get the final vote but your union tells you how you're supposed to vote! Unions are way more diabolical than Microsoft, Microsoft takes flak because they played the game smarter than anybody else and now they're rich and nobody likes the rules.
I predict, as Linux gets better and better, and stays free, and Windows loses its contract-writing ability with resellers, Win and MacOS will both die. But by then, I'll probably have none of any of them, I'll have a web browser on my playstation 2 which churns along at 5 GIGAFLOPS, and which will ultimately be made into a better computer than anything on the market presently. A GAME machine! Imagine turning it on.. and not having to wait for the prick to boot up! It's all in ROM!
Computers will be made into REAL appliances, with no more bullcrap GUI buttons on buttons and configuration menus all over the place and junk. OS's will be moot. MS has already started diversifying... they ain't dumb.
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MS originally got big because it was so easy to copy their OS for free! Be it DOS or win3.1 or win95 or whatever. I didn't get any books or support or know its inner workings, but I was able to copy the disks easily, or install offa someone else's CD, and there was no repurcussion. Repurcussions only happened to certain companies.. so the commercial client had to pay, nobody else did.
So DOS and WIN proliferated wide and far.. I never paid for upgrades neither. Plus, I never paid for any OS ever, because I always made my own computer out of parts. Nice system, that.
Well the 2nd part of the tactic happened: the contracts with computer sellers. Not too many people make their own boxes, they just buy em pre-assembled. Which is how DELL gets big, selling to folks who don't want to monkey with screwdrivers. But the way the contract goes is, every computer they sell has to go with windows, and the reseller gets the Windows for cheap. And then MS start to crack down on resellers who copy the completely unprotected OS without paying.
Mac never got going as good, with a superior product, because they never had that free aspect before. They still don't. Although if MacOSX becomes available on the PC I may copy a CD sometime.
But anyway, now there's Linux, and it's free and not only that, you never have to pay! All updates for free! To me, that's what's going to wipe out Windoze. That, and the judge's decision that they have to stop exclusive contracts from PC builders. If you don't have to buy Windows with your new box, and you can get it working better with Linux anyway, well then forget Windows! I mean, dead right now.
You guys wax a little hard about lack of personal liberty and the decision of the man and all that crap. Gimme a break. Microsoft only made contracts with computer rebuilders, who only signed because of price breaks. The example of buying a car, gimme a break. When you buy a car, you get just a car, you don't get any fabrication details or anything. You don't get any engineering performance data or NUTHIN. You get a car & a coupla sets of keys & get to pay now.
For a much more sinister system, check out the rules of your local union shop. If you take a job there, first thing you find out is you have no choice but to join the union! When decisions are made, you get the final vote but your union tells you how you're supposed to vote! Unions are way more diabolical than Microsoft, Microsoft takes flak because they played the game smarter than anybody else and now they're rich and nobody likes the rules.
I predict, as Linux gets better and better, and stays free, and Windows loses its contract-writing ability with resellers, Win and MacOS will both die. But by then, I'll probably have none of any of them, I'll have a web browser on my playstation 2 which churns along at 5 GIGAFLOPS, and which will ultimately be made into a better computer than anything on the market presently. A GAME machine! Imagine turning it on.. and not having to wait for the prick to boot up! It's all in ROM!
Computers will be made into REAL appliances, with no more bullcrap GUI buttons on buttons and configuration menus all over the place and junk. OS's will be moot. MS has already started diversifying... they ain't dumb.