I couldn't agree more with your statement. Microsoft absolutely has a stranglehold on the computer market. Not just the OS market, but the ENTIRE market. Most things do not get built these days if they are not compatible with Windows. Gates is smart, and realized way back that every computer needs an operating system, and that the operating system is the cornerstone of compatibility. We can see very well that the same hardware will run multiple OSes, but the same application will NOT run on multiple OSes. (with the possible exception of Java...hmmmm....wonder why Microsoft hates Java so much....) The problem here is not Microsoft's Windows monopoly, but Microsoft's Win32 API monopoly. The "reverse engineer or decompile" clause in every EULA prevents any company from making something that will run Windows programs, even if there are no patents being infringed upon. The way that Windows interacts with software applications is not some patentable technological miracle, it is just an arbitrary code or language which the EULA prevents from being discovered by competitors. While having source code would be nice, it isn't necessary in order to crack Win32. The EULA basically makes software this "black box" which nobody is allowed to open up and see how it works. Can you imagine what the automobile industry would be like if it was illegal to make parts, etc. that were compatible with cars unless that car manufacturer specifically allowed you to do it? Bend over every time you break down, and you'd probably have to get it fixed every week. (Gee....does this sound like some software that's out there?) Without this clause there would be nothing stopping other companies from investing some R&D and making an OS that could run Windows apps on x86 hardware. Then we would have some REAL competition.
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All of us could probably go to jail for reading this....
I'm surprised that 1) root core didn't keep themselves anonymous and 2) gol64738 didn't either.
After that ISP security hole lawsuit, I certainly would've...
I couldn't agree more with your statement. Microsoft absolutely has a stranglehold on the computer market. Not just the OS market, but the ENTIRE market. Most things do not get built these days if they are not compatible with Windows. Gates is smart, and realized way back that every computer needs an operating system, and that the operating system is the cornerstone of compatibility. We can see very well that the same hardware will run multiple OSes, but the same application will NOT run on multiple OSes. (with the possible exception of Java...hmmmm....wonder why Microsoft hates Java so much....) The problem here is not Microsoft's Windows monopoly, but Microsoft's Win32 API monopoly. The "reverse engineer or decompile" clause in every EULA prevents any company from making something that will run Windows programs, even if there are no patents being infringed upon. The way that Windows interacts with software applications is not some patentable technological miracle, it is just an arbitrary code or language which the EULA prevents from being discovered by competitors. While having source code would be nice, it isn't necessary in order to crack Win32. The EULA basically makes software this "black box" which nobody is allowed to open up and see how it works. Can you imagine what the automobile industry would be like if it was illegal to make parts, etc. that were compatible with cars unless that car manufacturer specifically allowed you to do it? Bend over every time you break down, and you'd probably have to get it fixed every week. (Gee....does this sound like some software that's out there?) Without this clause there would be nothing stopping other companies from investing some R&D and making an OS that could run Windows apps on x86 hardware. Then we would have some REAL competition.