Actually, I didn't say that Microsoft Products have gotten worse. They have indeed gotten better over the years. However, you are correct that it is definately not at the same rate as many of the other companies. And a lot of that is due to the innovation the other companies have. I really haven't seen much true innovation coming from Redmond. (The last truly "innovate" thing I've seen from MS? The "paperclip buddy"...)
Granted, there are a lot of obstacles in Microsoft's way. But how many of them have been put there because of their own actions? The lawsuits are _not_ of the "I wrote 'Billie Jean' five months before Michael Jackson did" type. Most of them are _extremely_ credible. Which is why MS has been losing (or settling) a lot of them.
I also disagree with "letting the giant be." The main way for anything to improve is criticism -- self-criticism, constructive criticism, even some of the flame wars have some value (although not much in the last...). But Microsoft would rather not hear _any_ of it. The arrogance which has come out of Redmond has been staggering. This is not to say that other companies (Apple especially) have not been arrogant. But we have seen many products come out of them which have been poorly copied.
I will say that a lot of the anti-Microsoft sentiment I've seen is irrational "I hate Microsoft because its Microsoft" type. If you are going to hate something, have a good reason.
For the record, I do use Microsoft. But I also use Linux, Macintoshes (Pre and post OS X) and even my little Commodore 64. My machine of choice is my G4 Mac Powerbook, which does have Virtual PC.
Use what works. But I do want it to work.
Just one of the favorite tactics from the big MS playbook.
We've seen it time and time again. Good product is on the market. Microsoft promises something "Bigger and Better". People believe the FUD and wait to buy Microsoft product. Sales of original product drop off. Microsoft product finally comes out after months/years of delay and is inferior to original product. But people buy it because it's "Microsoft".
"You can fool some all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can always fool enough of the people enough of the time..."
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Actually, I didn't say that Microsoft Products have gotten worse. They have indeed gotten better over the years. However, you are correct that it is definately not at the same rate as many of the other companies. And a lot of that is due to the innovation the other companies have. I really haven't seen much true innovation coming from Redmond. (The last truly "innovate" thing I've seen from MS? The "paperclip buddy"...) Granted, there are a lot of obstacles in Microsoft's way. But how many of them have been put there because of their own actions? The lawsuits are _not_ of the "I wrote 'Billie Jean' five months before Michael Jackson did" type. Most of them are _extremely_ credible. Which is why MS has been losing (or settling) a lot of them. I also disagree with "letting the giant be." The main way for anything to improve is criticism -- self-criticism, constructive criticism, even some of the flame wars have some value (although not much in the last...). But Microsoft would rather not hear _any_ of it. The arrogance which has come out of Redmond has been staggering. This is not to say that other companies (Apple especially) have not been arrogant. But we have seen many products come out of them which have been poorly copied. I will say that a lot of the anti-Microsoft sentiment I've seen is irrational "I hate Microsoft because its Microsoft" type. If you are going to hate something, have a good reason. For the record, I do use Microsoft. But I also use Linux, Macintoshes (Pre and post OS X) and even my little Commodore 64. My machine of choice is my G4 Mac Powerbook, which does have Virtual PC. Use what works. But I do want it to work.
Just one of the favorite tactics from the big MS playbook. We've seen it time and time again. Good product is on the market. Microsoft promises something "Bigger and Better". People believe the FUD and wait to buy Microsoft product. Sales of original product drop off. Microsoft product finally comes out after months/years of delay and is inferior to original product. But people buy it because it's "Microsoft". "You can fool some all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can always fool enough of the people enough of the time..."