Why not Linux?

Colin McGregor colinmc151-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org
Sun Sep 3 17:29:31 UTC 2006


--- Rick Tomaschuk <rickl-ZACYGPecefkm4kRHVhTciCwD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> On Fri, 2006-09-01 at 14:05 -0400, Colin McGregor
> wrote:
> > I have not read Animal Farm I'm afraid, but I do
> know
> 
> Animal Farm is a satirical allegory of Soviet
> totalitarianism. Major
> events in the book are based on ones from the Soviet
> Union during the
> Stalin era. (From:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_farm ...sorry I
> don't have Encarta)
> 
> > my industry history well enough to know that
> Microsoft
> > is not the first firm in our industry to be a less
> > than honourable player.
> > 
> > Go back to the 1960's and the "jokes" were about
> IBM
> > and the seven dwarfs (UNIVAC, Burroughs,
> Scientific
> > Data Systems, Control Data Corporation, General
> > Electric, RCA and Honeywell). Namely, IBM totally
> > DOMINATED the computer industry with only a
> handful of
> > small players on the side, in a way that is in
> many
> > ways comparable to the current situation with
> > Microsoft. IBM achieved its position of power
> through
> > some morally/legally questionable tactics (and
> spent
> > time in court over such tactics). Now, IBM has
> been
> > brought into line (due to Microsoft, sigh, groan)
> and
> > is now a much more respected, if still very much a
> > hardball player (as SCO is learning the hard way)
> in
> > the industry.
> 
> Companies such as you mentioned exist due to the
> fact 
> that most of the population is asleep or spend most
> of 
> their time drinking beer. One day (when the wake up)
> the find
> a monopolistic company dominating their industry and
> they 
> themselves are out of work. Another reason is that
> most people
> are just too 'chicken' or lazy to start their own
> business and 
> follow through on the work to make it successful.
> Add to the
> mix corrupt lawyers, politicians and you end up with
> with 
> unhappy campers demonstrating/complaining about some
> sad cause.
> (see: softwood lumber)

While legally/morally questionable tactics have a real
(major?) role to play in the domination of the
industry by one player, there are other factors.
Another "joke" from times gone by was "Nobody ever
gets fired for choosing IBM". Point was, if an IT
professional picked a solution from say Burroughs over
IBM, and things went bad, the chances of getting fired
were much higher than picking an IBM solution. Point
was that IBM was seen for a lot of years as the "safe"
choice. If something went wrong people could say to
technology illiterate management, well, if IBM can not
make this happen, then nobody can.

Unfortunately, Microsoft is now in the "Nobody ever
gets fired for" position. This even though in 99%+ of
situations the Microsoft solution will cost more, and
not be as reliable. 

> > This situation did not stop at least one of my
> > instructors in college during the 1980s from
> > worshipping the ground IBM walked on. The fact
> that I
> > thought it obvious to all that IBM was at the time
> > something of a bully who needed to be taken down a
> 
> I though Micro$oft was fine till they started
> focusing on world 
> domination and quality control went out the
> window(tm). ;)

I have always been interested in the most cost
effective solution, and for a time that was Microsoft.
Now that there are very credible free alternatives to
almost all Microsoft products (Linux and the *BSDs)
why bother, there are better/cheaper alternatives.

> > notch wasn't obvious to all.
> > 
> > I do admit to liking some Microsoft
> keyboards/mice,
> > but overall I see Microsoft in exactly the same
> light
> > as I saw IBM in the mid-1980s a bully who needs to
> be
> > taken down a notch (or two). I do hope Microsoft
> 
> I have among other things a 10+ year old no name
> great 
> quality keyboard and circa 1996 IBM and Compaq mice
> ;)
> I've never had a reason to consider buying new
> ones...

Well, I have an odd fondness for the "Natural"
keyboards, ugly as @#$% but very comfortable to type
on. I wouldn't want to show off the keyboard, but for
a desktop machine in my den, definitely. As for the
Microsoft mice, I have been able to get some of the
wireless mice for $9.99 at some of the local clearance
shops, and at that price why not go wireless. They are
decent enough mice, and being cord free is nice when
you have a cluttered desk (like mine :-) ).

> > coming down does not happen because a new
> comparable
> > nasty shows up and that Microsoft does evolve into
> > something respectable
> 
> That says a lot about the hypocrisy in North
> America.
> Basically the message is: Rob a bank, If you don't
> end up
> in jail use the money to start a legitimate business
> and
> then moralize the population. Afterward move into
> respectable
> venues such as charity and moralize the population.
> Sounds reasonable...
> RickT

You can punish individuals for breaking the law, and
the thought of Bill Gates being REQUIRED to wear an
orange jumpsuit has a certain appeal. As for
corporations, the best you can hope to do is force
them to reform, this can be done by breaking them up
and/or  other legal actions, such as forced sale of
assets. Now, I don't know of any ideal solution for
Microsoft, but here are some ideas: 

- Make the source code to all Microsoft products open
source under a BSD or GPL licence.
- Require Microsoft OSs become a seperate company from
the other parts.


Colin McGregor
--
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