[NEWS] Virtues of Monoculture, Or Why Microsoft Wins

[kel_p]

Microsoft wins because they took the initiative and turned it all into a big business, and thus enjoys the power that every "big dog" has. If it were not for MS's "big dog" power,Windows(XP) probably wouldn't have any better hardware support than a 'typical' Linux distro. Windows-on-every-desktop has come to pass because of MS's ability to arm-twist the big retail computer manufacturers.

Its the arm-twisting most people seem to be blind for.. I have no problem with MS being a "big dog", they worked hard for it.. but they turned into a "mean dog" lately..
Like I said earlier.. Linux is unable to compete with Windows on equal footing.

 

[MRD]

I haven't had any stability issues with Windows XP in years. Most people's concept of "Windows stability issues" is based on Win98 and earlier, and anecdotal evidence from incompetent PC users.

Win 2K and Win XP are pretty stable (although still highly vulnerable to viruses and spyware). However, they're still nowhere near the level of BSD. Your average BSD system can easily run for 4-5 years without a reboot or slowing down/crashing. BSD is legendary for stability. Windows 2K and XP are definitely still absurdly vulnerable to numerous kinds of malware, evidenced by the need to run programs like norton, mcafee, spybot, adaware, etc. just to protect the system... and even then, stuff still gets by. I've been running 10+ Linux and BSD systems for the last 5-6 years without any kind of antivirus or antispyware programs and without making any effort to avoid malware, and I've not had a single instance of it at all in that entire time.

Its the arm-twisting most people seem to be blind for.. I have no problem with MS being a "big dog", they worked hard for it.. but they turned into a "mean dog" lately..
Like I said earlier.. Linux is unable to compete with Windows on equal footing.

This is really the issue completely. I was fine with Microsoft for a long time, until they started getting really coercive and breaking the law to suppress any competition and prevent anyone from being able to compete with them fairly. That's the real problem. Microsoft just got too greedy and pushed a lot of people too far with some really nasty and anti-consumer policies, and that's why people hate them so much. There are other companies with similar market dominance that I don't mind at all. I rather like Google, for example, they just aren't evil in the same way Microsoft is. They are out to make money, but they they have some scruples too.

 

[splat]

right, having a monopoly isn't illegal, it's what you do with the power of the monopoly that is illegal.