Oh dear. I am going off-topic here, but I can't help myself...
"Robert McNealy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Nobody "froces" anyone to sell their company. That is a business decision,
> most often for the best of the business-owner. Microsoft has the clout to
> "buy" its expertise. None of these exchanges can happened with consent.
>
I think you mean '"forces"' and "can happen without consent"...not
trying to be unkind, just to make sure I am understanding you. Uhm. Do
you know anything about Microsoft's business practices or history?
Things certainly *can* happen without consent. Ask the folks at
Netscape.
> Many of would not be in the IT, MIS, PC industires if it weren't FOR
> Microsoft. Through their business practices, they mass-marketed and made
> computers easy to use and popular. No one can argue that. Apple did not, or
> we would all be rooting for government to chew them a new a--hole.
>
Apple's approach and tactics were and are vastly different from the
folks in Redmond's. Microsoft did not make computers easy to use and
popular. (Easy to use? Even seen a Blue Screen of Death? How many
times do you want to crash today?)
>
> If you hate Windoze, don't use it. But for many of us, we have to still
> hybrid still because so many applications are not available in Linux, and so
> many customers want Win Appz. Not to mention many of our average secretary
> tyes would never be able to figure out how to use linux. I still know so
> many users to who have a hard enough time learning Outlook.
>
ARGH. Speaking as a former "average secretary type" (also a former
archaeologist, freelance writer, and bookseller, among other things)
turned tech writer, I managed to "figure out how to use linux" just
FINE, thank you. Please don't stereotype!
(In case you're interested, my home box, on which I recently installed a
new 13.6 gig hd BY MYSELF, has 3 OSes on it currently (Windows
98/MS-DOS, Mandrake Linux 7.1, and FreeBSD 4.0) and will soon add one
more (BeOS).
Also, Outlook sux. :P I have to use it at work. And you are right
about many people having to use Windows (which is *not* an OS; it just
thinks it is...MS/DOS is the OS) but not because applications aren't
available. Because we have no choice on the job.
>
> Come on, in the early 80's everyone hate IBM, because they were the "Evil
> Empire", now it is MS. I bet it will be SUN (maybe Cisco) next. Look how
> they "protect" Java.
>
Fiddlesticks. The reason people dislike M$ is not because they are a
large corporation, but because of their cutthroat attitude and shady
business practices. The lack of control, lack of backwards
compatibility, frequent crashing, and software bloat are
not-inconsiderable factors too.
>
> Come on. MS bashing is so old. Let's ignore it and get some Linux work
> done.
>
>
The post you replied to was one mainly reminiscing about Tandy (I had a
WP2!), Atari, and Amiga. *nostalgic sigh* Not mainly M$ bashing.
Sorry, nice list peoples. I wanted to get that off my chest. I shall
go sit down and be quiet again now. *sheepish grin*
--
Kathleen Dickason
Registered Linux user #182139
