[TriLUG] Ford Drops Windows for their Sync System

[Brian Weaver]

On Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 2:17 PM, Steve Litt <slitt at troubleshooters.com>wrote:

> On Mon, 24 Feb 2014 10:38:03 -0800 (PST)
> John Vaughters <jvaughters04 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > I do not want anyone to confuse this as anti-windows, because I am
> > rooting for them to straighten out. I learned on Windows and it was
> > the low cost alternative of computing in the 1980's. I am just making
> > objective observations to drive my predictions. Microsoft is more
> > vulnerable than anytime I have ever seen. The winds of change are in
> > the air. New CEO and Bill Gates becoming an active member again. The
> > decisions in the next year or two will be interesting.
>
> I would like nothing better than for Microsoft to go bankrupt. Before
> we all don our "life's a technocracy and I just use the best technology
> for the task at hand" hats, consider the destruction Microsoft has done
> to the marketplace:
>

Naw, I'd rather have them learn from their misspent "youth" and turn around
to become a better corporate partner of the computing world. Microsoft has
a lot of talent and cash; better for them to learn how to use it for the
betterment of all instead of trying to suck the last penny from everyone's
wallet. I'm a big fan of constructive competition; when that occurs the
consumer wins. The problem is it doesn't occur often enough thanks to
patent wars, legal wrangling, and other dirty tricks that ALL corporations
use to get a leg up.


>
> * DR DOS: What could it have become?
> * Netscape: What could it have become?
>

Unless I'm mistaken that's why we have Firefox now. Google Chrome and Opera
came in to fight in a space that Microsoft muscled into and won for a
period of time. How is that different from multiple competing open source
applications? We as the user won by each groups having to innovate to
attract users. Now I'm glossing over the fact that thanks to M$ many sites
simply wouldn't work with anything by Internet Exploder. I'm definitely not
a Mirosoft fan, but they have and do make some good software at times. I
own an XBox and I enjoy using it when I can get time away from the kids.

I don't mind using their software; I just don't think it's often worth the
$$$ they want to charge for it. I do hope that I never have to write
software on Windows again. I still carry the mental scars from that
experience; I hit that "sweet" spot where there were six active version of
windows that need support at one time. That was development hell.

* Wordperfect: What could it have become?
>

There are a number of publishing applications aside from word perfect that
have gone away. Some are probably attributable to M$, some not. I have used
Open Office, Google Docs, and Microsoft Office. I still perfer to have a
copy of Office on my Mac; I feel like I'm dancing with the devil but it's
still easier to use than many of the alternatives. M$ has the resources to
hire real people who's job is solely to test the usibility of an
application. That gives them an advantage over the competition.


> * Proven guilty of illegal antitrust behavior
>

Given a slap on the wrist, if even that. Don't blame Microsoft for that,
bitch at the elected leadership and the (in)justice system. It's in a
corporation (or persons) best interest to get away with a crime if they are
guilty. No one like to pay the time for the crime.


> * Microsoft's Allchin, Mundie and Balmer calling for congressional help
>   in squelching Linux
>

Again, I think their scum bags for asking. It's like my three year old
asking for candy all the time. I expect him to ask. I act like an adult and
say "no" most of the time unless he's earned the reward or I'm just feeling
generous. If congress would act like a group of responsible people a lot of
problems would be moot. Instead I feel like it's was and is staffed by
three year olds. I digress, back to the original topic


> * Secure boot, especially non-removable secure boot in ARM machines

* Lots more dirty tricks I can't even remember
>

Give me enough money and I'll make over the world to my favor. Every large
corporation pulls the same tricks.


>
> When Microsoft won in the marketplace, they didn't win with a better
> product, better prices, or better service. They won with monopolistic
> dirty tricks. Microsoft is a dangerous company, apparently to their
> very core, originating from Gates, and I fervently hope they either go
> bankrupt or become a niche player. Open Source will be safer when that
> happens.
>

I disagree. Open Source is very well established at this point. It's not
going away. Where you should be concerned is what happens to major project
when the leadership changes (developer fatigue, death, corporate mergers).
Some projects are better prepared for the event than others. Sometimes a
reasonable company (Sun) get absorbed by an archaic ones (Oracle). Change
is the only constant, yet not all changes are equal or desirable.


>
> SteveT
>
> Steve Litt                *  http://www.troubleshooters.com/
> Troubleshooting Training  *  Human Performance
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