Microsoft takes on the free world

[m.musashi]

This is a week old and may have been posted (if so, I'm sure it will get tossed into some mega thread). Anyway, a nice article on the state of the MS FUD. Personally, I think the FSF should just take the first step and sue MS to put up or shut up. Threats are not good for business (unless you are MS I guess).

Link (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033867/index.htm?postversion=2007051409)

[Somenoob]

Yeah, MS has been quite a headache lately.

[lakersforce]

Yeah, MS has been quite a headache lately.

Mission Accomplished.

[Iceni]

I guess they are feeling the heat lately. I read news stories about schools and other gouvernement switching mass computers to linux almost daily. Brazil shutting ms out altogether, china not wanting windows.

There are more to this as well. With schools running linux, the kids today will be linux-users and not grow up in the windows world many of us did.

[jacquesvn]

There are more to this as well. With schools running linux, the kids today will be linux-users and not grow up in the windows world many of us did.

That is the key - why is windows popular? Because people know it, and not necessarily the end user - but perhaps a friend, uncle etc that can help when there are problems. The same with company's the techies generally know Windows.

Change this on a schooling level and when those kids leave school and are subjected to windows it's gonna be whats this ????? It wont let me do this it enforces this, it does that .... I need a super computer to run it?, what do u mean my interface must look that way? Why cant I? Why must I?

And the MS monopoly starts dying .....

[m.musashi]

Kids in my school use Linux but we also have windows. However, they complain about the Linux lab because the hardware is really old. I think it's cool the stuff isn't in a landfill.

[frrobert]

If in the AT& T case

Microsoft and a vast number of its supporters, including Intel ,Yahoo! , and Amazon.com, contended that software is not a physical component, but intangible information.

taken from

http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/30/technology/microsoft_att.reut/index.htm?postversion=2007043010


Then

How can MS argue someone is infringing on their patents?

It seems by the logic of the AT&T case software could be copyrighted but not patented.

[Tundro Walker]

That is the key - why is windows popular? Because people know it, and not necessarily the end user - but perhaps a friend, uncle etc that can help when there are problems. The same with company's the techies generally know Windows.

Exactly. Can't remember who's "law" it is, but somebody said it takes 20 years for a technology to fully integrate into a society. In politics, this is true, because politics wants to make sure changes in society are more than a fad before changing or updating laws. Plus, it takes 20 years for the "old guard" politicians to die or retire, letting the "new guard" politicians cycle in with their more modern ideals.

In technological aspects, it takes 20 years because the technology has to go through iterations, adapting to user needs, becoming better, faster, more usable. Linux still has a few years to go.

And, if you under-cut Microsoft by teaching a whole generation of kids on it, you'll end up with a huge hiccup in the MS wave. Kids today, with their emo hair, Ritalin fits and all-access pass to the porn-ternet, will be the leaders and workers of tomorrow. (Well, maybe not American kids...our schools are doing a great job of cranking out drop-outs and under-educated kids...and yes, I blame the schools, not the kids.)

Anyways, they learn Linux now, they may start companies with Linux, or push to get Linux added. As corporations find it's harder and harder to get MS-trained folks (or more expensive) eventually they'll see-saw on the whole IT thing, and convert to Linux.

MS isn't dumb, though. They'll still be around. But, nobody thought IBM would ever fall from grace. Look where it is now.