Windows is caught between Mac and Linux

[dogeatery]

Let me start by saying I have no real problem with Windows (at least not XP) and I recognize Microsoft's contributions to information technology. That said...

I recently read an academic book concerning the effect of media on culture, and one part dealt with technology (specifically, the "new" technology that was about to take over the world when the book was written in 1996)

One of the most important lines from the book: "Every technology has a philosophy, expressed in how we use it ..." The philosophy (or one of many philosophies) of the internet, like it or not, is "free information," in every sense of the phrase. This will sound crazy to some, but Microsoft is philosophically irrelevant.

This doesn't mean that it's going anywhere anytime soon, only that its business model and past behavior (fighting over patents and restricting computer usage to what it deems acceptable in the fine print of its license documentation, for example) are at odds with the so-called philosophy of the internet. I can't speak for Mac, though it's safe to say their philosophy is not exactly geared towards flexibility or freedom with regards to hardware.

This was what I meant earlier about the philosophy of open source driving web 2.0 -- everything is free and collaborative

[kamaboko]

ms is caught on it's own bad buisness decisions

This must be so given that they're the largest software company in the world. A lot of bad decisions behind that ranking.

[cprofitt]

FIRST: Apple's popularity jumped when their hardware could run Windows via Bootcamp.

SECOND: Apple's draconian policies have taken some heat recently and as more people use the computers their voices will be heard over the squaks of the fan-bois.

THIRD: Linux still has problems getting out there because some things have not been taken care of on the desktop side of things - using two monitors, the GUI is usually not as smooth as OS X, Vista or XP (try moving your window around and the icons will take a few seconds to reappear after you uncover them -- on OS X, XP and Vista this is not the case).

FINALLY: I think Linux is the best OS for techies, Windows the best OS for gamers and OS X is a solid OS for people who want an easy to use computer, but it is held back by stupid decisions by Apple and will suffer some whiplash if that behavior doesn't fade away.

[JAPrufrock]

I think that there is a tremendous market out there for GNU/Linux. One reason is that people just don't know enough about it. There is also very little promotion because it's free. If the general public knew what Linux can do, it's strong points, there would be a lot more users out there. Linux isn't for everyone, but it's for a lot of different kinds of people.

Example1: My mother-in law is very old, and is confined to a wheelchair. One of her main entertainments is reading newspapers over the internet. However, her OS was XP, and she had a very hard time updating her antivirus software. The result was a constant problem with malware, file corruptions, and other assorted viral distresses. So I decided to install Ubuntu on her machine. Since she had already been using Firefox, and Google mail, she really didn't have to make any adjustments. Halaluya, no more viruses, no more down time, and no more wasting my time cleaning, or re-installing XP.

Exampled2: My son is entering high school. He would like a laptop computer for school work. I'm going to get him an ASUS eee for $300, and I'll leave Xandros on it. I'm also going to by one for myself for taking along with me when I'm traveling, and general non-poweruser computing. The main reason- it fits my budget. It's much cheaper than the same machine with XP installed on it.