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On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 23:46:53 +0000 Tom Brough <tombrough@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Much that I would like to see the demise of Microsoft, Im not sure it > would be a good thing for the computer industry if they disappeared over > night. I'm confident that this would not be a good thing - it would be a very BAD thing indeed. It is also extremely unlikely. The only thing that would make that happen would make Emron look like a pillar of virtue. > Im not sure if Vista is any More / Less buggy than XP at its > launch. What has changed is user perception and education, probably > because we all have the internet now. Its a lot harder for Microsoft to > use the "there is no alternative" argument any more. Microsoft have had > a long time to get vista right (remember longhorn), they have no excuses > left. There are sufficient apologists and stick-in-the-muds to keep Microsoft going. The issue, for me, is who DRM is going to bite hardest - Microsoft/EMI/Sony or the interests of freedom. > But if Microsoft where to go bust tommorrow, would the free software > market be able to pick up the slack ? No. Is that a reasonable goal for free software? No. Is that why free software exists? No. Is that a problem for free software? No. > There are a lot of Microsoft users > out there, would we (the GNU/Linux community) be able to satisfy them > all if push came to shove ? No and we should not expect to do so. > One thing is for sure, Vista is Microsofts make or break moment. Maybe - Vista is very important to MS, no doubt, but there are deeper issues that may yet bind the monopolist in it's own entrails. If Microsoft continues with previous tactics, it could end up dragging more and more lawsuits into more and more appeals in more and more countries whilst trying to buy out more and more companies against a failing OS and in the midst of user mistrust over DRM and TrustedComputing. That's when the money starts draining away.... The worst thing M$ have done recently, IMHO, is the idea of a Media Centre PC. That has led them down a blind alley where they have to deliberately downgrade the quality of the content to satisfy their Hollywood partners. It breeds resentment in users and fails to take account of the complete mismatch in the minds of consumers when comparing "an entertainment device" and "a computer". Most people don't care about watching DVD's on a small computer screen because they've got far larger screens downstairs with surround sound and comfy chairs - it only gets worse for HDTV. The battle for DRM in music is all but lost, the battle for DRM over movies is simply working against the preconceptions of the consumer - it's bad news all round. -- Neil Williams ============= http://www.data-freedom.org/ http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/ http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/
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