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On 4 May, 2013, at 9:32 pm, Simon Avery wrote:
whatever your views on Windows, it's market leader for many reasons, not all of them bad
Sorry, can't let it pass.Clearly several people on this list believe this. I want to try to persuade you that the facts do not support this view.
It's not "market leader". There is no "market". You get DOS (initially) or Windows *pre-installed* on your computer, and you pay a license fee for it *as part of the purchase price of the computer*. Striking that deal was the beginning and end of Microsoft's competitive activity in operating systems. They were not even the owners, let alone the creators, of DOS at the time.
It is 1981. You are not a computer expert, you just need a computer. Your computer is designed (to be compatible with those designed by) the only computer company you have ever heard of. You do not know that you can change. You do not know anyone who has. If you are made aware of your "choice", you see only infinite, unquantifiable risk and very dubious reward. This *never* changes over the following 32 years.
As if to confirm this, the US Dept of Justice, no foe of the big guy traditionally, successfully prosecuted MS for monopoly abuse.
It's sickening, and it should not sit easily with us. -- Phil Hudson http://hudson-it.no-ip.biz @UWascalWabbit PGP/GnuPG ID: 0x887DCA63 -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq