The Microsoft OS Monopoly, Are you in favor or not?

[Biggs]

It's no secret that MS owns a very large chunk of the OS Market thanks to it's "infamous" Windows but would it be better if there was competition from the start? Your thoughts?

 

[Alienwho]

I had no serious problems with microsoft until windows XP registering BS.

 

[LAUST]

Linux, Unix, MAC, BeOS, BSD, OS2, Novell

 

[ElFenix]

MS is pretty much a monopoly in the markets they compete in, being desktop computers. even throwing in low-end servers doesn't change the 95% penetration that much. it wouldn't be a bad thing if MS didn't use that power to push its way into other markets, like browsers, media players, and all the other crap windows ships with.

 

[Ryan]

I don't think it is. MS has clearly had a good idea with Windows from the start, and that's what consumers grew onto. The reason most other operating systems aren't popular is because they can't hold a candle to windows.

 

[Mikal]

They must be crushed, destroyed, annihilated. At least break 'em up!

 

[piku]

Unless another operating system is made that is 100% compatible with every program I can run in Windows, runs as fast as Windows, and is as easy to use as Windows, I don't want Microsoft going anywhere.

 

[Azraele]

<< Unless another operating system is made that is 100% compatible with every program I can run in Windows, runs as fast as Windows, and is as easy to use as Windows, I don't want Microsoft going anywhere. >>



That's a huge part of the problem, no viable competition. I for one would like to see some competition. I'd like to actually have a choice in the software I buy, as opposed to just M$.

 

[paruhd0x]

I don't care who makes it, I just want it to be compatible with all my stuff, including programs. If Linux had the same amount of programs Windows had, I'd switch in an instant...

 

[SSP]

They must be crushed, destroyed, annihilated. At least break 'em up!

You better be using Linux.


Anyway, I'd seriously use any other OS if they can do the same things WIndows can (Games, and the huge amount of APPS they have).

 

[Stark]

Microsoft has a monopoly on the OS. They are close to having ones for browsers and office suites. That is never a &quot;good&quot; thing.

Hopefully consumers won't buy into XP. MS really stepped over the line with this registration scheme.

IMHO,
all non-current windows OS should become public domain. Other companies should be allowed to take the source code and develop it as they see fit. That would spark competition and end the strangle hold MS has on the computer world.

 

[Namuna]

One, ubiquitous Operating System (Windows that is) is the BEST and at the same time the WORST thing to happen to the computing world.

I could spend all week writing down the specific reasons for both. But let's summarize.

From the Support/Development standpoint, 1 universal OS is the best situation. You only have to develop for that 1 environment. You only have to support that 1 environment.

From the Financial/Competition standpoint, it SUCKS. Good for Microsoft, bad for EVERYBODY else. M$ is The Borg and they're just TOO DAMNED BIG to be defeated and if there's someone or something out there that might even REMOTELY have a chance of competing they will either destroy it or reverse engineer it as their own. And when you're a Monolithic GIANT with no competition, Innovation kind of gets put on the back burner.


The way I personally feel about Microsoft?...Resistance is futile, I will comply.

 

[Soybomb]

What do you mean monopoly? They don't have a monopoly. What do you mean competition from the start, its been there too. They're the dominant desktop os. They've done the work they needed to get into that position, you can't blame them for that. There are other desktop choices, they jsut aren't as popular. Servers is a whole different ballgame where ms needs to play catch-up.

 

[Priit]

Any kind of monopolity IMHO sucks. I don't think that MSFT's OSes are the best and cause of it I don't use them. My home computer is 100% M$-free...

 

[Descartes]

I'm with Namuna.

As for non-competition... All of the companies that develop these products SET OUT TO BE ACQUIRED BY MS!!

It's pretty simple. Microsoft has 30,000 companies PER YEAR submitting to them, asking to be a partner, acquired, whatever. Out of these 30,000 companies, a few thousand are invited to a conference. Out of these few thousand, some are acquired, some partner, etc..

So you see, these companies that &quot;can't survive, because MS is a monopoly&quot; set out to be acquired in the first place. If I were going to develop a product, I would most certainly target it towards MS, as that would be my best bet in being successful. With MS on your side, you can accomplish a lot.

With that said, lets take professional sports into consideration. If you have a player who is so superior to the rest of the league, do you hinder that person? Take Tiger Woods for example (he's in my town right now at the U.S. Open). He can make anyone truly look like an amateur. Do you hear anyone else crying about how good he is? Should be make his club shorter, say he can only play with 9 irons, etc.? HELL NO!

The same applies to MS. Just because they can beat you, doesn't mean you deserve an advantage. Build a better product, don't sell out when they offer you 100 million dollars for it (which is often what they do, and most people sell out -- I would too), and watch your product grow.

 

[warcleric]

Priit: if you are 100% MS free, then it is blatently obvious that MS doesnt have a monopoly correct?

 

[LordMaul]

Doesn't matter to me.

Win XP RULES.

 

[piku]

I agree with namuna. The best possible scenario is that in the future somehow Windows becomes open source (or something similar) and many companies end up making windows compatible operating systems. But they all have to support the same things (so one program could run on all different flavors). Sort of like how linux is set up now - tons of distros, but they all run the same programs.

Otherwise this would just end up like consoles where each console has its exclusive games, and if you own Console A and you want to play a game thats only out on Console B your screwed, etc. The main strength of PC's is that one windows program could run on any machine, and if it looses that advantage then PC's support is going to dwindle (and I'm not talking just games), expecially with consoles these days themselves becoming more like PC's.

 

m$ is not that prevalent.
Just last year they finally took market share for networking enviroments over novell.
There has been competition all along the way, but the competition just did not do business as well as M$ did. They did not make it to the top because their software sucks.



<< Hopefully consumers won't buy into XP. MS really stepped over the line with this registration scheme. >>


When you start making money selling software, then you will take a different stance on it.
I fully believe in open source, but M$ has to put food on the table just like everyone else.

M$ owns the desktop market because they did it BETTER then any one else.
Macintosh could not come ahead, because of stupid liscensing decisions.
*nix will NEVER EVER be prevalent in the desktop market. Yes *nix is better in many ways, but it is NOT for the end user. *nix is great and I love LOVE BSD, but *nix is just not moving in the right direction, computing should get easier as it goes not, not more dependent on this and then this is dependent on that and so on and so forth.

 

[Raspewtin]

i admit i know little about non-Unix OSs, but I would like to someday see a OS that runs Windows software but is not Microsoft (a compatible). I remember Os2 Warp ran Win software in emualtion for a while, didn't it?

 

[warcleric]

Piku: by your reasoning EVERYTHING should be open source, hell lets just kill off every incentive to innovate possible and put the whole industry at a stalemate.

 

[Stark]

<< What do you mean monopoly? They don't have a monopoly. >>


Either you work for MS or you're not in the computer field. Scott McNealy had a good line at the Hatch Senate hearings: &quot;the only thing I'd rather own than Windows is English... because then I could charge you $249 [for the] right to speak English, and then I could charge you an upgrade fee when I add new letters like N and T.&quot;

 

[Stark]

<< When you start making money selling software, then you will take a different stance on it.
I fully believe in open source, but M$ has to put food on the table just like everyone else. >>



Name one other software maker that makes you register their programs each time you install it and after you've purchased the license. Just one.


edit
all microsoft defenders need to read THIS STORY. Don't bother posting any more thoughts until you have the facts.

 

[UnixFreak]

M$ only has a monopoly on people who are ignorant. I have my flame suit on, but really, MS products are for people who want to spend a lot of money, on a low quality product. If they will continue to fork out the cash, why should they change?? The thing is, people use MS because they dont want to learn anything new. Thats the common reasoning people use against using *nix operating systems. they dont want to &quot;learn new things&quot; and its &quot;too complicated&quot; but really, the architecture is so much simpler than MS operating systems. People just get used to Windows, and dont want to learn something new, so they bend over and pay the big bucks for their needs. Server going slow? buy new hardware. New M$ operating system comes out, (which, incidently, is slower) so they fork out the big bucks for the new OS, plus the new hardware, while us Unix Guys laugh, as our OS's get faster with every release. People get what they deserve. Anything you can do with windows, you can do faster, and more efficiently, with linux or Unix. Plus, you get stability to boot. M$ is not a monopoly anymore, get over it.

 

[Stark]

UnixFreak,

Ok, buddy. Let's see you try to support a company with a few hundred workstations to run entirely on Linux. You need to train the people, find software, and be able to walk people through problems remotely. Good luck.