Bill - Bashing
Just a quick post. Do you guys feel that there’s alot of Microsoft and Bill Gates bashing lately? Well not lately because that happened since like… forever after opensource gained momentum. My point is, is this man (and the company) does not deserves all the bashing they’ve received lately. From the holes on their operating system and the possibilities of their next generation OS (Windows Vista) to be system hog and only includes facial make up of the previous operating system. On top of that, they also got bashed from a high error (among 2% I think?) on their XBOX 360 production.
Even though they can be really an arse such as enforcing the use of DRM on some of the software format, these guys also revolutionized how we do our daily PC activities. Linux becoming more friendlier because they wanted to compete with Windows easy-to-learn interface. Apple’s operating system (and hardware) got cheaper every day because they are trying to outsmart Microsoft on the operating system war. Google innovate everyday because there’s a big threat of competition from MSN (and also Yahoo! in this case). For God’s sake, they even force Sony to produce a better home-gaming/home-entertainment consoles. Plus, don’t forget that it is them (through their operating system) that brought PC to the masses.
Those are not a small role to play in, so stop bashing the man (and the company) and start working on something positive. If you’re not happy with their product, then don’t use it. I’m tired of Windows’ crash pattern and migrate to Linux. I’m tired of the not-so-intuitive (but nonetheless, friendly) Windows interface and then I migrate to MacOS. It’s f*ed up beyond any reason when you are bashing Microsoft and yet still hanging and gripping desperately on their products.
I was very actively bashing Microsoft (http://www.msversus.org) for years while I used their products at work. I had already switched away at home years earlier. I got so sick of Microsoft I quit my job and took a pay cut to start fresh developing software for other platforms.
I’ll tell you from a software developer’s experience of over 10 years that Microsoft has done nothing but harm the IT industry. The only positive thing Microsoft has ever done was help get personal computers cheap enough to enter everyone’s home. That’s it. And that was 15 years ago. I don’t know if we should give them credit for it because they didn’t bring about the reason that change is positive. They didn’t recognize the importance of the internet until almost 20 years after it was invented. They didn’t invent great desktop apps. They just brought a platform to the masses. But the reason that’s great isn’t because of their software; it’s because of what everyone else has done with it.
They deserve nothing but bashing. They continue to hold back my industry, help in the creation of laws that hinder my freedom, and force hardware manufacturers to limit innovation. I won’t stop fighting them until they’re completely marginalized or I can convince everyone I know to drop their products.