TCO, security concerns, etc. You're assuming that Bill & Co. are sitting on their hands over these issues. The fact is they're not. Oh, I doubt that they'll ever produce an OS that's going to be 100% secure or satisfactory. But for a time whatever OS that comes out of MSFT is going to be "good enough" for many people for one reason or another. That's when the $$ comes pouring in; then they'll move on to the next version and sell people the next big thing. That's the MSFT way. They're also extremely good at pushing the greed buttons: One thing about the MSFT bandwagon, every serf (developer, support engineer, reseller, etc.) makes money. This franchise is better than McDonald's. It's in every serf's interest to keep selling the Dream of Bill.
Perhaps the age of idealism that you experienced came about at a time when people perceived their condition to be in a pretty sorry state and there wasn't much they could do about it. So they rebelled against the system. Then came the technology boom with MSFT at the forefront. Suddenly the barrier to wealth got lowered and the capital required to participate was mainly one's intellect. Now there was hope, and becoming rich was more attainable than ever. Thus idealism went out the window and the race for wealth took center stage--not just in the US, btw; I see it nearly everywhere, Asia, Europe, you name it. Call me cynical, but that's the way it's been ever since. I can't imagine a situation (short of something cataclysmic) that would make the pendulum swing back.
--we-- |
