For example, I don't have to worry nearly as much about email viruses because I use Eudora.
Good reason. However, it's hard for me to blame MS for the popularity of Outlook, Word, Excel, etc. Unless Eudora is inherently superior, more secure code then if it were as popular I presume it would be spewing pheremones in the direction of virus generators too.
But since I've joined the devil by buying a measly share and learned to stop hating the bomb, I'll serve as devil's advocate. I can't believe I'm making this argument and it properly will be ignored by the thread as a dead horse, but it's tiring to keep hearing the argument that "well, it's not Microsoft".
As for stifling innovation, I say prove it or just use something else if you like. I think Beta was better than VHS. Apple probably had the better GUI. The Ford Escort was a few years ago the biggest selling car in the world. Go figger. Most of us use an MS OS and know how imperfect they can be. Applications too. I liked AMI Pro better than Word, for instance. I've use computers in my work since the early 80s and I've never met an OS or application that didn't bite you in the ass now and then. But MS has become a standard like it or not. I think the fact that there is a world wide standard is far more beneficial than the fractious bunch of formats before MS's dominance became clear. In the desktop arena anyway. And yeah, I hate B. Gates because he's so fucking rich and I'm not. |
