On 11/30/2013 04:37 AM, William Sommerwerck wrote:
PC makers include Windows because Microsoft used monopolistic
methods to crush any competition.

This was true in the days of MS-DOS, when Microsoft obliged computer
makers to put DOS on all their machines, if they wanted a license.
Microsoft took a lot of flak for that, and it eventually ended. I don't
believe it occurs with Windows.


I'd be fine if they charged a reasonable fee, but over $200 is
excessive in light of what others charge for theirs, which I believe
is zero.

It depends on what you're getting. In theory, the product you pay most
for should give you the best quality, the rationale being that the
manufacturer will continually plow its profits into improving its product.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has demonstrated its inability (or
unwillingness) to produce an OS that's stable and bug-free. The reason
Windows 7 was an improvement over its predecessors is that Microsoft
finally got wise and hired some guy (I forget his name) who kicked butt.

I just read that Apple appears to be falling down on the -- uh -- job,
and its current OS release has many problems.

Steve Jobs supposedly admired Edwin Land, who said "One or two people
can be creative. A committee cannot." Great products (and Land certainly
had his share) are usually the result of a single, focused point of
view. When he was working on the SX-70, many people within the company
said it wouldn't work. Land didn't fire them -- but he kept away from them.

A similar problem exists with Linux -- there is no central authority
dictating what Linux should "look like" or how it should behave. This
would appear to make Linux susceptible to the same problem as most
operating systems -- creeping featuritis.

In case you're wondering... I hate Apple and I hate Microsoft. Both
companies stink, the latter because its products rarely come up to the
quality level you expect, and the former because it lies, lies, lies.

I'm writing this on a computer running Windows 7 Professional 64. Though
it might surprise you, the system is stable and rarely locks up or has
Weird Problems. On the other hand, a friend of mine who used a Macintosh
told me (about seven years ago) that the OS "collapsed" and had to be
reinstalled. It happens.

I don't hate either company; I even own an iPod touch. Like I said
previously when my XP netbook is no longer supported I will get a Win 7
premium used desktop from an authorized refurbisher for under $100, OS
inclusive.

I am on an old gamer machine right now, an ASUS P4 with liquid cooled 3
GHz Intel processors.