Comment by bad_user
9 years ago
Anti-trust laws and governments exist for a reason: such that "the majority of people" don't have to concern themselves with matters that affect them but for which they've got no competency.
You've just made an appeal to popularity, an obvious fallacy.
Microsoft killed BeOS and almost killed Apple through anti-competitive behavior. Whether Windows was superior, that's irrelevant to our discussion, because they engaged in anti-competitive behavior, which hurts the market and consequently the people. And this is a fact, because Microsoft is a convicted monopoly and they got lucky with the Bush administration.
> If I boycotted every company who played hard-ball politics, I would be living alone and naked in the woods.
That's odd, given that consumers exercising choice is how capitalism is supposed to work. If you boycotted every company who played dirty, that's called "voting with your wallet" and it works surprisingly well ;-)
> Scott Hanselman's article is a whole 20 paragraphs long, it wasn't ever supposed to be a comprehensive coverage of every action Microsoft has ever taken.
My point is that Scott Hanselman's article is pure PR bullshit because he never addressed any important problems.
> ...with matters that affect them...
I already said that this matter DID NOT affect them because the great majority of people would never have used Linux on their desktop to begin with. So your entire argument is invalid.
Furthermore, the anti-trust case against Microsoft surrounded Internet Explorer, not Linux.
> Microsoft killed BeOS...
Citation?
> ...and almost killed Apple...
Umm, Bill Gates saved Apple is more like it.
> If you boycotted every company who played dirty, that's called "voting with your wallet" and it works surprisingly well ;-)
Yes, but again....you're obviously not doing that because if you boycotted every company who played dirty you'd be living naked in the woods. If you just did it within the realm of technology, you'd be Richard Stallman. LOL
> My point is that Scott Hanselman's article is pure PR bullshit...
In your opinion... Of course he specifically says "I don't speak for Microsoft, I'm not a mouthpiece or a marketer. Sure, I promote the stuff I work on, because some of it is damn cool stuff. I'm a programmer with a blog who likes to speak on technology. But I am not my employer."
followed by
" I like the direction we're heading. I work here to fix stuff. Some folks complain, some tweet complaints, I'm here to fix it. If it was a lost cause, I'd quit, as I truly don't need the job that badly."
Anyway, I don't know why you care so much about that article. There are millions Microsoft fans out there that probably didn't even read it, who don't really care about your politics at all.
Enjoy your crusade though!
:)