I spent my childhood living in Naples, Italy. The city and community was filled with competition. My dad owned his own pizza place next to his cousins pizza place. They were angry at each other, many times going to the street in their white cooking clothes and yelling at each other. Other one took off customers from the another. They could had sold many more delicious pizzas, but couldn't because there just wasn't enough customers. What I learned from it was that you need a clean playing field, so I moved t
While I severely doubt the truth of the above anecdote (especially given your username) the basic point is correct. In the vast majority of circumstances more competition in a market is better for consumers not worse. This is one of the major reasons the United States has anti-trust rules. Consumers should be far more worried about a single monolith controlling an entire industry.
Yes, in the majority of cases more competition is better. Then there are operating systems.
Until applications and data are built on completely open standards -- interoperable with ANY capable device -- this multiple OS business is just a hassle for consumers.
Imagine if your must-have pizza topping was incompatible with any other company's pizzas!
Until applications and data are built on completely open standards -- interoperable with ANY capable device -- this multiple OS business is just a hassle for consumers.
You haven't been paying much attention to where the technology is going, have you? As it stands right now, any program written for.Net that relies on the built-in namespaces instead of Windows specific API calls will run on Linux or Mac with the Mono CLI. That's the direction MS is moving, and they are the Giant Evil Corporation(tm) who is most likely to fight this sort of change. They have to move this direction, however, or else be passed by in the open movement that is going on.
...ok, then point me to the.NET desktop app that is compatable across all of those platforms like a curses or X app can target all of the various Unixes? Until there is something a Mac user would want in such an app, all rhetoric to that effect is just mindless propaganda..NET is just a way for Linux or MacOS to move away from their core strengths while getting nothing in the bargain except 2nd or 3rd class status with respect to the relevant "standard".
If it weren't for competition between OSs, we'd still be using MS-DOS.
Windows only came about because of competition from the Apple Mac.
MacOS and Windows only got things like pre-emptive multitasking because Linux showed it was possible on consumer level hardware.
I remember thinking there was something inherent about PC hardware that meant you had to reboot in order to change IP address, until Linux proved otherwise. I'm *certain* Windows wouldn't have fixed this without competition from Linux.
I remember thinking there was something inherent about PC hardware that meant you had to reboot in order to change IP address...
I recently had to repair a network filled with Win98 boxes and a Win2000 server, and OH MY GOD was it annoying! Sure, you can do DHCP, no problem, just need a quick reboot... Oh, you expected me to pick up the DNS via DHCP too? Sorry Charlie, that has to be set manually. No worries though, just punch in the IP addresses and give it a quick reboot... What's that? Something is wrong with the DHCP and you need a new IP address? No worries, just punch in the new one and give it a quick reboot...
If it weren't for competition between OSs, we'd still be using MS-DOS.
Hmm... possibly. We had Amigas, Atari STs, Macs, Apple-IIs and Amstrads back then. The OS was a non-issue, as the hardware was where the competition lived, and the applications was what we bought the hardware for. Few cared about the OS, except as a springboard into the apps.
MacOS and Windows only got things like pre-emptive multitasking because Linux showed it was possible on consumer level hardware.
None of this stuff is surprising in any way. You're right that consumers should worry more about monopolies, yet this competition is proof that the monopolies are weaker than ever, which is a win for consumers. Google has been deliberately undermining MS for years for example by supporting firefox in order to wrest the browser market from MS. Once they went public with the Chrome browser, android and the chrome OS it became obvious that Google feels strong enough to go head to head with MS in a far more
Just don't act surprised down the road if, in the event Google becomes the market dominating monolith MS once was, they begin acting like a monopoly.
I think it is a matter of priorities. We need Google to prevent Microsoft from extending their monopoly on the desktop onto the internet. Just imagine a world where Microsoft dominates both. Really scary thought! Once the Microsoft threat of total world domination diminishes, then we will worry about Google - if we need to. Google has done so much good in this
A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems.
-- P. Erdos
This is how we did it in Naples (Score:4, Funny)
Re:This is how we did it in Naples (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1, Insightful)
Yes, in the majority of cases more competition is better. Then there are operating systems.
Until applications and data are built on completely open standards -- interoperable with ANY capable device -- this multiple OS business is just a hassle for consumers.
Imagine if your must-have pizza topping was incompatible with any other company's pizzas!
Re: (Score:2)
Until applications and data are built on completely open standards -- interoperable with ANY capable device -- this multiple OS business is just a hassle for consumers.
You haven't been paying much attention to where the technology is going, have you? As it stands right now, any program written for .Net that relies on the built-in namespaces instead of Windows specific API calls will run on Linux or Mac with the Mono CLI. That's the direction MS is moving, and they are the Giant Evil Corporation(tm) who is most likely to fight this sort of change. They have to move this direction, however, or else be passed by in the open movement that is going on.
Linux products like Wi
Re: (Score:2)
...ok, then point me to the .NET desktop app that is compatable across all of those platforms like a curses or X app can target all of the various Unixes? Until there is something a Mac user would want in such an app, all rhetoric to that effect is just mindless propaganda. .NET is just a way for Linux or MacOS to move away from their core strengths while getting nothing in the bargain except 2nd or 3rd class status with respect to the relevant "standard".
Re: (Score:2)
If it weren't for competition between OSs, we'd still be using MS-DOS.
Windows only came about because of competition from the Apple Mac.
MacOS and Windows only got things like pre-emptive multitasking because Linux showed it was possible on consumer level hardware.
I remember thinking there was something inherent about PC hardware that meant you had to reboot in order to change IP address, until Linux proved otherwise. I'm *certain* Windows wouldn't have fixed this without competition from Linux.
Re: (Score:2)
I remember thinking there was something inherent about PC hardware that meant you had to reboot in order to change IP address...
I recently had to repair a network filled with Win98 boxes and a Win2000 server, and OH MY GOD was it annoying! Sure, you can do DHCP, no problem, just need a quick reboot... Oh, you expected me to pick up the DNS via DHCP too? Sorry Charlie, that has to be set manually. No worries though, just punch in the IP addresses and give it a quick reboot... What's that? Something is wrong with the DHCP and you need a new IP address? No worries, just punch in the new one and give it a quick reboot...
Note that a
Re: (Score:2)
If it weren't for competition between OSs, we'd still be using MS-DOS.
Hmm... possibly. We had Amigas, Atari STs, Macs, Apple-IIs and Amstrads back then. The OS was a non-issue, as the hardware was where the competition lived, and the applications was what we bought the hardware for. Few cared about the OS, except as a springboard into the apps.
MacOS and Windows only got things like pre-emptive multitasking because Linux showed it was possible on consumer level hardware.
Aren't you forgetting the Amiga? Befor
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
None of this stuff is surprising in any way. You're right that consumers should worry more about monopolies, yet this competition is proof that the monopolies are weaker than ever, which is a win for consumers. Google has been deliberately undermining MS for years for example by supporting firefox in order to wrest the browser market from MS. Once they went public with the Chrome browser, android and the chrome OS it became obvious that Google feels strong enough to go head to head with MS in a far more
Re: (Score:2)
I think it is a matter of priorities. We need Google to prevent Microsoft from extending their monopoly on the desktop onto the internet. Just imagine a world where Microsoft dominates both. Really scary thought! Once the Microsoft threat of total world domination diminishes, then we will worry about Google - if we need to. Google has done so much good in this