NickCoons - 6:36 am on Jul 7, 2006 (gmt 0)

With each step they take in this direction, they shoot themselves in the foot a little more. For another group of people, each of these steps is "the straw the breaks the camal's back"; and more and more will seek alternatives. Suppose it goes that way, u mean to say that no good would come out of it on a long run?

My mistake.. yes, it absolutely would be good in the long run. While I argue that their common practices are bad for them and for all Windows users, I obviously like seeing them lose market share because of their stupid decisions.

MS seems to be using the wrong equation to evaluate their situation. They are thinking, "millions of people are using hacked software, at a loss of billions to us..." I would propose a different calculus: "Our monopolist position is our entire competitive advantage - and it should be preserved at any expense."

Yeah, I always thought it was great when a software company claimed to lose X dollars because of hacked copies, because they assume that all of those pirates would have purchased the software otherwise.

what alternatives...you mean stone age elaborate versions of dos like OP systems...:(

I don't know why someone would want a DOS-like system; so no, that's not what I mean. I was referring specifically to Linux, which is in no way DOS-like.

There is no IT industry and internet (as we know them today) without Microsft and the Windows Op system.

That's very true.. most of the IT industry man-hours are spent identifying Microsoft bugs, fixing Microsoft bugs, and/or finding ways to workaround Microsoft bugs. The IT industry as we know it would move on to more productive tasks instead of trying to bandaid Microsoft products together and make things barely work.

I'm a long-time Linux user. I have one Windows box at home, because I have to, but avoid using it whenever possible. I'm a control-freak, and Linux gives me the ability to do whatever I want. For me, Windows being closed-source is enough to not use it. For others, that doesn't matter at all. Each time Microsoft does something that pushes the envelope that much further (Windows Activation, Windows Genuine Advantage, and I can only imagine what restrictions Vista will entail), another group of people will be put off by it and look to something else (yes, Linux in most cases).

I'll rant and rave about how moronic I think their decisions are, but secretly I'm happy whenever these decisions cause another person to say, "That's it, I've had enough of this, I'm trying something else!"