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Living Room / Re: Microsoft antitrust farce ends, did it really do anything useful?
« Last post by Josh on May 13, 2011, 05:57 AM »Zaine
The ONLY negative I saw from MS at the time was it forcing OEMs to bundle Windows. That was corrected right at the start of the anti-trust efforts.
Microsoft bundling IE with Windows was needed for us to get where we are today. Google is now doing the EXACT SAME THING with Chrome OS. The web browser was fundamental to the evolution of computing and Microsoft realized this. Had anyone else, but Microsoft, done this it would have been called revolutionary.
That is one thing I've noticed about Microsoft. When they do something, people always question motives and intent. When Apple or Linux implement something, it's revolutionary.
I keep seeing you refer to OOXML as well. It's funny that you keep referring to this as this hugely evil and bad event. The only real news I saw about it seemed more like OOo.org complaining about its lack of acceptance.
You also claim that businesses are chomping at the bit now to switch from MS due to the "hassle" involved. I disagree and claim the exact opposite. Most are happy with where they are at. I see companies I work with (not for) planning Windows 7 upgrade paths, getting ready to deploy office 2010 on an enterprise level, getting ready to migrate to exchange 2010 and upgrading to sharepoint services. Why? Because they all integrate well. Show me an enterprise level CMS system on any other platform that is as easy to use, flexible, and integrated as sharepoint. Show me an office suite that can do everything office 2010 can do while working so well together with other components. LibreOffice is nowhere near on par with what you can do in office 2010. It still looks like office 2003 and after deploying it at several organizations, I can tell you from first-hand experience that users are far more productive in the modern distribution (2007/2010) of Microsoft Office than they are in LibreOffice.
Case and point, the competing products are not at a level of functionality, integration, and ease of use to be widely accepted. Linux and surrounding platforms would be used far more on the enterprise workstation if they were ready for corporate use. Yes, some small businesses can get away with running it, but I seriously doubt many fortune 500 companies could switch to a *nix platform and not spend an unworldly amount trying to retrain users and update systems. So, again, I disagree with your statement that businesses are looking to get away from the Microsoft "stranglehold".
The whole antitrust effort was about Microsoft bundling IE for free. Had MS not done what they had we would not be where we are today. Had someone else started with this idea and made an OS with an integrated web browser similar to how MS implemented it, again it would have been revolutionary and not monopolistic.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Don't get me wrong, we have evolved and competition is more fierce than ever. So if I had to point out two good points from this mess, it would be the removal of Microsoft's OEM practices and the increased innovation Microsoft is now doing thanks to the increased competition.
The ONLY negative I saw from MS at the time was it forcing OEMs to bundle Windows. That was corrected right at the start of the anti-trust efforts.
Microsoft bundling IE with Windows was needed for us to get where we are today. Google is now doing the EXACT SAME THING with Chrome OS. The web browser was fundamental to the evolution of computing and Microsoft realized this. Had anyone else, but Microsoft, done this it would have been called revolutionary.
That is one thing I've noticed about Microsoft. When they do something, people always question motives and intent. When Apple or Linux implement something, it's revolutionary.
I keep seeing you refer to OOXML as well. It's funny that you keep referring to this as this hugely evil and bad event. The only real news I saw about it seemed more like OOo.org complaining about its lack of acceptance.
You also claim that businesses are chomping at the bit now to switch from MS due to the "hassle" involved. I disagree and claim the exact opposite. Most are happy with where they are at. I see companies I work with (not for) planning Windows 7 upgrade paths, getting ready to deploy office 2010 on an enterprise level, getting ready to migrate to exchange 2010 and upgrading to sharepoint services. Why? Because they all integrate well. Show me an enterprise level CMS system on any other platform that is as easy to use, flexible, and integrated as sharepoint. Show me an office suite that can do everything office 2010 can do while working so well together with other components. LibreOffice is nowhere near on par with what you can do in office 2010. It still looks like office 2003 and after deploying it at several organizations, I can tell you from first-hand experience that users are far more productive in the modern distribution (2007/2010) of Microsoft Office than they are in LibreOffice.
Case and point, the competing products are not at a level of functionality, integration, and ease of use to be widely accepted. Linux and surrounding platforms would be used far more on the enterprise workstation if they were ready for corporate use. Yes, some small businesses can get away with running it, but I seriously doubt many fortune 500 companies could switch to a *nix platform and not spend an unworldly amount trying to retrain users and update systems. So, again, I disagree with your statement that businesses are looking to get away from the Microsoft "stranglehold".
The whole antitrust effort was about Microsoft bundling IE for free. Had MS not done what they had we would not be where we are today. Had someone else started with this idea and made an OS with an integrated web browser similar to how MS implemented it, again it would have been revolutionary and not monopolistic.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Don't get me wrong, we have evolved and competition is more fierce than ever. So if I had to point out two good points from this mess, it would be the removal of Microsoft's OEM practices and the increased innovation Microsoft is now doing thanks to the increased competition.
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