Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
"Of course you know, this means WAR Gentlemen!" Microsoft makes its move.
iphigenie:
That's the thing -- we need more people to ditch it. The MS ecosystem is simply too pervasive.
I cannot ditch MS entirely. There's simply no way. I make my living on it. I'm not willing to starve my family because of "principles". My first priority is my family, and there's no way out for me with MS.
-Renegade (January 14, 2012, 11:04 AM)
--- End quote ---
Don't move over to windows 8 :) You're probably going to be OK sticking to Windows 7 for a long time without needing to starve your family :)
40hz:
In the final analysis, if you don't like windows or how it operates.... don't buy it.
-hpearce (January 14, 2012, 10:22 AM)
--- End quote ---
It is amazing how many problems would be solved if people followed this philosophy.
-Josh (January 14, 2012, 10:42 AM)
--- End quote ---
Would that it were that simple.
But in this case, those who don't like Windows enough to look for an alternative OS are in the distinct minority.
What I worry about is that the classic 'open' PC platform disappears completely once Microsoft starts setting up lock-in deals with hardware manufacturers.
Look at it this way: If somebody like Gateway or Acer is offered Windows 8 (OEM edition) at $35-$50 per unit if they go with UEFI and Secure Boot (with the argument it improves security for the end-user and cuts down on support costs for the PC manufacturers and Microsoft) or $80-$100 per unit if they don't - care to hazard a guess as to which way it's going to go?
In the case of companies like Dell, who manufacture their own mobos, it's an even easier decision since they're not dictating to another manufacturer. It's an in-house decision. And 98+% of their PC business is Windows. (Try buying one without Windows installed if you don't believe it. It's possible. For some models. But it's not easy.) But there is nothing stopping Dell from locking out the end-user from making changes to Secure Boot. All they need to do is clearly inform the customer their machine will only run Windows 8 (or a later OS) from Microsoft. It can be purely Dell's decision (since Microsoft doesn't "require" it - nudge-nudge, wink-wink) which therefor isn't illegal unless a court decides otherwise. And with all the competition out there in PC land, the courts won't.
The real problem with this is that there could easily come a time when taking your money elsewhere won't be an option. Because there won't be anyplace else to take it unless you start manufacturing your own hardware. (Although there's a chance somebody like Ubuntu might since they're already talking about tablets. Ah...cancel that. Ubuntu's on the tablet/Unity bandwagon so completely they're getting just as bad as the other guys. So they probably wouldn't mind seeing the PITA open desktop environment go away either. )
It's very similar to the problem corporate ownership of TV networks causes for their news desks. The mothership trolls would never censor what their news affiliates chose to report. Nor would they ever so much as hint at what stories an editor should or shouldn't run. They won't whisper so much as a single word. Nor would they want to. Because they know that cultivating low-key paranoia in an employee is much more effective since it leads to self-policing.
Let's imagine an editor for the 6 o'clock news called Ellen. Ellen is very aware of who she ultimately works for. And she knows that if she pushes things too far, or in the wrong direction, somebody someplace "high up" might suddenly take an interest in her career.
She's also smart enough to know any reprisals will be extremely oblique and impossible to prove. So she (since she is very smart) decides to self-censor herself and pull some punches with the news. She'll call it exercising editorial judgement, responsibility, and restraint. And it will be impossible to prove otherwise. And maybe, after a few years, she'll even believe it.
And that is exactly what has happened with network news reporting in the last decade.
Going back to PC hardware manufacturers, if they're in a position of staying on the good side of Microsoft by no longer supporting a miniscule portion of their former market, it doesn't take much thought as to which way to jump. There's nothing forcing them to leave their Secure Boot options user accessible. And as long as they're not being forced ('forced' being a relative thing here) by Microsoft, there's no violation of US law. Especially since US anti-monopoly laws aren't designed to encourage competition or protect specific players in a given market. US antitrust regulations do not prevent the eventual formation of what is called a "natural monopoly." They're only there to prevent the 800lb. gorillas from using their influence alone to illegally compete. And illegal competitive practices are often extremely tough to prove under US law.
So to loop back - yes, you can vote with your wallet.
But only up to a point where there are actual choices. Once the choices are gone (through machination or natural attrition) your only 'choice' is to buy what you really don't want - or do without completely.
And, in this new world we're building for ourselves, not owning some form of computer is rapidly becoming a non-option as well.
8)
Edvard:
In the final analysis, if you don't like windows or how it operates.... don't buy it.
-hpearce (January 14, 2012, 10:22 AM)
--- End quote ---
It is amazing how many problems would be solved if people followed this philosophy.
-Josh (January 14, 2012, 10:42 AM)
--- End quote ---
I've been saying as much all along, but this is a VERY different beast we're now talking about.
This is hardware.
"So what? Apple's done that for years", you might say.
This is diffferent.
Apple has their own stuff, and a niche market.
This is Microsoft.
That means everything else.
Do you not get it yet?
EVERYTHING ELSE.
Please understand this, I don't want to get angry.
.. yet.
steeladept:
In the final analysis, if you don't like windows or how it operates.... don't buy it.
-hpearce (January 14, 2012, 10:22 AM)
--- End quote ---
It is amazing how many problems would be solved if people followed this philosophy.
-Josh (January 14, 2012, 10:42 AM)
--- End quote ---
I've been saying as much all along, but this is a VERY different beast we're now talking about.
This is hardware.
"So what? Apple's done that for years", you might say.
This is diffferent.
Apple has their own stuff, and a niche market.
This is Microsoft.
That means everything else.
Do you not get it yet?
EVERYTHING ELSE.
Please understand this, I don't want to get angry.
.. yet.
-Edvard (January 14, 2012, 03:15 PM)
--- End quote ---
Um, yeah, except Apple isn't a niche market anymore. Besides, with all the holes Microsoft always bakes in, I see this as a potentially good thing. Why? Because Apple has relied on the very same UEFI to lock software to hardware and viseversa. If people break it for Microsoft, and they will...eventually, don't you think it would be a pretty good bet the same or very similar hack will break OSX and the Apple monopoly. I am not completely certain that isn't a side goal of Microsoft.
Now, with all that said, I really only see this as another step of Microsoft out of ideas and "me too"ing Apple. It works for Apple, and they have no ideas, so let's do it too and lock everyone in again. The thing is, lock-in is how Microsoft beat all the competition in the late 80's...namely they didn't when everyone else did. Therefore while it will suck for a while, either they will use it to break competition again, or someone else will. Yes, it will take time, but it will happen.
I can tell you one thing, if they keep following Apple like they have been, my next machine will BE an Apple with VMware installing all other OS's (unless I can find a reliable way to virtualize OSX and it's ancestors). Microsoft doesn't have the balls to lock Windows out of a virtual environment. It will alienate way too many IT shops.
Renegade:
...
So to loop back - yes, you can vote with your wallet.
But only up to a point where there are actual choices. Once the choices are gone (through machination or natural attrition) your only 'choice' is to buy what you really don't want - or do without completely.
And, in this new world we're building for ourselves, not owning some form of computer is rapidly becoming a non-option as well.
8)
-40hz (January 14, 2012, 12:03 PM)
--- End quote ---
Dammit 40... I hate when you're right like this... :(
In the final analysis, if you don't like windows or how it operates.... don't buy it.
-hpearce (January 14, 2012, 10:22 AM)
--- End quote ---
It is amazing how many problems would be solved if people followed this philosophy.
-Josh (January 14, 2012, 10:42 AM)
--- End quote ---
I've been saying as much all along, but this is a VERY different beast we're now talking about.
This is hardware.
"So what? Apple's done that for years", you might say.
This is diffferent.
Apple has their own stuff, and a niche market.
This is Microsoft.
That means everything else.
Do you not get it yet?
EVERYTHING ELSE.
Please understand this, I don't want to get angry.
.. yet.
-Edvard (January 14, 2012, 03:15 PM)
--- End quote ---
Dammit... Why do you need to be right as well... :(
The server market will never allow this kind of hardware locking. Heck, Nginx is the #2 web server out there now. What does that say?
So, while computing options WILL remain open, I find it hard to believe that consumers would buy server hardware. It's simply too expensive for most people.
Kind of like cheap heroin. :(
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version