I have to admit that my dislike of Micro$oft started in 1976 with Bill Gates 'open letter to computer hobbyists'. Prior to that I had been a M$ supporter. I had a computer that could run M$ 4KBasic at the time. I did not have it, I did not purchase it, either before or for sure not after the publication of that letter. ... I used machine, assembler, C, and 'open' basics that were available and being developed in that era.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Letter_to_Hobbyists -- comments about 'the letter' http://www.digibarn.com/collections/newsletters/homebrew/V2_01/index.html -- read the letter here It set the tone for my understanding of M$ from then on. And given the actions of M$ over the years (purchasing companies with good products, rebranding/renaming them, terminating non-Intel/non-Windows versions of their products and removing them from the market. And other predatory techniques (that the EU has had the nerve to prosecute, and the USA has not). M$ could be branded a economic terrorist by some with reasonable substantiation. So do I feel sorry for M$? Not likely. They made their own PR and technological bed. They need no sympathy. I run some of their products, typically when developers have not come up with a reasonable alternative or they 'develop first for the mass market'. I even understand the developers perspective. Is any of this attitude because Apple, Linux, or anything else is better? No. All tools have their place. M$ like all software and hardware companies develop tools. Theirs is often priced competitively for the service it provides. If it was not, the market would go elsewhere. But I seen to keep haring the old saw: "if the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems look like nails". Other have a different opinion. ... Am I right? Probably not totally but after 33 years, I doubt my attitude will change much. Time for me to switch to another channel. ... This one is raising my blood pressure to much. Enjoy, ... Jack --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NLUG" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nlug-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
