Edmund Storms wrote:
> I keep reading about the various ways the Windows operating system is > hacked because it is poorly written. This is one of the major reasons it is hacked. But there are others, and some are not Microsoft's fault. As Stephen A. Lawrence pointed out, it is the biggest target. The other reasons are mainly a consequence of the Microsoft's large size and market dominance. For example: Microsoft's products have to be backward compatible with legacy hardware and software. They have to work with a tremendous variety of different hardware configurations. If Microsoft changes the rules, millions of scanners and printers will be rendered useless. People will not upgrade. Microsoft has products in dozens of different countries and languages. Their customers demand a tremendous range of features, and will complain or abandon the product if these features are not preserved. For example, I use the American version of Microsoft Word to write in Japanese. That is an astounding ability. There are probably not more than 10,000 U.S. users, mainly Japanese people, who need this feature. The Google on line word processor supports Japanese only because Windows does, with no features such as an on-line dictionary or the equivalent to a spell checker, which Microsoft Word does have. Market dominance can be a tarpit. It sometimes hampers innovation and restricts choices. It has harmed or destroyed many companies in the past, especially IBM in the 1980s, and GM in recent decades. - Jed
