Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Politically Incorrect Pro-Microsoft Screed
Ross Mayfield's Weblog: The Spy Who Monopolized Me
Sorry, big screed to follow. The kind of kneejerk anti-Microsoft stuff found in Ross Mayfield's link, above, really steams me. Microsoft created the problem of spyware or viruses like a retail store creates the problem of shoplifting and robbery.
Monopoly? I seem to remember--maybe I'm too old--when Americans beat themselves up because we had lost the global economy to Japan. But when we homegrow our own dominant player, our response is to litigate. Cry foul.
Someday, when we're bemoaning the loss of American economic dominance to China, we'll remember the good old days and get misty eyed over ol' Bill Gates.
And to everyone who hates Microsoft because Apple is cool? It was Apple's monopolistic tactics which caused it to lose to the PC. Just as Beta was better than VHS, perhaps the Mac was better than the PC. But Apple didn't let others manufacture Macintosh clones until it was too late. And I believe Apple writes its own proprietary OS--something which Sony, HP, Dell and other PC makers don't. (That seems really monopolistic!) Sony made a similar mistake with Beta, and lost. They learned their lesson on DVDs, and won.
Bill Gates' vision of a computer in every office, and then in every home, revolutionized the world. It wasn't an elitist vision of the coolest system for the coolest graphic designers. It was a populist vision of good enough and cheap enough and it worked. It's why Ferraris rule, but there are more Fords on the road.
The new Microsoft vision of the fully media-center-enabled home and media-enabled mobile devices, is the next wave, which will change how we live. And how media companies deliver their content.
And for Mayfield to quote Sun Tzu in the link above is just simply irritating. Gates' tactics have always been about Sun Tzu. He won, others lost, by executing on the wisdom of the master strategist. Sun Tzu didn't offer strategies for being nice--he offered strategies to dominate, to win. Winners always look unfair to the losers.
I love open-source, and competition...and look forward to how Microsoft will respond. We consumers will only benefit. Let's just not be surprised when they don't roll over and play dead. Microsoft is a fierce competitor, and that's good.
So, I'm steeled for your responses on how wrong I am and what a dupe I am.
Thanks, I feel better now. Screed over.
Disclosure: I own a few hundred shares of Microsoft and Intel, and seriously doubt that this creates a tremendous amount of bias. I bought the stocks because I use the products. I'll sell them when I stop using the products.
Comments
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Sorry, big screed to follow. The kind of kneejerk anti-Microsoft stuff found in Ross Mayfield's link, above, really steams me. Microsoft created the problem of spyware or viruses like a retail store creates the problem of shoplifting and robbery.Monopoly? I seem to remember--maybe I'm too old--when Americans beat themselves up because we had lost the global economy to Japan. But when we homegrow our own dominant player, our response is to litigate. Cry foul.
Someday, when we're bemoaning the loss of American economic dominance to China, we'll remember the good old days and get misty eyed over ol' Bill Gates.
And to everyone who hates Microsoft because Apple is cool? It was Apple's monopolistic tactics which caused it to lose to the PC. Just as Beta was better than VHS, perhaps the Mac was better than the PC. But Apple didn't let others manufacture Macintosh clones until it was too late. And I believe Apple writes its own proprietary OS--something which Sony, HP, Dell and other PC makers don't. (That seems really monopolistic!) Sony made a similar mistake with Beta, and lost. They learned their lesson on DVDs, and won.
Bill Gates' vision of a computer in every office, and then in every home, revolutionized the world. It wasn't an elitist vision of the coolest system for the coolest graphic designers. It was a populist vision of good enough and cheap enough and it worked. It's why Ferraris rule, but there are more Fords on the road.
The new Microsoft vision of the fully media-center-enabled home and media-enabled mobile devices, is the next wave, which will change how we live. And how media companies deliver their content.
And for Mayfield to quote Sun Tzu in the link above is just simply irritating. Gates' tactics have always been about Sun Tzu. He won, others lost, by executing on the wisdom of the master strategist. Sun Tzu didn't offer strategies for being nice--he offered strategies to dominate, to win. Winners always look unfair to the losers.
I love open-source, and competition...and look forward to how Microsoft will respond. We consumers will only benefit. Let's just not be surprised when they don't roll over and play dead. Microsoft is a fierce competitor, and that's good.
So, I'm steeled for your responses on how wrong I am and what a dupe I am.
Thanks, I feel better now. Screed over.
Disclosure: I own a few hundred shares of Microsoft and Intel, and seriously doubt that this creates a tremendous amount of bias. I bought the stocks because I use the products. I'll sell them when I stop using the products.
