>>Thats pretty funny. But just wait till the customer trys to buy a non-Ford only to find out it won't run on 85% of the roads. Who "innovated" that? :-)
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>Indeed. This is my problem with C#. Microsoft was unable to "control" Java. So, it basically cuts its losses there, creates a "new" language, and drops support for anything related to Java.
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>But I think it is very important for all of us, the customers and developers to realize that we are complicit in much of Microsoft's hegemony. And indeed, when they were perceived as more of an ally, it was easier to, um to put it delicately shall we say, "submit to their blandishments". I think it is really important for us to preserve the roadway for everyone.
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>>Or, goes to a dealer and although buying another car, has to take home a Ford, too, and can't get a refund on the unused Ford. The dealer can't sell any cars if he doesn't sell a Ford along with all the others.
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>Yes. To me that is a very clear-cut case of bullying, both of customers and of hardware distributors. I thought this was finally declared illegal and that they were supposed to stop.
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>What I find REALLY pathetic in all this is that Microsoft used to compete on technical grounds using innovative technical means. Now they are just acting like IBM in the 90's. ("YOU WILL USE SNA!!") Who would of thunk it?


Well, I was a loyal Microsoft fanatic until Win95. It was so buggy and crash prone it gave me and my clients fits. When I went looking for another, more stable, OS I had OS/2 in mind, thinking that I could run apps specific for it, even if it didn't support WinXX because of Gate's tweeking the code to prevent such compatibility. But, I found Linux instead. It was while I was trying to get Linux up and running I came up against and realized the full extent of Microsoft's illegal monopoly corruption of the PC industry. I thought the DrDOS case was an isolated example, until I began investigating. The more I found out, the more angry I became. That I why I support the breakup of Microsoft into at least three separate companies: OS, Office, and other apps.