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Microsoft has screwed its users again. That's right, I said it! Other than its historical accomplishment of greatly contributing to the reality of an affordable computer in every home, the T-Rex of Redmond has a lot to answer for.
The list of offenses has grown too long. Microsoft conned Seattle Computer out of the original "86-DOS" that ended up renamed and distributed with IBM computers, engineering a machine of multibillion dollar wealth, of which Seattle Computer ultimately saw only $75,000. Microsoft Windows 1.0 was "inspired" by a preexisting Apple OS; many of the programs that ran on those first Windows iterations were equally "inspired" or stolen, depending on your point of view. Internet Explorer, which could have been an honest attempt to compete with Netscape, instead became a method to destroy Netscape via installation agreements with OEM computer makers, then later was an affront to many Windows users by needlessly integrating the browser into the operating system. Before I get too carried away, I will fast-forward to the reason I wrote this post. Games for Windows and Vista? Microsoft, tell me you were only joking. Back in the days when the Games for Windows rollout would have meant something (in other words, back when console gaming was beginning to seriously encroach on the PC gaming market share), what did Microsoft do? They gave the world yet another gaming console, and called it Xbox. Instead of doing something revolutionary that kept their own end users' best interests in mind, they simply repeated their predictable knee-jerk behavior, and produced another "me too" product that they hoped would grab them their own piece of one more previously non-Microsoft pie. Back in 2001, if Microsoft had instead introduced Games for Windows, and supported it more effectively than the PR disaster they foisted on the public in 2007, they would have garnered much more loyalty from the gaming community... thus ultimately insuring their OS preeminence for at least a little while longer. Did Microsoft truly think that users would cheer and gladly pony up the dough for the (then) new OS called Vista, just because the release of Halo 2 was inexplicably restricted to Vista support only? I say 'inexplicably' because the decision defies common sense in terms of respecting the Windows consumer base; it makes perfect sense in a scenario where the faithful Windows users are merely a means to a lucrative end. One bitter irony regarding the aforementioned decision is that Vista eventually came to be recognized as an OS that offered somewhat lousy support (in some cases, no support at all!) for many games created for previous Windows operating systems, including XP. But then again, Microsoft has never been praised for their efforts to maintain backwards compatibility. Where's the money in that, right? I will never tire of reminding the world (and myself) of this fact: If the vast majority of current, mainstream computer video games were not written for Windows, I would ecstatically abandon Microsoft operating systems and never, ever look back. MS OS's are, still in 2009, intermittently unreliable and user-defiant. The much more stable (and secure!) Linux operating system has become so user-friendly and accessible, that the previous restrictions on mass migration, based on the average user's computer savvy, are almost completely extinct. Other than the gaming issue, there is no longer a compelling reason to continue using an inferior product when a superior one is literally FREE to everyone! There just hasn't been an effective marketing campaign for Linux, since the nature of open-source is more word-of-mouth, and no one "owns" Linux itself in a commercial sense. Thanks to an eager and innovative, worldwide open-source community, there will eventually be more software available for Linux than Windows. This trend, which will continue unabated, is strengthened by Windows emulators like Wine, and will steamroller Microsoft eventually. Once a wishful pipe dream of malcontented computer users, this pending reality is now only a matter of time. This means you too, Jobs. The only thing saving Apple right now is attitude, myth, and mall shops filled with cleverly marketed electronic crack. Jobs has apparently forgotten the famous mistake in judgement by IBM, regarding hardware versus software. Anything X can do, Linux can do better, and for free. Furthermore, mark my words very carefully, Redmond: the day that an open-source Linux emulation for Windows games is seamless and leaves no games unsupported, you will experience such a massive exodus from your operating systems that your share of the PC market will incrementally dwindle down to even less than Mac-ish proportions. Perhaps, Microsoft, you will then finally take your lip-service project named "Games for Windows" much more seriously. Have your collective intellectual faculties actually lost track of the fact that gamers are the principle force that drives the PC hardware market? The gaming world doesn't need another console, it needs a reason to stay with Windows for PC gaming. If that reason gets taken away by an all-inclusive Windows emulator in Linux, it will only be a matter of time before the ripples of the geek reaction extend to every square inch of surface of the entire computer pond. Then it's good-bye 90% market share. Hey, it was a great run. Though Microsoft's OS division will certainly flounder and thrash about with the predictable assistance of legal actions against specific individuals in the open-source community, these efforts will merely be the final convulsions of a once-great idea that was lost to basic greed and myopia. Microsoft and Apple are not controlled by stupid people. I think that deep down inside, both Microsoft and Apple leaders have known for some time now that their shares of the computer operating system market would eventually bow to Linux (or some other open-source OS). Perhaps that's why their interests have diversified into hardware and other non-OS ventures; they can't control the game anymore, but they'd still like to maintain a seat at the table. |