Re: [OT] MS vs Linux vs who in the student heart? (still mostly): Rant! (was) Development process in the Ada community

[Adrian Hoe <mailbox@*nospam*adrianhoe.com>]

Kent Paul Dolan wrote:
> 
> "Richard Riehle" <richard@adaworks.com> wrote:
> 
> > Robert Dewar wrote:
> 
> > > Hint: anything to do with Microsoft does NOT appeal to students these
> > > days, who routinely refer to Microsoft as the "dark side", a
> > > phenomenon that I think MS should be
> > > paying far more attention too :-)
> 
> Yep, it's still a fact, in our virtual universe, that reputation is the
> only solid asset, and Microsoft seems to have spent theirs dry.
> 
> > I can confirm this.   More and more of my students puchase
> > laptops and immediately install Linux.  They refuse to use
> > the computers in the official lab because they all run Microsoft
> > products.
> 
> What pleasant news!  By the time I am 80, this generation will be in
> charge of technology buying, and Microsoft products won't even be
> considered.  Life is going to be much, much better.  I wonder who the
> bad guys will be by then?
> 
> > Microsoft, for these students, is characterized by is monopolistic
> > path into the blue screen of death.
> 
> It's probably too late for Microsoft already, but about a dozen *free*
> OS upgrade releases with no new features, just bug-fixes, with all their
> software talent focused on wringing out bugs, would go a long way toward
> salvaging their ruined reputation.  My experience ends with NT, but at
> least up to there, application programs can still crash the OS, not an
> acceptable situation, and part of the reason the 24x7 online community
> is so disgusted with NT.
> 
> > Linux, right or wrong,
> > represents freedom from unjust restraint.
> 
> We'll see; another evil empire of old bought into the Linux world
> big-time, and has, from my personal experience as an insider, still not
> learned from past rejection of monopolistic tactics any new ethics of
> corporate culture to prevent its trying to steamroll its way to success
> in the face of absolute resistance from the customer / user community to
> such tactics.  I'm fearful Linux is going to end up wholly captive and
> ground under the same boot-heels.
> 
> xanthian.
> 
> --
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I broke Windows and breathed free air many years back. But I think the
glass is still around at least it will stay for some time in Asia
regions. The trend is very obvious. Hardware giant like Dell, Compaq and
HP are reluctant to bundle Linux with their machines for Asian markets.
Why? The people here have been stupefied by advertisement and TV tech
programs. That's why the Windows still refrain the market in this
region. Nevertheless, Linux is getting popular here, at least slowly.

It is the same to Ada in this region. Only a few "rebels" who seek
different direction make the shift.
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