Is Microsoft really that bad ?

Hello everyone,

i was really wondering about this after so much debate with my friends also :

Is Microsoft really that bad ?


let's get everybody's views.
thanks

Geez, not another ms thread. Well, I'll tell you one thing, the ppl who talk bad about it will probably get this thread extremely positive. AO is more than a little biased. :) It all depends. MS is bad for other companies that have to struggle to compete. Yes, they don't like working with companies that work with rivals, but who would? And if you're a home user, then endless amount of patches and updates, and security vulnerabilities, and 3rd party software needed to make windows secure is both frustrating and annoying. But, MS also makes products that greatly enhance life with computers for many people. They make computers easier, friendlier, and more productive. Seriously, would you like to tackle a linux install? Sometimes they can be painless, but sometimes they're hell. Windows streamlines the setup process, and provides convenient access to cricitcal functions of the computer. Yes, it is a slob, it crashes, it is insecure, but it is easy, it is fast, and it is getting better. MS makes some great products, I don't think they're too bad, they makes some great products, and that's what matters. Though the usefullness, and security of those products can be debated, you can't argue much over the ease of use windows brings to computers. And that is what is really important, getting stuff done, fast, efficiently, and well.

hey linux, that's da sort of view i go with, nice balanced answer.
I hope i dont get negged in an MS fight here lol

Well, linuxlite, part of what you said was what I was going to say. So, I'll add that Microsoft makes a great mouse and a good keyboard. I also have xp on a computer and the wife has xp pro on hers.

Mostly I run an old 486 with Slack Linux but, if I need to get something done quickly and easily, I go to xp partly for the ease of the programs, as you mentioned and partly because I'm too stupid to buy a manual to really learn the Slackware. I'm a trial and error type person.

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Is Microsoft really that bad ?

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Yes.

I started out to be a big MS advocate but as Linuxelite has stated so well , MS has a place in the contemporary fabric of todays PC movement. However as an Übergeek I can't help but be drawn into the amazing world of LINUX and UNIX. Once you begin to learn LINUX/UNIX your views are forever changed and you start to see Microsoft in a different light. I use w2k to manage a Network in my home for LAN/WAN . It's what I know. As I learn more about LINUX/UNIX I phase out my Microsoft Servers and replace them with LINUX RedHat.

LINUX is not for everyone. FreeBSD is for only a few. I try to make converts everyday but most people do not want to learn how to do anything but "point & click".

Microsoft may have captured the PC / enduser market to a degree, but it will never run the internet or win the hearts of programmers.

Case in point: The next time you log on to a web site check and see what Web Server software they are running. It's not MS. Its UNIX.

Well there you have it.. M$ is for poit and klick people without dreams..
The Unix and Linux are for those who look for a challenge in their life and for a better understanding of computers and their powers...

well here is my version

win '95 = yucko
win '98 = not too bad if theres nothing else around
win 2k = awful services.exe bug that is around
win xp = best yet but hate the activation

redhat 8 = good enough to warrant me buying another computer that will run it good enough, i know there is a text mode but even that would be pushing on the old redhat box, and besides, for 11 bucks $AU its a bargain even though its gonna cost me another system....

my first giant leap away from microsoft products, hopefully i wont trip and fall flat on my face
:flash:

These are my collection of some interesting quotes that mention about/related to MS. I take them from an article at www.techrepublic.com and other sources. Sorry I don't have the links. If anybody have other quotes, please post here...


1981, Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman.
"640K ought to be enough for anybody"

1989, "Programmers at Work" by Microsoft Press
Interviewer: "Is studying computer science the best way to prepare to be a programmer?"
Gates: "No, the best way to prepare is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written. In my case, I went to the garbage cans at the Computer Science Center and I fished out listings of their operating system."

1992, Microsoft, on the development of Windows NT
"Windows NT addresses 2 Gigabytes of RAM which is more than any application will ever need"

1995, Focus Magazine
"Microsoft programs are generally bug-free. If you visit the Microsoft hotline, you'll literally have to wait weeks if not months until someone calls in with a bug in one of our programs. 99.99% of calls turn out to be user mistakes. I know not a single less irrelevant reason for an update than bugfixes. The reasons for updates are to present more new features."


Peace always,
<jdenny>

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Originally posted here by truly_hacking
Hello everyone,

i was really wondering about this after so much debate with my friends also :

Is Microsoft really that bad ?


let's get everybody's views.
thanks

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Well, everyone has their opinions about Microsoft, but I think that linuxelite said it best in his post.. For the average home user, Microsoft's OS's do the job fairly well because of their ease of usage. Completely disregarding the security aspect of this discussion, Microsoft really isn't that bad. For the non-average, power or business user, Microsoft products may not be the best alternative. Microsoft really does make some pretty good software, products that are easy to use for just about anyone. Looking now at the security aspect, Microsoft falls behind as compared to Linux.. If you are extremely concerned about security (which anyone should be these days), then you have to step back and take another look at Microsoft before you start using their products. If you can keep up with the constant security patches and hotfixes, then you could use Microsoft products. If you want a historically more stable OS, then look towards Linux.

By saying this, I'm not impling that Microsoft products won't ever reach the desired level of security and the like, but it's unlikely at this point in time.

M$ ain't bad its just that they do bad things such as....

Makeing their programs highly exploitable and then they decide to correct the problem after the product has been on the market about 5 years.

They said that WIN. XP is the safest OS to date then before it even hits the market one of the WIN.XP comps got rooted.

M$ sometimes has spyware in its software yet microsoft just says: Oh well.... we'll just force peaple to visit our site and a few download patches that probably don't work.

A M$ employe once gave source code to another company only to find out that the guy accedentally gave the wrong source code.... He gave the source code of one of his virii collections. lol

As with almost all computer related Items, MS has a regular occurrences of really annoying bugs, but I am betting that if Microsoft™ Never had Bugs in any of their products, there would be a great deal fewer computer Generated "geeks". But I guess the headache is acceptable in this day and Age of technology


Just a Thought

It all depends on the level of skill of the person admin'ing the box. If the admin sucks then no OS will help. If the admin has a clue then they can reasonably secure a microsoft server operating system (9x and ME don't count...they're crap all around).

When it comes to patches and hotfixes....all software has bugs. People find more in windows operating systems at the moment because that is where everyone is focused...they are the big target because they have serious market share. Plenty of bugs are found in linux systems as well (I've received 3 updates from redhat in the last week or so) and plenty more will be found as they gain in marketshare.


Any way you go the best thing to do is learn how to secure what you're using. Other than that they both come with the doors wide open and full of bugs.

Microsoft products are stolen ideas that are implemented horribly.

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Microsoft products are stolen ideas that are implemented horribly.

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Being as MS buys lots of small companies with good ideas and then turns their product into a MS branded one, it may be more correct to say MS ideas they are purchased ideas that are implemented not quite as the original developers may have had in mind.

But truly I agree that LinuxElite put forth a well balanced viewpoint of the whole Linux vs MS debate.

In short I think MS makes a decent product for most users with little setup hassle while linux is best for those who like to tinker with their pc just for the sake tinkering with it.

I have seen a variation on the following somewhere but don't recall where and think it's kind of apropos
Mac users don't do any work because they're too busy bragging about how cool their new computer is
Linux users don't do any work because they're too busy tweaking the interface on their computer
Windows users actually do work because they have decent tools at hand.

Before you flame me realize that I am a recent convert to Linux and have both RH 8 and Suse 8 running on seperate boxes and am beginning to think that RH 8 is the beginning of Linux being ready for the corp desktop.

I really liked the way Linuxelite summed up windows. Yes, it has it flaws, but it has some positive attributes that can't be denied. What I find amusing, is that some people are content to slander Microsoft without having a good reason. 'M$ sux0rz!' and other such sentiment seems to be common around here. Yes Jimmy, we all know you're l33t. With that said, I prefer Linux. I use in the CS lab at school, and have it installed on my second drive. I don't get much use out of it though due to compatibility issues with some of my hardware.

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Is Microsoft really that bad ?

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yes..

I once started a post about Win XP and the makers of it. I have to say after hearing what everybody had to say i have to tell you people out there love XP. I will tell you another thing, I am now running Win XP doesn't mean that i like the makers, but it is not a bad Win after a couple of patches and stuff. This is how i am going to answer this question, Windows is not the problem, it actually makes life much easier for those who are not as advanced as most of us are with computers. The other thing is, don't hate Windows hate the maker. I just have this thing with MS and Bill Gates, because they do not care as long as he is making his money, he does not care. He is making people buy into his BS's about secure OS and all that stuff. If the leader or the owner of mircosoft would just change his ways and start caring for once,ths world would be a better place for humans and computers;)

I do believe Microsoft is really bad. Not just because of their software, but the way they go by things (see ebo's post). They like to not have competition, when IMHO competition make's the companies try to REALLY produce a better product. They don't like to share code or anything, and completely care for money only. This is JMHO, you can take it or leave it, but I don't like Microsoft.

THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS 70% OF THE PEOPLE OR PERSONS WHO HATE WINDOWS PROBABLY STILL USE IT. SCRIPT KIDDIES HMMMMMMMM....THEY HAVE SO MUCH TO LEARN OF COURSE THERE ARE BETTER PROGRAMMERS WHO JUST HAVE LACK OF MONEY WHO COULD CREATE A BETTER O.S ,BUT WHOS HANDING OUT MONEY ANYWAY NOT MR. GATES THATS FOR SURE.

Their applications such as Office are the standard. Could they be better, ANYTHING can use improvement (even me!). Their OS's have been abysmal and getting worse each newer version.

But people are willing to deal with them, so like a bad Celine Dion song, MS wil go on forever

bah fellas we all know the **** they distribute etc, lying on television about there source code being a hundred million lines of code long :P (thats what a representative said on fox news a few weeks ago) for the average os... hahahah 200-400 mb of data..... per cd..... yeah um no.

well, i believe we've got a fair opinion about Microsoft, and i would still stay Linuxelite said it best, because Microsoft has actually revolutionized the way people work on their PC. What a tremendous change from a boring dull DOS, to a GUI.
So, we will have to say, that the software they make is pretty good, if not outstanding.
And we have no reason to flame them, because we havent done any better. The people inside MS work really hard as i have close friends, but the whole jinx lies in the way they market themselves. I guess Bill Gates is being selfish here, when the case against Microsoft was on, i prayed for them. But now, i seem to have changed a bit.

In any case, let's now reframe the question :

[glowpurple]Is there anything that we can do to change the situation ?
( Here at Antionline ) [/glowpurple]





Thanks