Selling Linux to Windows Users

[Joep L. Blom]

Mark Haney schreef:
> Gilles Gravier wrote:
>> Knapp,
>>
>>
>> Knapp wrote:
>>> I just learned of this site. It is really cool and comes in a LOT of languages!
>>> http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/
>>> Best,
>>>   
> 
> Let me play a little more devil's advocate here.
>
Dotan and others,
I hesitate to bud in but I can't resist to say a few things.
MS has from the start in 1980 gained his current business position by 
stealing, cheating and using all unworthy tricks it could think of to 
let his competitors go down. Read the report of the European commission 
on this aspect (only related to the bundling of explorer with it's OS).
Stealing: the first MSDOS was a blatant steal from CP/M which everybody 
can see when comparing the first 10 instructions in DOS to CP/M and more 
code has been stolen in the ensuing time (look at the history of OS/2).
Secondly MS has wilfully and intentionally made secret trapdoors in his 
code to gain access to the user systems. I can go on endlessly.
Secondly, the fact that so many companies doesn't dare to make drivers 
and other software for other OS is simply due to threats by MS of 
banning their products.
The worst thing is that a company with so much money is not able to 
construct an operating system that does what the user expects.
Unix came into existence due to the fact that Kernigan and Richie were 
fed-up with the bad operating system (RSTS) that DEC sold with his 
PDP-11 systems. Linux came into existence due to the fact that an IT 
student thought all OS'es of his time were crappy and he build his own, 
based on Unix and Minix, an OS developed for teaching purposes by 
Tannenbaum, a Dutch IT professor.
The difference between those who developed Unix and Linux and the one(s) 
that developed MS-OSes is that the first were technology driven, and the 
second money-driven. No interest in use but in $$ is the largest 
difference between Linux and the like and MS OSes.
I realize, sadly, that a good sales force is many times more important 
than a good product, but I will as a private person, not use a product 
that is crappy and based on illegal activities, for business I'm very 
sorry to have to use Windows due to the fact that there are - until now 
- no alternatives (well, yes on the Mac but I agree with Mark Haney 
completely!) .
Linux is still in it's infancy but, hey, no $$-machine fuels the 
development and I have the greatest admiration for the developers who, 
for the majority, don't get any money out of it, only gratitude and the 
pride of using their skills to do something useful.
OK, I can go on with my rant but I will stop. I only hope more people 
become sensible enough to see that what's "forced down your throat" is 
in practically all cases a crappy product that has to be avoided.
Joep