View and vote on the article here: Why Microsoft need to open their Windows
Why Microsoft need to open their Windows| Category | | | Summary | | Nearly all computer users use Microsoft Windows. So why do so many people hate the rich, powerful and influential person who created it? To answer this, let's look at the facts. |
| | Body | Microsoft is huge. If you have never heard of them you come from another planet, it is as simple as that. The main income of the company comes from the operating systems, like Windows XP, Millennium Edition and 98 to name but a few. They also offer network and server operating systems, office and media applications and a whole range of products to suit all of our needs. Millions of pounds are spent on making each and every product that leaves the Microsoft factory user friendly, good quality and compatible with as much hardware as possible, including legacy hardware. There are help sections, FAQ's, user support, trouble shooting and walkthroughs for every aspect of the Microsoft Experience, from changing your screen saver to setting up an IIS server. Nearly all hardware companies create software to work with Microsoft software and some companies even make Hardware that only works on Windows such as WinModems. They are the best, right?
Reading the above would probably make you think Microsoft is heaven. But the fact remains, their halos are not as big as people think and seen as we are looking at the facts, lets quickly start the next paragraph.
Try and tell me you haven't heard of the Blaster Virus. This is just one of thousands of security holes found in the latest version of Windows. Besides the scary security situation, take a look at how many times your computer has frozen or crashed on you since you bought it. Do those help sections really help you figure out the computer anyway and most of all, did the computer sales person insist on spending an extra 100 pounds for the extra RAM or processing power you needed to run the latest version of Windows? Hold on, I just put in some hardware and Windows automatically installed it. Surely this counts for something? Well, maybe it would if I didn't have to download the latest drivers anyway or simply use the disk that was bundled with it, because Microsoft's built in drivers don't work or are too old because the operating system was released 2 years ago. Before we get too carried away, it's starting to sound more like Hell than Heaven.
But still, we buy their latest operating system and don't even give thought to the alternatives. If people are only to take a few minutes to just think about the alternatives, they might realize that there is a multitude of choice. This is where you begin to delve in to Open Source territory!
For people who don't really understand open source very well, what is it? Firstly I will tell you it is free, because in most people's eyes that is the most important thing. But open source means so much more. You don't just get the program, but you get the source code that was used to make it. There are no copyright laws stopping you from editing it and changing things to be exactly how you want them. You can do whatever you like to it, even copy it and give it out to your friends!
In reality though, how many people need to see the source code? How many people would understand it or even know how to change it? Of course this is true and it is a good point. I could just say "Yeah, but hey, it's free!", but I won't because there is a fantastic reason. When something is open source, programmers from around the world will scan the code for a number of things. Some people make patches and updates to enhance the software, some people may just edit the code to make it quicker. However a very important aspect of open source is the security. You may be thinking, "Wait a minute. everyone can see the code. what if there are vulnerabilities? That's dangerous right?" Incidentally, this is the view Microsoft takes. In fact, Open source has so many people looking at the code, that any security vulnerabilities or updates will be created and given to you for free. They won't charge you more money for a 'Second Edition' or an 'Extras' CD. The open source operating systems also come bundled with literally hundreds of programs to do anything from word processing to shooting monkeys in a java console. Again, it is free.
Microsoft isn't an open source company. They make their programs, sell them for a lot of money and then spend the next two years trying to clear up the problems. If it was open source, we could have all patched windows before the blaster virus shit us down and lost out 20 paged, unsaved assignments. Sadly though, the truth remains that the open source world isn't a perfect one. This is probably the main reason that around 98% percent of computer users don't actually buy their operating system, but get it as an illegal copy.
The most common open source operating systems are in the form of Linux. For many years this has been command line, like the early Microsoft years, with DOS. This has stopped a lot of new users from using Linux because of how hard it is to use. No GUI, no mouse, just a keyboard and a Linux reference book. Maybe you are wondering what the point of a command line interface is? Actually there are hundreds. Programming, Developing, User Input, Databases and Mainframe manipulation and a lot of other tasks are done best this way, the quickest, easiest and most secure too. But for surfing the world-wide-web or creating graphics this isn't very handy so desktop interfaces now also come with most Linux Distributions. The problem mentioned earlier is the fact of how easy new computer users could handle the Linux desktops. A lot of the tasks you do in Windows take a few clicks where as in Linux they take a lot more knowledge and messing with to do. Big companies hardly ever create software or hardware to work with Linux so there can be a lack of compatibility in many systems. Microsoft has used this to its advantage for many years, but things can still change.
If people were to start using Linux, not Windows, Linux would be normal to them. In fact, a lot more people could have computers and they would learn how to use them a lot quicker when they have access to literally any software they want for free or very small cost. For this to work though, the software and hardware companies must start making products to work in Linux and also the Linux programmers must make the operating system easier to use for beginners but still maintain the open source outlook on things. This won't be easy, but it will be worth it. But if we all started buying the hardware Linux could use, the prices would drop and these companies would start getting big. This would force other companies to make software for Linux or at least just the drivers. After all, it is the drivers that are essential in telling the operating system how to use the hardware.
So how do we do it? Simple. get a copy of Linux! I promise that after a little tinkering, you will absolutely love it. If Microsoft cannot get people to buy their products they will be forced to do what we want them to do, which is either close down, or become open source. The future really could look bright!
This article was written by: GisteRogue |
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This article was imported from zZine. (original author: Prothis)
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