Microsoft in hot water over Wikipedia edits

[Robor007 0]

Oh, and if you want to trash Microsoft for aiding China's censorship of it's citizens are you going to go as hard at the others named in that Wiki? You all do realize that a vast majority of internet traffic is flowing through Cisco switches, right?

Well the thread is about Microsoft but since you ask there was a thread or two a few months ago discussing Google's involvement in that. You can't relativise these things.

Microsoft and others may have a hand in it but I still think the main culprit is the Chinese government.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Oh, and if you want to trash Microsoft for aiding China's censorship of it's citizens are you going to go as hard at the others named in that Wiki? You all do realize that a vast majority of internet traffic is flowing through Cisco switches, right?

Well the thread is about Microsoft but since you ask there was a thread or two a few months ago discussing Google's involvement in that. You can't relativise these things.

Microsoft and others may have a hand in it but I still think the main culprit is the Chinese government.

Sure, but these corporations are actively supporting a policy that is abhorrent to a lot of people.

Again, if Walmart is engaging in unethical business practices - how is this any different?

[Robor007 0]

The fundamental problem with Microsoft product is the lack of competition. Once they got a foothold, they have effectively squashed all competitors. Now they roll out flawed software, collect the profits and await the bad news of problems. A statistical guarantee.

Apple OS you say? Well, it's isolated from most of the peripheral software world.

Linux? The free OS, shareware? What happened to that?

Captive audience we are. That sucks.

You're so right there about 'once they got a foothold'. It's not so much that there isn't competition or alternatives, it's just that so many places (businesses) are running Microsoft products you're almost forced to do so as well because you have to remain compatible. Few businesses run anything other than Outlook, Word, Excel, etc and those that don't have compatibility issues exchanging data with those that do. Every tried to convert a Power Point or Excel doc in Open Office? It might work but it's nearly never (if ever) 100% accurate.

Apple's got their niche in the iPod - their gold mine.

Linux is alive and well and there's been huge advancements in it recently. I encourage anyone wanting to try out an alternative OS to give Ubuntu a try. You can even download a 'LiveCD' that will boot your system to Ubuntu Linux without making any changes to your existing hard disk. It's *much* slower than a real Ubuntu install but it will give you and idea of what the Operating System is like. It is free just like all of the applications.

[Robor007 0]

Oh, and if you want to trash Microsoft for aiding China's censorship of it's citizens are you going to go as hard at the others named in that Wiki? You all do realize that a vast majority of internet traffic is flowing through Cisco switches, right?

Well the thread is about Microsoft but since you ask there was a thread or two a few months ago discussing Google's involvement in that. You can't relativise these things.

Microsoft and others may have a hand in it but I still think the main culprit is the Chinese government.

Sure, but these corporations are actively supporting a policy that is abhorrent to a lot of people.

Again, if Walmart is engaging in unethical business practices - how is this any different?

In the end I guess it isn't - be it a larger or smaller degree. But in this case, what's your option? Boycott every company that participated in the Chinese censorship? I have many alternatives to WalMart. I work in the IT field and I *HAVE* to work with and know how to troubleshoot Microsoft operating systems and applications. And if I'd get off my lazy ####### I'd get studying on Cisco equipment so I could make some real money!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The difference is that you don't have to shop at Walmart, but unless you want to live in the stone age you pretty much have no choice but to buy Microsoft.

[Robor007 0]

The difference is that you don't have to shop at Walmart, but unless you want to live in the stone age you pretty much have no choice but to buy Microsoft.

In the business environment I have to agree with you but at home, not at all... With the exception of gaming and using Skype to chat with my wife in voice/video I would be booted in Linux right now. However, I'll not lie and say everything in Linux is as easy as it is in Windows. There is a learning curve and it is frustrating at first. But one thing a lot of people trying Linux for the first time forget is they had to learn Windows too. It's just that we've all been using it so long we forget that we struggled with Windows initially. Once I got over the initial confusion I found that Linux is (for the most part) very user friendly and amazingly customizable. You'll also find that the Linux gurus are usually very helpful (especially if you're trying to wean yourself off of Windows).