Re: [tlug] What's with this anti-Apple tirade? [was: 2014-05-10 Linux Quiz]

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Raymond Wan writes:

 > I think we have to give credit to Microsoft.  Not for their
 > technology, but for their marketing.  For partnering up with vendors
 > long before iOS and Linux existed and continually trying to stay ahead
 > of the marketing game.

"Partner", my ass.  My brother, when working at DEC, said their
estimate was $1 million to $5 million per model to get a "Windows-
ready" certification.  Eg, add a few mechanical changes so users can
put an auto-sheet-feeder (sold separately) on their scanner: $1
million in conformance testing.

 > That's something that iOS got right but it's playing catch up with
 > Microsoft in terms of marketing.

I don't think that's right.  Apple has been doing the "just plug it in"
thing since before the Mac (remember AppleWriters?), back when Windows
was hardly a glint off Gates's shoepolish.  What Microsoft has that
Apple doesn't now is installed base, and Apple's products aren't bug
compatible with Microsoft's (it's amazing how using Apple's hinting
engine can break a carefully formatted Monkasho form, for example).
You have to be willing to put up with a lot to avoid having a Windows
box somewhere in your office where I work.

 > As for Linux (all of this IMHO, of course), it is unfortunate us Linux
 > users argue about Debian, Mint, Fedora, ... is better.  Or even unity
 > versus gnome versus KDE...  I think it divides us whereas we should
 > all band together against our common foe...Microsoft.  :-)

To band together we'd have to become Microsoft.  The different distros
and desktops are genuinely different.  They do some things better and
worse than each other, and they do some things equally well -- but
differently.  You'd need a dictator to iron out all the differences.