[Cialug] Re: MS

[Chris Hilton]

Things didn't start this way though.  When Microsoft first took over
there were hoards of other computers with different software available
to them.  The consumer chose to all center around one, and now they're
paying for it.
Don't get stuck in 1998, remember that Microsoft gained it's power in a
time of many competing systems.  And even in 1998 there were Apple
stores, IBM for OS/2 Warp, Be for BeOS, and possibly other commercial
solutions I'm forgetting.  Yes, Joe Sixpack would have a hard time
finding these; but businesses are consumers as well in this case:
And I expect an administrator to be aware of all possible routes in his
field of "expertise."


On Thu, 2004-11-04 at 08:47 -0600, Christopher Freeman wrote:
> Jeff Davis wrote:
> 
> > I didn't say they weren't responsible, I said they are rarely offered
> > an alternative.  You suggest this is because the consumer is not 
> > shopping around.
> > I ask you then, at which store is the average person getting offered a 
> > machine running linux?
> > What dealership do they need to visit?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Chris Hilton wrote:
> >
> >> That's true.  And if you shop for a car by buying from Ford without
> >> shopping any other dealerships you have the same problem. It's hardly
> >> fair to say the consumer isn't responsible because they aren't
> >> knowledgable enough to know where to look for alternatives.
> >> I suppose I forgot to blaim business as well, many people buy what their
> >> business uses.
> >>
> I think this gets into the shortcomings of a completely free market. The 
> strengths of a free market rest on the assumptions that the consumer 
> base is informed. But, it all kinda breaks down if you assume that the 
> consumer base can be easily misinformed. In this case, people shopping 
> for computers are not informed about the concept of an OS. They know 
> about brands hardware (to a limited degree) and resellers. 'Windows' is 
> synonomous with 'computer'; it is not an OS to them. Thus, it is 
> impossible for them to ask the question, "What OS does it run?" So they 
> physically/logically can't make an informed decision. This is why the MS 
> monopoly is bad - not because they own so much of the brainshare, but 
> because they use that ownership to stop people from being able to make 
> informed decisions.
> 
> The car market simile breaks down because it doesn't exhibit that 
> symptom of the problem. Sure, the customer didn't do their homework. 
> But, MS is banking on that, and encouraging that. Car dealerships don't 
> have that luxury. They can't blot the other dealership signs from the 
> sky so you can't see them as you drive by.
> 
> My $.02.
> 
> Chris
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