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What's so bad about Microsoft? (Why you should be concerned). Bloat Backwards Incompatibility Perpetual Upgrading Vaporware Predatory Practices Unfixed bugs Insecurity. Bloat.
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What's so bad about Microsoft?(Why you should be concerned) • Bloat • Backwards Incompatibility • Perpetual Upgrading • Vaporware • Predatory Practices • Unfixed bugs • Insecurity
Bloat • Bloat adds extra features to a program, making it cumbersome to use, and may even affect the speed and integrity of the program. • Independent analysts have dissected a popular program, and found it to be 2000% larger than needed! RegClean, should be just 45KB, but released as 1MB in size! • Old computers cannot run current MS software, and older software is no longer supported.
Backwards Incompatibility • With each new software release, MS introduces backwards incompatibility, which means that new features will not work with old ones. • Microsoft's solution? Shell out a couple hundred and upgrade, when MS could have spent a fraction of it's profits making an application the way it should be – backwards compatible. Did you know the latest versions of Office cannot read Office 97 files?
Perpetual Upgrading • Microsoft will often release bug-ridden, incompatible software just to have customers pay. Windows 95 worked for many people, but then a MS released Windows 98, essentially a fix for Windows 95, a fix that should have been provided for free. • Each new MS release requires a costly hardware upgrade.
Vaporware • Whenever Microsoft sees a growing market it either buys the leading company, or makes promises of a superior product, but never releases it, impacting the sales of other companies. • In 1996, Bill Gates promised 64-bit support in Windows NT. This stifled the market for Unix, a proven enterprise product. 64-bit support arrived in Windows XP 64-Bit four and a half years later!
Predatory Practices • Netscape was a popular browser, and MS was out to get it. It spent millions developing Internet Explorer, and then gave it away for free, killing Netscape's market. • MS then spent money on promotions, awarding users of IE. MS literally payed people to use IE. • MS then made contracts with OEM's (like Dell or Gateway) that did not allow them to install Netscape or remove IE.
Unfixed bugs • MS deliberately ships buggy software to get upgrades that are even more buggy. • Everyone knows using a MS products is a nightmare, nothing ever works quite the way it should. Many administrators know that MS software is even harder to administer and maintain.
Insecurity • Everyone knows how insecure Microsoft's products are. There are many known security holes that have not been fixed. One independent team found a security hole that allowed a cracker to take control of your computer, but MS, once aware of the hole, didn't fix it for a year! • New viruses are released all the time. Remember Lovesan, Code Red, IloveYou, Netsky, Bagle, Swen, BugBear, MyDoom, PhatBot, and the list goes on....
Solution: Open Source Software • Open Source means that the code can be modified by anyone • Quick bug fixes • Fast innovation • Flexibility and Stability • Low price
Open Source Software • Anyone can look at or modify the code. • Likewise, bugs are fixed within days, if not hours. Not months. • Each release benefits the users, not the creators. • An open design guarantees against bloat and insecurity. • Innovation is always present.
Linux – What is it...? • Linux is an Open Source Operating System created by Linus Torvalds. • It is stable, runs on varied hardware (it is excellent for reviving old machines). • Linux is supported by companies such as IBM, HP, Dell, Walmart, Novell, AOL/Time Warner, and others. • Linux is free, as in freedom, and free, as in price.
Why you should use Linux... • It is virtually free, usually costing just the CD's it is on, as well as any manuals, support services, etc. • It is incredibly stable, virtually without bugs or security holes. No viruses currently exist for Linux, and any created will probably not spread, due to Linux's secure design. • Includes bundles of free software, such as an Office Suite an advanced image editing tool, a secure browser, and many more.
Where to learn more about Linux... • Linux.com – Linux news, and an excellent, in-depth beginners guide. • Freshmeat.net – Thousands of free Linux applications • Linuxquestions.org – For any questions you have about Linux. • Google.com/linux – Search for anything Linux-related.