@news02.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>, nameir@_deletethis_hotmail.com
says...
Microsoft ARE NOT the best, they merely have the best marketing.
Since I don't intend to participate on any side, I won't offer any
judgement on good or bad. But since I currently have no better thing
to do, and since I think, because of reasons... never mind.
I'll throw some light on this.
I have no opinion whether MS have the best marketing, or even a good
one. I do know however, that it would have nothing to do with MS
dominance. MS' position today is the result of the convergence of five
factors:
1: Any computer, OS and it's program model/models is a _Standard_.
2: Any competing *standard* that has a big enough share of the market,
suddenly gains the property of 'gravity'. Becomes a black hole even.
And sucks up the rest, in a very _STABLE_ dominance. Neither quality,
value or even capability have anything at all to do with this.
3: In the early days of the personal computer, there seems only to
have been two persons in any position of influence, that understood
the above two paragraphs. One of them was Bill G, who got in, thanks
to IBM's badge of approval. The other one was, through his personal
esthetics and ethics, deeply commited to quality and excellence. He
was also in the hands of venture capitalists, who slit his throat,
even before the start of any serious market war.
Thus MS were allowed to gain that share, the critical mass, during a
time when they actually completely lacked competition. They were the
only ones going all out for market share. The other cluless idiots did
what they always do, when selling sugar or water, went for the short
term money and stock value.
4: Once MS gained their market, they've never let it go.
I said earlier any OS and it's program model constituates a standard.
But consider then that MS, since gaining dominance, have very
carefully kept their customers through four distinctly different types
of OS's; DOS, Windows, Windows9x, WindowsNT/2000/XP.
And five distinctly different program models; DOS, DPMI, Win16, Win32s
and Win32.
Running on four distinctly different hardware platforms; PC/XT,
AT/286, 386, and the PCI-PNP-Pentium.
The primary goal of all MS software engineering has always been to
_keep_ their customers, and thus their market share, through migration
to new systems. And at _ALL_COSTS_! No matter what penalties that
brought. Nobody else ever did that!
What if Apple had relentlessly developed the Apple II?
What if Commodore had relentlessly developed their C64?
5: Mass market and mass production always tends to level the
playfield. Thus the originally lowliest computer, MS domain, grows and
gradually takes over tier after tier of computing. And market niches
that IBM, DEC, Sun and HP figured were theirs to keep, slowly but
steadily trickles into MS hands.
ancra
