Dvorak: Windows Vista's 'Mac'-Ness Might Open Door

[javaguy]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,246401,00.html

 

I'm inclined to file this one under Wishful Thinking, but I'm encouraged by the strides that Linux has made in ten years.

 

The most important event is the formation of the Linux Foundation. This is an attempt by the major players, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Intel, to create a standard Linux and discourage the continued trend toward various distros that are subtly incompatible with each other and certain applications.

 

I don't know if this is badly worded. I would hate to see a "standard Linux." I would love to see a Linux Standard, a set of specifications to ensure that the software and hardware whatever that I set up on one distro will work just fine when set up the exact same way on another. I love the open-source community and its experimental free spirit.

 

After all, nobody likes the worsening heavy-handedness of Microsoft.

 

...and that's why the Linux Foundation should strive not to emulate it. The article speaks of "ending the fadish nature" of different distros, which sounds to me like shoving everybody into a one-size-fits-all. One size doesn't fit all, but a standard spec to ensure compatibility would sure be nice.

[ianw1974]

I think they are a bit out of date too. They refer to Mandrake, which is now Mandriva :lol:

[Ixthusdan]

I read the article briefly, but there are assumptions in it that are not accurate.

First, I do think that standards does not have to mean "everything is the same." That is what Microsoft has attempted to do to computers, and it reduces creativity. We must first decide what a standard means, and then we can continue.

 

The author seems to think Mac is not as popular because it is not liked. Rubbish, and bunk. I am no Mac user, but I know that simple business competition and marketing is why Mac is not so plentiful. In the early days of VHS, Sony had the best method for reproducing movies at home. The Sony Betamax had superior construction and performance. But there was only one producer/licenser, where the 4 companies who held VHS released it freely into a competitive business environment. The result was the rise of VHS and the death of Sony. In the same way, Apple has placed a strangle hold on their stuff, where IBM released theirs to the world. This is why Mac is not as popular.

 

Finally, I do not think that Linux is not used because of all the choices. This is utter nonsense. Most distros do not market well; the ones that do are encountered by me frequently. But Microsoft is heavy-handed. And they run the computer marketing world. (Vista is a nightmare!)

[javaguy]

Actually, Beta flopped because of the porn industry. They were looking for a new medium, and video was it. But Sony said it wouldn't put porn on Beta, so the porn industry went to VHS, and the videotape war was over. The porn movie industry consistenly makes more money than the mainstream movie industry.

 

If "simple business competition" is why Mac is not more widely used, that's just another way of saying it isn't liked. The winner of business competition is the one people choose. We can argue all day that people don't like Macs because they make uninformed decisions based on information they get from marketing, but at the end of the day most people don't like Macs.

 

I also think that "better marketing" argument wears thin after about 15 years or so. It's hard to find anybody who hasn't already been told ad nauseum that Mac is better but that Windows just has better marketing. It's very old news. Yet people still stay away from Macs.

 

And no, a set of standards doesn't have to mean everything is the same. I'd love to see a spec for distros to ensure compatibility, and if that's what they mean, great.

[Ixthusdan]

Umm.... I sold video machines during their rise and proliferation. Porn had nothing to do with it! :lol:

 

The aspect of marketing that you miss is the competition. Competition is good for business. It did not matter where you bought your Sony betamax, you were paying the same price. Sony fixed the pricing on their product and limited the profit margin. The VHS vendors competed for the market. Better pricing and better margins meant more exposure and more interest. It is basic consumer economics. Mac is a better OS than DOS and Windex. But better does not necessarily mean that it will make it in the market place. It could, if it is marketed correctly.

 

You may get tired of gravity and falling to the floor every time you jump off your bed. The bruising might wear thin. But the fact remains, that you will hit the floor when you jump. So you should plan on it, and not reject it. Marketing is a fact, not an argument. ;)

[tyme]

Umm.... I sold video machines during their rise and proliferation. Porn had nothing to do with it! :lol:

It's largely agreed on that both the porn industry had a huge impact on VHS v. Betamax - there where other reasons (longer play time, cheaper, licensable), but it still had a profound effect - especially when it came to the video rental stores (as many had the "special" section - porn went VHS, so the rest of the store went VHS to match).

 

But I think that's besides the point...

[ffi]

The author seems to think Mac is not as popular because it is not liked. Rubbish, and bunk. I am no Mac user, but I know that simple business competition and marketing is why Mac is not so plentiful.

 

I think per definition in a free market (which the os market is) people buy the product they like most, for whichever reason, rational or irrational... (why would people buy something they dont like unless someone forces them?)

 

The reasons Dvorak mentions why people wont like vista are exactly the reasons I switched to linux

[Ixthusdan]

I agree that people buy according to their preferences. And those preferences are driven by what people think they are buying. All is good as long as what we think agrees with reality, what we get. ;) When it doesn't, then the move is to make manufacturers include your product, beyond consumer choice, e.g., windows.

[iphitus]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,246401,00.html

 

I'm inclined to file this one under Wishful Thinking, but I'm encouraged by the strides that Linux has made in ten years.

 

Along with anything by Dvorak. Most of what he spits out is just extreme bullcrap.

 

And as long as GNU/Linux is as spread and developed by such a wide range of people, there will be no standard linux, and any linux standard will not be globally accepted.

 

Take the LSB for example, completely impractical for a distribution like Arch. As long as distro's vary as they do, no standard will be able to gain complete acceptance, only minority acceptance among a few key players.

 

James

Edited January 26, 2007 by iphitus

[AussieJohn]

Sorry Javaguy, but porn had NOTHING to do with the market failure of beta. It was exactly as Lxthusdan said. Sony was greedy (pretty much as they have been shown to be recently) and wanted to charge hefty license fees from everyone whereas the Philips group said lets make it a standard by releasing it to everyone. Because of that the VHS system experienced a huge growth in innovated improvements. Also Philips also had the major patents on the actual cassette design for both audio and video which again was largely license free.

 

Sony, even if they had wanted to, could not have stopped the porn world from using video taping.

 

Cheers. John.

[RadioEar]

Speaking of VHS v. Betamax, Sony let go of the VHS patent just about when they introduced Betamax. Sony held on the patent on the VHS mechanism or tape transporter only-- for years. Betamax was to elevate Sony back on top of the market with the claim of better performance, reliability and cost. In reality, the machine was costly to repair, performance was about the same and the price of the Betamax VCR was higher. Other manufactures already had large investments in VHS VCRs. The movie rental business liked VHS because VHS tape, unlike Betamax, was less likely to get damaged by the playback machine, because of the lengthy tape path in Betamax. I think that more then anything brought down Betamax.

 

 

As far as Linux v. Windows? Marketing. I have always said marketing, the product must be in public view, and a consistent product. I have known about M$ for years, among other operating systems. Linux was introduced to me by word of mouth, my brother (Ix) Word of mouth takes a long time to spread. :P