Re:Better... (Score 1)

I used to despise Microsoft. But then, after several years writing drivers for various OS'es, I came to the conclusion that Microsoft tries hard to be everything , for everybody. For instance, if you were to build yourself a VGA adaptor, and based it roughly on a known video chipset, Windows probably has a driver for it.

MS has been trying to build ease of use and compatibility into Windows since the step up from 3..12. Granted, plug'n'play used to be much more akin to plug'n'pray, but it has improved remarkably since 4.1.2222 for 98, and SP5 for NT4. If nothing else, MS deserves credit for the efforts they have made to create a standard platform.

I have a whole new set of issues nowadays with MS. The trading off security versus ease of use was acceptable up until the late 1990s, when the web usage became much more widespread. Back in the "old days" you actually had to known something to compromise system security. Now, with the like of Montreal's Mafiaboy using freely available scripts, anyone smart enough to figure out how a QWERTY board and mouse works, can cause major havoc with web services.

Besides, who needs to worry about hackers now? Google Desktop is much more insidious, and Microsoft seems to not only license Windows, but dictates how it works, and creates a sense that if you don't have a licenced copy of Windows, you've somehow been duped because you're a few McNuggets short of a happy meal...

BTW, I don't use Windows myself, and have never encountered WGA in my time behind a keyboard. I'm too much a fan of IRIX, and I don't think they make a version for MIPS chips. And I apologize for taking up your boss' time to read my tangent.