I do "have a choice". Every single one of us "has a choice". Just because one does not know about the choices that one has does not mean that the choices do not exist.
If so and fairly so, then good.
However, I question some of the practices that deliberately limit or sabotage fair choice. Two easy examples are (unchosen by the user) pre-installation of software including the desktop icons, and the sabotage of standards to create "proprietary lock-in" (that also makes the rest of the world appear to be 'broken').
No need to mention the continuous court cases in session for various 'dirty tricks'.
Another example: Can you buy a ready made PC on the highstreet without any OS already installed?
(Note also that in some respects, Apple play a similar game to that of Microsoft but significantly Apple has a much lower market share and no live-in-the-wild viruses...)
Regards,
Martin
Yes you can buy PC or notebook without OS.(I did!And promptly put there XP... :-) )
And AFAIK there are no lock-ins in Windows!IE is simply put there so you can get on internet.Or would you like no browser at all? Or what version of what browser should be installed,how would you react when that given copy of program would have huge security hole,new version out but tons of CDs still in the wild?And thats happening or did you forget how many realeses of FF3 were in past months?(And yes I saw PCs with FF being used having viruses due to bufgs...)
Thats why majority will not complain.(And certanly after using IE8 beta2 I am not going to swap broswers...)
For years I always used Netscape, because I preferred the interface to IE. Then the company I worked for had a new rule that forbade installing anything other than what you were given i.e. IE! So I've sorta stuck with it at home as well.
Currently using IE8 Beta with no problems. Only drawback I've found is that when you close it down it often leaves itself running in task manager. Next time you run it you have two instances going. If the PC seems a bit sluggish I always check for that.
I'm an IT teacher not a geek, and to me it's a minor irritation, nothing I can't deal with. Certainly nothing worth getting all uptight about anyway.
I like the idea of PC's being sold with dual booting to Linux and Windows. I wouldn't install Linux instead of Windows, and I'm not sure I would have the knowlege to make my PC dual bootable anyway. But I would be tempted to have a play with Linux if it was presented to me in that way as a pre-installed option on boot up.
Dell have already bitten the bullet and offered customers a downgrade option from Vista to XP on new kit. Perhaps they might also be the first to go down the dual boot route?
Waiting for Godot & salvation :-)
Why do doctors have to practice?
You'd think they'd have got it right by now
Another example: Can you buy a ready made PC on the highstreet without any OS already installed?
Regards, Martin
Yes you can and have been able to for a while now. The big box stores just didn't tell you about that option. I used to work at a Best Buy store, as a PC Tech, here in the US, and several times people would come in to buy a new pc and ask if we would remove the OS and then the Manager would adjust the price to reflect the fact that Windows was not on the pc. Sometimes it was because they were going overseas and the version of Windows on the pc was not exportable. Sometimes it was because they wanted a 64 bit version, not the 32 bit on the pc. And one other time the person wanted Linux and it was not an option. Each time we took the OS off and the person got the pc for less money. So yes it is an option, just not an advertised one.
RE: RE: I do "have a
)
Yes you can buy PC or notebook without OS.(I did!And promptly put there XP... :-) )
And AFAIK there are no lock-ins in Windows!IE is simply put there so you can get on internet.Or would you like no browser at all? Or what version of what browser should be installed,how would you react when that given copy of program would have huge security hole,new version out but tons of CDs still in the wild?And thats happening or did you forget how many realeses of FF3 were in past months?(And yes I saw PCs with FF being used having viruses due to bufgs...)
Thats why majority will not complain.(And certanly after using IE8 beta2 I am not going to swap broswers...)
For years I always used
)
For years I always used Netscape, because I preferred the interface to IE. Then the company I worked for had a new rule that forbade installing anything other than what you were given i.e. IE! So I've sorta stuck with it at home as well.
Currently using IE8 Beta with no problems. Only drawback I've found is that when you close it down it often leaves itself running in task manager. Next time you run it you have two instances going. If the PC seems a bit sluggish I always check for that.
I'm an IT teacher not a geek, and to me it's a minor irritation, nothing I can't deal with. Certainly nothing worth getting all uptight about anyway.
I like the idea of PC's being sold with dual booting to Linux and Windows. I wouldn't install Linux instead of Windows, and I'm not sure I would have the knowlege to make my PC dual bootable anyway. But I would be tempted to have a play with Linux if it was presented to me in that way as a pre-installed option on boot up.
Dell have already bitten the bullet and offered customers a downgrade option from Vista to XP on new kit. Perhaps they might also be the first to go down the dual boot route?
Waiting for Godot & salvation :-)
Why do doctors have to practice?
You'd think they'd have got it right by now
RE: Another example: Can
)
Yes you can and have been able to for a while now. The big box stores just didn't tell you about that option. I used to work at a Best Buy store, as a PC Tech, here in the US, and several times people would come in to buy a new pc and ask if we would remove the OS and then the Manager would adjust the price to reflect the fact that Windows was not on the pc. Sometimes it was because they were going overseas and the version of Windows on the pc was not exportable. Sometimes it was because they wanted a 64 bit version, not the 32 bit on the pc. And one other time the person wanted Linux and it was not an option. Each time we took the OS off and the person got the pc for less money. So yes it is an option, just not an advertised one.