Strange site Slashdot carried a link, a few days ago, to this ‘hilarious’ piece - “Windows rapidly approaching desktop usability”.
I see what they’ve done there! They’ve taken the generic article about Linux nearly being good enough for desktop use (provided you have an MSc in Computer Science), and applied it to Windows. Positively side-splitting.
The really funny thing is, it’s hard to argue with its general thrust. Imagine Linux were the status quo. Would you be impressed at forking out £100 for a shiny new alternative operating system from Microsoft, only to be open the box to be met with no manual, a serial key you could not afford to lose, and product activation? The joy of it all.
What about lack of drivers - the most common cause of Linux woes - on Windows? Remember the good old days when hardware support for XP was patchy at best? Would we have put up with that if there was real competition in the operating system market? Thought not! And isn’t it great when you get hold of a new Windows install and, er - can’t do anything until you install shedloads of other software, free or otherwise. Another point to Linux.
Don’t get me wrong, Linux is still rubbish - at least as the alternative operating system, it stands no chance - but what if it had beaten Microsoft to top spot, we all positively loved recompiling our kernels by now, and Windows was a strange and exotic proposition? What if indeed.
