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Archiver > ALT-GENEALOGY > 2000-04 > 0955464400


From: Robert Heiling <>
Subject: Re: Fast DOS Web Browsers
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 07:46:40 -0700


Dale DePriest wrote:

> My comments embedded.
>
> Robert Heiling wrote:
> >
> > Dale DePriest wrote:
> <snipping>
>
> > > Netscape tried to sell a browser but microsoft gave theirs away thereby
> > > killing nescape as a company. They ended up being bought by aol and
> > > having to give their stuff away.
> >
> > You don't seem to understand the current marketplace.
>
> I fully understand it. It started when Microsoft got hardware folks to
> bundle their software into the hardware. Consumers thought it was free
> but the reality is you paid for it as part of the purchase price of the
> hardware

You're talking about getting a machine from Dell, Gateway, Micron etc with bundled
software (and not just the OS).I doubt that anyone thought it was "free", but the average
user doesn't know how to install software and is better off cost/feature comparision
shopping and buying a complete package.

> and then if you wanted another os you had to buy it on top of
> the one you had already been forced to pay for. Nice technique to
> monopolize operating systems.

I can't impute any malice to that situation. Everyone is free to assemble their own
hardware system and put what software on it they wish to or put whatever software on an
existing system that they wish to - just don't expect support from the vendor. In any
case, you apparently are saying that a more or less common and universally used OS is
undesirable, whereas I consider it to be a huge plus.

> > > So much for choices in operating systems. Of course Linux (which is
> > > given away free) is trying to compete but how can they make money?
> >
> > Who are "they"? Do you mean RedHat, Caldera, etc etc? They don't appear to be
> > suffering.
>
> They are distributers of a software package that was written and given
> away for free. They did not write Linux.

Of course, but who are the "they" that can't make money?

> > > I really miss a choice of operating systems.
> ><snip>
>
> Me too. I run Windows NT (and have os2, dos, windows 95 and Linux
> available). I use Solaris whenever I can. Windows NT gives me the
> closest functionality to os2 but costs 3 times as much.

Then what choice is it that you miss?<vbg>

Bob

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