# Why Do People Detest Microsoft? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127 "2003-04-25T15:37:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/81 "2003-04-28T03:36:43Z")
True story. Henry Ford is widely credited with revolutionizing the automobile industry. He did, but not in the way most people think. His ideas about assembly lines were already in use in other industries and were an inevitable development in automobile manufacture. Ford’s real contribution was suing George Seldon. George Seldon was not an inventor or an engineer or even an investor in the automobile business. He was a patent lawyer. In 1877, Seldon threw together an internal combustion engine (based mostly on the ideas of others). Through various technicalities, Seldon was able to keep his original priority date of 1877 without having the actual patent date go into effect until 1895 when he felt the time was ripe. Seldon announced that he had invented the automobile back in 1877 and anyone building one for the next seventeen years (starting in 1895) would have to pay for his permission to do so. Seldon, who had never actually build a single automobile in his life, collected a 5% fee on every car built in the United States. He would eventually collect almost two million dollars (1900 era dollars). While Seldon had no argument against selling high quantities of vehicles, he obviously had an interest in keeping the price of vehicles high. It can’t be directly attributed to Seldon, but the fact is during the years of his licensing, automobiles remained a high-priced luxury item. Ford, meanwhile knew he could build a lot of cars and sell them at a price most people could afford. One key to doing this was keeping costs down and in Ford’s opinion paying a royalty to George Seldon was an unnecessary expense. So Ford took Seldon to court and after a long legal battle broke Seldon’s patent. A judge ruled that Seldon’s 1877 blueprint bore no relation to a modern automobile. Ford was able to build his cars and sell them for a price lower than anyone else. Of course, Ford was not the only one who now had this right. In his wake, other men entered the automobile manufacturing business. Ironically, Ford eventually found himself losing business as competitors developed techniques for making cars better and cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Alereon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alereon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alereon)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/82 "2003-04-28T04:45:42Z")
**spectrum** : The article explictly notes that its not an issue with the quality of the RAM. The new BIOS upgrade didn’t test the RAM for stability and then disable it if it failed, it automatically disabled it if “cannot be determined to be compatible.” I’ll admit that it wasn’t an issue of RAM brand, I was misremembering. The issue is still there, that Apple disabled perfectly functional RAM for no reason. **Evil Captor** : You can also get a cheap PC and it will be a LOT faster and more functional than your old Mac. The claim that Macs are simpler to use is just Apple marketing BS. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/83 "2003-04-28T05:33:44Z")
Thanks for the reply, **Glory**. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/84 "2003-04-28T05:39:54Z")
The article says that the upgrade disabled RAM that didn’t meet Apple’s specifications – ie, RAM that was not up to par for use on Macs, by Apple’s measure. That sucks for the miserly dolts who buy $20 DIMMs. Those of us who pay for quality were unaffected. And as for a cheap PC being more functional than a Mac, that wholly depends on what you want to do with it. I am very, very fortunate. I don’t have to deal with the constant headache that is Windows (aside from when I have to fix my fraternity brothers’ PCs). In my industry, or more specifically, the industry I intend to go into, you’d have to be a fool to use Windows. I don’t care if a $500 PC runs 15x faster than my G4 iMac – if it doesn’t have ColorSync, it’s useless to me. Add on top of that piss-poor support for PostScript and messed up font metrics, and you have a $500 doorstop. If I wasted my time on computer games, I’d buy a Windows computer. Or if I needed to plunk a digital word processor/email station on a secretary’s desk. On the other hand, when your trade is graphic design and publication layout, and your hobby is digital filmmaking, a Windows computer just doesn’t make sense. PCs have their place. Macs have their place. Based on my experience with both platforms, I thank God that Macs are found in mine. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/85 "2003-04-28T06:39:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Alereon wrote: > > The claim that Macs are simpler to use is just Apple marketing BS. It’s not BS if enough people claim they are simpler to use. I certainly do. Are you trying to say that I did not, in fact, find them “simpler to use”? Anyway, there have been timed tests, where a variety of non-computer geeks attempt to assemble a variety of computers and connect them to the Internet. Guess which computer “won”, because it took the least amount of time to assembled and get online? That’s right, an iMac. Maybe because it’s simple to use. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/86 "2003-04-28T07:17:35Z")
Not that I particularly doubt that, yosemitebabe, but can I get a cite for that? I’m interested in the particulars of the test. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/87 "2003-04-28T07:25:20Z")
I knew someone would ask for a cite. I saw it on TV, on one of those news programs. (I believe.) I will try to hunt down a cite, though. (But seriously—do you doubt that an iMac, with a power cord, a keyboard and mouse, and modem phone cord, and _that’s it_, would take longer to set up than a PC, with monitor, and everything?) ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/88 "2003-04-28T07:32:05Z")
Well, this does not reference the test that I saw performed on TV, but here is [**PC Mag’s**](http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,39842,00.asp) (note: _not_ a Macintosh publication) review of the iMac: > [@](#): > > A largely self-contained unit, requiring only that you plug in mouse, keyboard, and any networking cables when setting it up, the iMac reduces the hassle normally associated with getting a machine up and running. > [@](#): > > _(Emphasis mine)_ > The iMac scored well on the IEP and ease-of-use scripts— **measures of how easy it is to unpack, set up, and operate a system. Apple’s setup pamphlets and user guides are perhaps easier to digest than any others on the market** —the company obviously spends time ensuring that they’re helpful but not intimidating—and all I/O ports are mounted on either the system’s front or side for quick, easy access. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/89 "2003-04-28T07:34:18Z")
I think this may have been the actual test that the TV show covered (From Macworld magazine): [http://www.macworld.com/1999/07/features/imacchallenge/](http://www.macworld.com/1999/07/features/imacchallenge/) ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/90 "2003-04-30T01:34:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Voyager \* > \*\*Well, not to say that McDonald’s food isn’t junk, but how do you think people would feel about them if every time you went out to eat, no matter where, you were forced to buy a Big Mac, like it or not? If that were the case, then some people would hate them like we do Microsoft. > > Of course other people would say “it’s not that bad, and anyhow fried chicken is much to hard to figure out how to eat.” \*\* Is this in reference to being “forced” to purchase a copy of Windows with many name-brand PCs? This argument is often used, but think about it in relation to other industries: when you purchase a car, many of the parts it contains were made by other companies. If you dislike the manufacturer of the transmission in a car you wish to buy, is this not a similar situation? The vast majority of people who buy PCs from the major manufacturers (Dell, HP, Compaq, etc.) will be running Windows on it. If a company can’t justify the cost of offering a second package sans-Windows, are they being unfair? As well, there innumerable companies out there that you can purchase PCs from, and a huge percentage of these _don’t_ require you to purchase Windows along with the PC. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/91 "2003-04-30T02:22:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alereon \* > \*\ ***spectrum** : **Evil Captor** : You can also get a cheap PC and it will be a LOT faster and more functional than your old Mac. The claim that Macs are simpler to use is just Apple marketing BS. \*\* I own and use both systems and have for years. My first Wintel was a 286, my first Mac was an SE30. PCs have evened things out a lot but Macs are still easier to use. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/92 "2003-04-30T03:09:05Z")
**occ** : > [@](#): > > If a company can’t justify the cost of offering a second package sans-Windows, are they being unfair? I think the reference is to the policy of Microsoft by which any PC manufacturer, in order to obtain the right to sell PCs with Windows preinstalled on _any_ of them, had to pay for a copy of Windows for each and every PC they sold. Whether the PC in question had Windows installed on it or not. That’s not like including a transmission (manufactured elsewhere) with every auto you sell. That’s like forcing the car company to pay for one of the automatic transmission that you produce for them every time they sell a car, even for the cars with 5-speed manual trannies. Youv’e got two choices: charge your customers who want a 5-speed more money, or eat the additional cost yourself (in which case you end up not encouraging purchase of the systems where your profit margin kinda sucks, right?) ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127/93 "2003-05-02T07:30:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scr4 \* > \*\*But in the 90-92 timeframe, how much of Excel’s superiority was due to Microsoft’s inside knowledge of the operating system? I call that an unfair advantage. \*\* Lotus 123 sucked. Well, I take that back. Lotus was better than Calc-Star, but they took years and years to improve the product after it came out. Pre-Windows 3.1 Excel (MS Works) won me over from Lotus in about 2 days. Excel came out before Windows 3.1, so I don’t think you can fairly saw it was due to Microsoft’s unfair advantage. Lotus had a product that was selling like crazy, and they kept with the “winning” design oblivious to a newer better product that captured the business user. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-detest-microsoft/171127.md?page=4)