# Why is Windows so popular? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2003, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-windows-so-popular/205315 "2003-10-03T11:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-windows-so-popular/205315/41 "2003-10-06T18:54:07Z")
> [@](#): > > it installed on the Unix part (in the /usr directory) and the Mac GUI will not go there. I can point Finder to any directory that I can cd to in terminal. And yes, I’m referring to directories like /usr and /etc and /bin . I’m not seeing the distinction, here. I don’t think that I even had to uncheck any preferences to do so, though it’s been a while since I got the computer, so I might not remember. And you’d be surprised how many technical folks are moving to Mac, nowadays. As a general rule, techies are used to Unix systems in our work, so a Unix system with a decent user interface is a natural choice for a personal computer. I presume that Mac also still has a disproportionate number of right-brain types, but that’s not an area I know, so I won’t address that. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-windows-so-popular/205315/42 "2003-10-06T20:50:22Z")
Don’t worry about it, **micco** – remember I said I’m an engineer and thus have no sense of humor. 😉 And I do have a beige-box PC, also. Really, it’s kind of cream. The HP the preceded it was beige, though. And I’ve had two PC laptops. Those were black, but that’s a standard color for laptops (yeah, even the older Apples). ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-windows-so-popular/205315/43 "2003-10-07T00:18:27Z")
Probably something to do with usability over power. The usual MS route through app versions is this… [ol] Version [li] Basic features, but **very** easy to use. Bug-ridden and instable. Cheap. Small userbase.[/li] [li] Some more features, but still easy to use. Bug-ridden and a touch more stable. Almost as cheap. Small userbase, but word-of-mouth.[/li] [li] Again, a few more features. Easy to use. Bug-ridden, but finally kinda stable. Not as cheap. Word-of-mouth and some advt.-related increase.[/li] [li] Some fanciful, but unnecessary features added. Easy to use. A bit _less_ stable. Not as cheap. Lotsa advt. and userbase increase.[/li] [li] Lots more bloat. Easy to use. Potentially unstable and slow. But by now, the ease of use and usage vector ensures that users don’t change. M$$$. Dominance and hence almost a compulsion among new users. [/li][/ol] After reaching the last step, the cycle feeds itself. The key to displacing MS is to find a software niche where MS is not present. Develop a software with focus on **ease-of-use**. Don’t worry about efficiency and optimal workflow a whole lot. Advertise among key usre cliques. Make sure MS doesn’t buy you off 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-windows-so-popular/205315/44 "2003-10-07T02:59:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by acsenray \* > **You’re kidding, right?** No, I was hoping for some clarification on which aspect of the MS EULA **handy** was objecting to. I admit I didn’t put it very clearly or plitely, sorry. But copyright basically means that when you are buying a book, you are buying a licence for one person at a time to read the material. You can transfer the licence to someone else (sell the book) but you cannot copy the entire book to give to a friend. It used to be the same for software. If handy was referring to the more strict limitations and intrusive and licence control, esp. those used on the XP, then I do agree it goes beyond the realm of copyright. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-windows-so-popular/205315/45 "2003-10-07T14:44:33Z")
“If handy was referring to the more strict limitations and intrusive and licence control” You might have confused me with someone else’s reply. That wasn’t what I was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-windows-so-popular/205315/46 "2003-10-07T14:51:30Z")
> [@](#): > > But copyright basically means that when you are buying a book, you are buying a licence for one person at a time to read the material. You can transfer the licence to someone else (sell the book) but you cannot copy the entire book to give to a friend. It used to be the same for software. This is completely wrong. When you are buying a book, you are _buying_ something. There are no licenses involved. It’s just like you are buying a tube of toothpaste or a lawn mower. You are buying it; it’s yours; you are free to do with it whatever the hell you want. You are not limited by any kind of license or contract. You can use it; you can sell it; you can give it away; you can take it apart to see how it works. I repeat, _there is no license or contract of any kind_. Copyright law prevents you from copying the material in a way that violates the copyright holders rights. Period. It’s just like other kinds of intellectual property rights (whether copyright, trademark, or patent) would apply to aspects of the toothpaste or the lawn mower. And you are certainly not limited to one-person-at-a-time use. You can pass it around, you can let people look over your shoulder, you can read it out loud at your New Year’s Eve bash. > [@](#): > > If handy was referring to the more strict limitations and intrusive and licence control, esp. those used on the XP, then I do agree it goes beyond the realm of copyright. It has nothing to do with “more strict limitations.” _Any_ provision of a contract or license that restricts the purchaser’s rights in any way that isn’t already covered by the copyright law (basically, unauthorized copying and the other allied rights of the copyright holder) is “beyond the realm of copyright.” The software license is an attempt to secure control over the purchaser in a manner that _is not given by copyright law_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-windows-so-popular/205315.md?page=2)