Microsoft VS Linux

Until November 14th, 2007, I had a pronounced dislike of Microsoft. That attitude was fueled by the perception and belief that Microsoft has grown due to exploitative, monopolistic and anti-competitive business practices. But I had an epiphany that changed my attitude towards Microsoft. I’m no longer concerned with whether-or-not the business practices of Microsoft are either this or that and I don’t care. I have come to the realization that Microsoft has done some tremendous things with how a personal computer operates and how humans interact with and use it. The software that Microsoft has created has enabled just about anyone to operate a computer with relative ease. And other individuals and companies, using the foundations that Microsoft created, have written useful software for just about any purpose.

Now, don’t take that last paragraph as a confession that I would rather use Microsoft Windows than Linux. I still prefer Linux and linux-based applications. But I use Microsoft and Microsoft-based products, too. And I believe that Linux exists because of how easy and affordable personal computers are. Personal computers, due largely to Microsoft’s efforts, are practically everywhere and are relatively inexpensive. The ubiquity of the PC was definitely, in my opinion, a contributing factor to the creation and adoption of Linux.

So, my new attitude about Microsoft is one of gratitude and goes like this, “Thank you, Microsoft, for helping make the PC an everyday, useful tool in our lives. And thank you, Linus Torvalds, for creating the linux kernel and giving us options!”