My Rant
sir_ajs
sirajs@mediaone.net
anti microsoft, microsoft, linux, pengiun, bill gates, revolution, fuck microsoft



Hi Folks. Im sir_ajs, a strange little man in a strange 
little world. This is my first writing submission to black box, 
so I hope you enjoy it! Well…I'll skip right to the topic which 
is Microsoft, and why they are doomed. "Doomed?" you might be 
saying to yourself. "But they have and 80% marketshare! Theres 
no way theyre doomed!". Well they are. To explain this, lets 
take a little trip back to the late 50's (shouldn't be hard 
for most of you I imagine ;).



In the 1950's there was a company called IBM. You've 
heard of them right? Well, back in the day, IBM was the only 
major manufacturer of computers back then. And back then, 
computers cost around $50,000, were the size of a huge room, 
and were only used by huge corporations. What does this have 
to do with Microsoft you say? Well, I bet you didn't know that 
back in the 50's and 60's IBM was under investigation by the 
Justice Department, because they had a huge monopoly over the 
corporate computer market. Probably from 60-80%, just like 
our little friend Microsoft! IBM's market share is currently 
under 10%. IBM can thank a little computer company called Apple 
for that. Two hippies from a small town in silicone valley beat
a huge corporation in the consumer computer market. A classic 
David vs Goliath situation!



This proves my point. In the computer industry, nothing 
is permanent. Every company has their 5 minutes of fame. IBM 
had it, Apple had it, and now Microsoft is having it. And Bill 
Gates realizes this, but hes trying to prevent it. Hes trying 
to make Microsoft an established monopoly, like AT&T. Hes 
expanding Microsoft into the ISP buisness, making speakers, 
joysticks, anything short of toilet paper! (Which is a shame, 
cause if they did, you could say you wiped your ass with a 
Microsoft product damn!).



But this startegy also has a downside. Sure, 
you get more consumers familiar with the Microsoft name, 
but as Microsoft starts expanding into markets that 
aren't computer related, their resources are strained, 
and Microsoft stops concentrating on their OS. This 
results in substandard computer products (i.e. Windoze 
98). As a result of this, Microsoft will collapse under 
its own weight.



Another sure sign that Microsoft is doomed is 
the ever increasing innovation and competition that 
Microsoft is facing. OS wise, Apple and Linux are stripping 
away around 20% of potentional Windows/Windows NT users. 
And with Mac OSX around the corner (which combines the 
power of Linux and the simplicity of a Mac) and GUI layers 
being built on top of linux (such as Gnome and KDE) making 
Linux a lot easier to use. Microsoft is basically fucked. 
And as you all probably know, AOL has declared war on Microsoft 
in the instant messanger market and in the ISP market (Well
maybe not so much in the ISP market AOL has about 90% more 
ISP market-share than MSN). Also Companies like Cambridge 
Soundoworks and Logitech are facing Microsoft in the peripheral 
market.



My point? Not sure if I have one..oh wait, yeah, I 
remember now. Microsoft is doomed, basically because people 
are standing up and taking notice of more innovative 
companies like Apple, Linux, and other smaller companies. 
So sell your M$ stock! And run! Ruuuuuuunnnnnnnn! 



Note to reader: the last sentence was written during 
caffeine high. sir_ajs does not encourage running, or 
other activities that involve leaving your computer 
for any reason at any time. Except sex of course. But 
right after, you must go back to your computer! Thank 
you.