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-- Guan Yang (guanix@softhome.net), April 11, 2000

Answers

You know, I'm as much of a Microsoft basher as anyone else, but I have to say, this site contains as much FUD as Microsoft's.

From the top:

The "Response to The Case for Microsoft" is rife with factual errors:

1. Before there was Windows, there was Word and Excel. They were bytecode interpreted programs that ran in DOS text windows and MacOS. (Same p-code, different interpreters). Word 2.0 was the first native windows version of Word, but I think it is safe to say that Office (or at least the office components) predated Windows.

2. Ralph seems to degenerate into a "I like Palm better than WindowCE/Powered/Palm PC/Whatever" argument (that I happen to agree with) but has little to do with the topic, and more to do with personal opinion.

3. The claim that "Microsoft has never innovated. Every feature has been borrowed, stolen, or outright bullied from others" is clearly nothing but slander. What about "clippy"? Huh? What about "Bob". Sure, they suck, but they are innovations. Theres probably some others that I can't think of either. Seriously, though, thats just ridiculous FUD. I have to grudgingly admit that they have come up with some neat ideas. Squigglies under misspelled words, autocorrecting typos... and maybe these weren't originally from Microsoft, but there has to be some.

Lots of others, but my point is that while I agree that Bill is full of it, and that Microsoft needs to be split (into 3 groups, though! Front office, back office, and OS!), I think the response is as much FUD as the original.

Article 2 on the front page:

Microsoft Invents the Optical Mouse

As it happens, I believe they *are* the first to invent an optical mouse that uses an optical sensor and a DSP to sense movement over *any* kind of surface. Previous optical mice required that you use a special gridded mousepad. For example, the Mouse Systems optical mouse that is sitting next to me has to use the special metal pad its sitting on, or it doesn't register movement. The Microsoft IntelliSuperLeet USB mouse that I used for a while, I could move around on my jeans. It sucked for Quake, and I didn't like the fact that you had to lift it about two inches above the mouse pad before it stopped tracking, but I do believe it is a first in Mouse technology. It blows, but it's a first.

So there's another case of FUD.

Thats about all the Anti-FUD I can read... Theres enough BS in Microsofts press releases and marketing hype that I don't think you need to resort to this sort of thing.

Try to at least be objective, like the original dot-lies piece.

Just my $.02.

-- Ron

-- Ron (zbeeblebrox_@hotmail.com), May 23, 2000.


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