The End of Microsoft Or Why Microsoft shouldn't push for Genuine Windows Part 3

If the last article was successful in convincing you about the popularity of Microsoft and to that end its superiority over other OS’, then that’s not the end of it.

Microsoft, as I mentioned earlier, had a vision of a computer for every human being on the face of this planet. And although it hasn’t quite achieved its vision yet, but it certainly came close. Closer than people imagined it would come. The reason along with those I discussed earlier, was majorly the easy availability of Microsoft Windows. Pirated or otherwise. Everyone from the IT professional to the babus in government office to the panwaala below has a computer now. And if he does then chances are that it has Microsoft Windows installed on it. And if it has Microsoft Windows installed, then chances are that it is pirated. Everyone is happy and all is well.

Many who use Windows are not as computer literate as others. So they might have enabled the automatic updates feature of Windows. And in no time their computer would be infested with a spyware-like-program called the Windows Genuine Advantage Tool. And then all hell breaks loose for the poor guys.

It is of some importance to note that a statistics, if there was, about the percentage of users using a non-genuine Windows to the total number of Windows users would indeed be substantial. The reason being that except corporations, businesses, people with branded PCs, all others almost always go for the pirated version.

If the tool continues to work its way through, more and more people would be infected by it and start getting bugged. Slowly and steadily, people will be saturated with all the notices on their machines about Windows being non-genuine and that will be the time when people will start looking for alternatives.

Alternatives to Windows are not an easy job. Like we discussed earlier, there is no “suitable” alternative to Windows at present. But as more and more people start looking for alternatives, there would be more and more pressure on Open Source OS like UNIX and LINUX to get better and better. With increasing public support, it would not be as difficult a job. A fact that would prove conducive to this would be that this time people would not be looking for an OS which is better than Windows, but necessarily something as good as Windows or even slightly worse would do.

At this time when the general masses would be looking towards LINUX for an answer to Windows desperately, either the answer would come from LINUX or from a small-time OS which is GUI based and which sheepishly entered as a Free OS. Earlier the OS might have been rejected out and out but this time the very same people would appreciate it and accept it with open arms. This would precisely mark the end of Microsoft.

Once people get accustomed to the new OS, they will soon forget Windows. The shortcomings of Windows, which quite logically will not be present in the new OS, would be criticized and there would be a mass boycott of the Windows OS.

But this does not mean that Windows would be completely out. It would still be used for many other areas including Servers, corporations, businesses, and some other loyalists.

A point that I would like to make here is that if infact Windows is still used by businesses then, is purely my own indulgence. It might happen that the new OS is much more stable and secure as compared to Windows and as a result of this is accepted even among corporate circles.

But the acceptance of a new OS will by and large mean the end of the Microsoft winning spree. With Microsoft Office being the only second largest selling software for Microsoft, the company may survive if it does not push forward the Office Genuine Advantage Tool.

What Microsoft decides to do is yet for us to see…

The author uses genuine Windows Vista Beta, genuine Windows XP Pro and genuine Microsoft Office 2007
This is the concluding article of the series.

The End of Microsoft Or Why Microsoft shouldn't push for Genuine Windows Part 2

To understand what I had mentioned in the first part about Microsoft facilitating its own end, it is of prime importance to understand how Microsoft is on the top and how it manages to remain on top and more importantly what represents the actual Microsoft.

You see, it is a common view to term that Microsoft has outdone its competitors. How it manages to do this is what I am about to explain. And it is not rocket science. It is because of the popularity that Microsoft enjoys. Exactly why it is so popular when there are other GUI OS present and some might be better than Windows. One point to clarify here – I am not saying that there IS infact an OS better than Windows. What I am trying to suggest is there can be. There might be. For all the people who are reading this – how many of you have actually tried out a GUI OS besides flavors of Windows? (let us leave Mac OS for now). I am sure that more than 60% would have said none. Now if I say leave Mac OS and Linux? I think not more than 10% would have.

This is exactly the reason why Windows is so popular. Because people are too reluctant to try out another OS even if it was better than Windows. They are comfortable with Windows. The result translating into failure for such small OS’.

Mac OS

The Mac OS has its own fan following. People revere it. Even worship it. But then again, they are very few. The reason being very simple. Mac has the same strategy since its inception – create elite personal computers and deliver end to end. So their OS is tied down to the Mac. It is possible to install a Mac on some other machine. But its way too much trouble. Mac is a premium PC. Only bought by a few. So naturally its not the peoples choice.

Linux

Anyone who has used Linux would agree how much pain it is to first install the OS and then use it. People who are hardcore Linux fans are so because they hate Windows more than they love Linux. If they were new to computers and were given a choice between selecting Windows and Linux, I am sure they would select Windows. Because no matter how hard people protest, Windows is much more user intuitive than Linux and Linux is still a geek-friendly OS. Again it is but natural to reject it. One more reason which is probably less in the talks is the fact that all the time Linux flavors try to emulate Windows. It is a general human tendency to debase things that copy and uphold things being copied. So somewhere in the subconscious of the people there is a thought that since Linux tries to copy Windows all the time, maybe Windows is better than Linux. So why settle for Linux when I can get Windows?

Windows

Windows on the other hand is largely platform independent, is freely available, is highly user-intuitive, gives you all that you would want, and there is a huge software base to support it. But something which compliments and supplements all of the above is that you can get a pirated copy of this piece of code. This makes it practically priceless for less price! Naturally people want to use Windows. And this in turn increases the popularity of Windows all the more!

The author uses genuine Windows Vista Beta, genuine Windows XP Pro and genuine Microsoft Office 2007

The End of Microsoft Or Why Microsoft shouldn't push for Genuine Windows Part 1

I am sure that by now almost all who use Windows would have encountered this sweet little “critical update” called the Microsoft Genuine Advantage Tool.

For the uninitiated, this tool installs itself and is supposed to give genuine users of Microsoft an edge over those who do not own a genuine copy. What it actually does is, well, a completely different story. Since Microsoft had a very different strategy plan when they first shipped out Windows, there was not a lot of stress put on preserving the “genuineness” of Windows. Translated into simple English it meant that earlier, any EU could get a copy of Windows pirated or otherwise, install it and forget about it.

A law suit and a decade later, Microsoft changed. Things were looked at differently. Microsoft now wanted to change the rules of the game. They started stressing about security, anti-piracy…

A small tool to check whether the operating system installed on a machine is genuine or not was written. It became a hit with the company. They started using it to restrict downloads to some software which was earlier allowed without any questions asked. People dismissed the tool as just another idiotic attempt to stop piracy. As if it would help! The software that Microsoft restricted non-genuine users from downloading could easily be gotten from elsewhere. But Microsoft was quick to realize this and it went a step ahead. It forcefully got this tool installed on each and every computer which was ready to install any updates from Microsoft.

In effect, this tool will stop you from getting updates from Microsoft, pop-up messages of windows being non-genuine, add a flash screen at startup which asks you to buy a copy and so on. So instead of giving an edge to genuine users, the tool successfully manages to chip off the advantage of non-genuine users. Critics might point out that chipping off advantage of competition isn’t a new thing for Microsoft, but let us not get into that.

No doubt this tool immediately became and remained the center of controversy for a very long time among both fans and critic. But this tool hasn’t finished its damage spree and it would be instrumental in doing what competitors couldn’t do for 5 years now – kill Microsoft. This brings me to the name of the topic and as to why I chose to write about this tool.

It is my sincere effort to explain as to how, if unchecked, this tiny little tool would spell doomsday for Microsoft. As to why Microsoft fails to notice what I am about to write; well, it does, but there is a reason as to why it is ready to take this risk. Of this I will talk about in my next series of articles. But for now, we will stick to the tool and its after-effects.

This is the first part of a series of articles. I will try to be regular in posting the parts but cannot promise!
The author uses genuine Windows Vista Beta, genuine Windows XP Pro and genuine Microsoft Office 2007