How many TECHNICAL users revere Microsoft and Bill Gates?

[Deja Q]

Yes, Gates is good at business. He's ruthless, domineering, law bending, envelope pushing, and callous. Even a thief in some cases, but I won't go there because he ain't alone in the industry.

But do those who revere this guy and his company know a flying fig about the software he makes and the quality of the programming that went into it?!!!

I don't think so! I think only those who haven't a clue about how a computer works think the guy is great.

What say you?

[LastKnight]

1. ms-dos wasnt even his... at least i think

i heard and emphasize HEARD he bought it from his friend Steve Jobs (the guy who heads up apple) for about 20k... and sold it for a few million... when jobs found out he was so pissed off he went his own way and set out to compete against him.

-LK

[Lithos]

3. Yes and no

He didn't buy it from Jobs, he bought it for about $50K for a CP/M derivative called Q-DOS from a company called Seattle Computer Products. He then spent some time porting it over to the new IBM/PC and called that new product MS-DOS.

L-

[tridim]

4. You heard wrong

n/t

[burrowowl]

2. All those who

make a living inserting a CD 15 times to install the software and then it works for awhile on the 15th try.

[KeepItReal]

5. Not this one...

There has been some good competition for Microsoft that has fallen by the wayside... (IBM's OS/2 is one example...Netscape is another)

If you need more insight into their shady business practices check out the long-running Department of Justice suit...

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1080323,00.asp

As far as the software itself... It is bloated code. They keep adding bells and whistles instead of making the product stable and reliable. There is a reason why large organizations do not entrust their most mission-critical stuff to a Microsoft operating system or database. Yes, even Microsoft....

"Microsoft confirmed that Unix systems still make up a significant part of the Hotmail network.

"Hotmail does utilize some Unix servers on the back end, and through time, we are looking to migrate the environment to Windows 2000," Wain said. "

http://news.com.com/2100-1001-271940.html?legacy=cnet

[BlueJazz]

6. Yep...I'm Microsoft Certified and all that crap but......

I'll have to agree with you 90%
I DO think that XP Pro and Server 2003 is a step in the right direction though....
OK...make it 95% :)

[no name no slogan]

7. Me too-- and I make my living off ASP/IIS/SQL Server

Generally, most MS stuff isn't really "good" until it gets to v.3. Before that, it's hit and miss for most things.

However, Visual Studio has been consistently solid since at least version 4. I've not had much experience w/ VS.Net yet, but it looks promising.

MS's strengths have traditionally been with their languages, which is still an area where they are better than most of the competition. It's their other stuff that's not as good as it could be.

Win2k was good, XP Pro is better. Haven't got a chance to try Server 2003, but it sounds good so far...

[burrowowl]

8. May you continue to

make a good living (at least I hope it is good) off the foibles of M$. Strengths in their languages!? They can't even keep M$ language straight and have screwed JAVA to boot.

[lpbk2713]

9. Bill Gates is really Damien

And Microsoft is the work of Satan ............... :evilfrown:

[burrowowl]

10. Indeed!

I used to think he is the anti-christ. But Bu$h ursurped him. However, Bill Gate$ is one of the anti-christ's minions and a VIP in the hierarchy at that.

[Pobeka]

11. A little story before I lay me down to rest

I attended a meeting about 7 years ago which a vendor tech was doing a presentation about their network file storage device. He said they asked MS for the documentation to the SMB protocol. MS said they had no documentation. All MS had was the source code, which it eventually handed over in lieu of documentation. The vendor said the source code looked like it was written by a high school hacker.

Good night all.

[FDRrocks]

12. What say I? Bill Gates is not CEO of Microsoft...

not since 2001, if I recall.

He makes nothing. His child does. Microsoft is the textbook reasons why the Sherman Antitrust laws should still be applied, and strengthened. Microsoft, as it is, is no different then the Beef Trusts of the early 20th century. Nowadays, we have, luckily, wider access to options in the terms of computers. A competent used can run anything off of Linux or a variation.

Linux is only going to get bigger, in my opinion. It is also going to get co-opted eventually, I fear.