-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for critical and radical geographers
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of jon litho
Sent: 04 May 2005 15:52
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Microsoft's Hegemony
After having sat through a presentation workshop in which PowerPoint was
extolled as the best way to give presentations i saw this:
For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way
computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo
(COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto
industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer
industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to
the gallon." In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press
release stating: If! GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would
all be driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this
part):
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a
new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would
have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the
car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some
reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your
car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to
reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable,
five times! as fast and twice as easy to drive -- but would run on only five
percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be
replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning
light.
7. The airbag system would ask: "Are you sure?" before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and
refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned
the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to
drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same
manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off
Is it just me or is Microsoft's dominance in the software industry just as
dangerous as the way Neo-Conservativism and US capitalism is rolled out
across the globe. We, as critical geographers, should use other platforms
and packages which do the job better than Word, PowerPoint and Explorer. I
switched to Apple 3 years ago and discovered the alternatives to Microsoft
Office - they are out there and they are easier to use, more intuitive, much
more effective and dont crash...ever! When i asked the computer technician
to connect my Powerbook to the university network he just scratched his head
and looked blank. Five minutes later he was raving at how easy it had been
to do, even without a manual.
Jon
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