Re: Return Economics html trivial debate

[Ken Hamlett <khamlett@deepwell.com>]

  At 04:26 AM 11/1/97 -0500, you wrote:
  
  >Well, I gave my mother OS/2 Warp 4 on a Cyrix 6x86-166+ box (notice no
  Intel), and although
  >she has had precious little experience with computers she was able to use
  her computer
  >without me to hold her hand from 100 miles away.  She found it easier to
  use than Windows
  >(surprise).
  
  Actually this was my experience when I first tried OS/2 and Linux.
  (and I didn't need a pentium to get good performance on either one.)
  Once I got past my first installation, OS/2 performed flawlessly even
  with Windows software (which I am using to post this). 
  I installed Linux the first time with a precompiled kernel and it
  ran flawlessly and was easy to use. (As long as I avoided the VI editer, 
  of course).
  No suprise however. I moved up from DR-DOS, another product superior
  to the MS offerings.
  Both are superior products to any comparable MS offering but the typical 
  user has never heard of either product. These are not the only fantastic
  operating systems availiable either. All a customer needs to do is
  decide the typical use of the computer, know the product exists
  and order it with their new machine (that last part is where the
  problem lies).
  On the other hand MS products are everywhere, although not one of
  them is a best of breed product from my experience. However the
  customer never gets a chance to choose because of the stranglehold
  MS has on the market. The consumer never finds out about the alternatives.
  
  With the upcoming meeting, it will deal with a small tightly focused
  segment of the industry. However it is a start and I look foward to
  seeing the results. The government has been weak in enforcing the laws
  when MS is the object of scrutiny. Thus it is up to industry leaders,
  consumer groups and finally the consumer to take matters in hand
  and break the monopoly. If our government sees we are prepared to
  clean up the industry, they might join in and exert their great
  potential power for the benefit of the consumer. 
  
  My thanks to all of the people that will be active in the forthcoming
  discussions. It is a step that needed to be taken.
  
  Ken Hamlett