Die DOS, die

I hate Microsoft. \nUsing clever business strategies, Bill Gates has managed to take the idea of open-sourcing intellectual property and has constructed a computer empire spanning the globe, with no one to oppose him. I was under the impression that monopolies were a Bad ThingTM, and Microsoft definitely qualifies. \nWindows is slow, clunky and insecure, but the world still runs it because everybody else is using it, so they don't have a choice. When Apple has to run Microsoft Office just so its users can exchange documents with the other 90 percent of the population, there is a problem.\nMS-DOS was really good. Granted, most of the programming was stolen from Gary Kildall's CP/M operating system. Windows was revolutionary, letting people interact with their computers using graphics instead of boring text. Of course, Apple had graphics for several years, and most of Windows' features were ripped straight out of the Mac. Gates was only able to make Microsoft into today's monopoly through a few legal victories over Apple and clever contracts gaining Microsoft intellectual property. Those, and the open-sourcing.\nAround 1990, there was Apple and there was Microsoft. Microsoft had open-source code, meaning anyone could write and sell programs using Windows. These programs made the operating system even more useful for users. Apple guarded its code, preventing anyone else from writing programs, severely limiting what one could actually do on a Mac. \nSilly, stupid Apple. You kept your candy all to yourself, but little Billy was generous, knowing that if he gave away his candy, he'd have friends who would want to play with him. Now you're all alone, huddled in the dark, underneath the playground slide, sucking your bittersweet lollipops. The rest of the kids are laughing and climbing on the jungle gym, while Billy stands triumphantly on top, cackling at his total victory over all creation. \nOr is this victory so complete?\nMicrosoft has slacked off over the past decade. Macs, while more expensive and historically less compatible with the outside world, are ridiculously fast, stable, and really, really cute. The new iPod, iTunes and iOwnMusicDownloading trend has won Apple a lot of money and free advertising of their products. The Mac is releasing more of its code, too. This tortoise got a pretty good lead while the hare wasn't looking. \nIt's not all Mac vs. PC, though. Unix, a freeware operating system, is more stable than Atlas's legs, and anybody can take the code, finagle with it and put it up online. This constant tinkering has made the operating system into a true computing wonder. \nBut since Apple made everyone sell their souls to Microsoft, it's difficult for the average Joe to use Unix. It's there, it's free, and there are plenty of quality programs, but you still have to have a computer with Windows because ... everyone else does. This assured mass Windows usage is a real bummer for those that give a crap about how their computer's actually computing, but things are looking up. \nFirefox, the brilliant, clean, fast Web browser you can get for free at www.getfirefox.com is eating Internet Explorer for breakfast. You can buy a computer with the free Unix system, then get a pirated copy of Windows to run on it (also free). Given that Windows makes up about 15 percent of the average PC's cost, that's a lot of money back in your pocket. \nBut even with these incentives, you folks are the ones that still have to do something. Gates' monopoly has the digital world in a stranglehold, feeding us an operating system far below today's level of programming. Microsoft has been dishing out crap since Windows 95 because there is no competition, so I, for one, am going to give it some.