The OS Wars Continue

[Schwarzer Kater]

I also try to avoid for example Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp), Google (Chrome, Android, etc.), Microsoft (and in parts Apple) as much as I can and I refused and still refuse to support most of these companies' products. As a consequence I have refused to work for several employers in my professional life, but I don't regret it (it was just money…).
Unfortunately the "average Joe" does not care very much what those companies do (and do with the data they acquire).
And sometimes "real life" gets in the way as e.g. I have to keep up to date with Windows to be able to support my other half when she has a computer problem at work…

[GreyGeek]

Ditto!
Right now I think Google is worse than MS, if that is possible.

[jglen490]

Yep, they are all thieves. No one with power to do so, cares to stop them. Therefore do the best you can to protect as much of yourself as you can. Even the "best" browsers, and web apps take your information/metadata for their own uses - everybody needs to make a buck, so they gotta make money somehow. No one forces anyone to buy/use Microsoft/Apple/Android products, so use what you can smartly, be careful wherever you go, and try not to perseverate on the bad news. The word "fear" derives from the same word that originally carried a meaning of "respect".

[jlittle]

No one with power to do so, cares to stop them.

Outside the US, in many countries there's laws that try to protect users, and to stop monopolistic behaviour, with potentially massive fines. If the US had similar laws, "for the people", ...

[jglen490]

Yet the bad actors still keep it up, despite whatever law may exist in any country. I'm not saying it's hopeless, just pointing out the reality.

Microsoft, Google, Apple and others are willing to pay big fines, even be required to make some changes, and sometimes people end up in jail, but they are still willing to press the point. All because you and I are a great source of income, and you and I have very few reasonable alternatives.

We're on the same side, just be careful where you go, what links you click on, and what you do. That's all I'm saying.

[rec9140]

In my professional life,

This is rhetoric, so hopefully you can see this from my side of the fence.

I too in my professional life made a choice. NO ms! I don't want it. I don't support it. Personally or work..

I busted my butt to get rid my area of influence of ms anything! Still yet things persist with with RSS/CPS and some components there of, ie: monitoring just refuse to die in the ms virus world.. Even after spending MILLIONS of $$$ Harris/L3 or what ever their name is today, Motorola etc. REFUSE to make Linux, UNIX, BSD versions of CPS/RSS. Which is funny considering some of the history with one and UNIX (hint the controller ran on it!)

You can have your own opinion about my professional use of Microsoft products as an employee of various contract companies building critical and useful systems for the US military. But quite frankly your opinion makes no difference to my life path, the life I am able to make for my family, and things I have done and continue to do for our great country.

Well quite bluntly, I think the US government (Federal) to the podunk wittle villages (local government) should be 100% RUNNING AWAY FROM anything NON Linux, BSD, Unix for any thing from the desktop to mission critical. Most ESPECIALLY THE MILITARY and things with sensitive data.. No its not a 100% cure for things, but its about a 80% notch down on it.. Yeah state actors cough CN, RU, NK cough etc. will have their scum attacking Linux, BSD, Unix etc. too.. don't mean we have to make it 100000x easier with MS crap. And no you will never ever ever ever convince me that you can secure MS anything other than it not be connected to anything, all the ports (USB, serial etc.) on the box disabled, etc... ms is a sieve period.

And as you said don't judge, because YES I DO HAPPEN to do MISSION CRITICAL WORK, no its not the military, but it is government related and lets just leave it that if my stuff don't work your house may burn down, you may die, etc.. And I've seen things get taken over by ms which they should never have been anywhere near. This goes from radio consoles to CAD servers to NCIC, NLETS and other things.. NO. My first CAD ran on UNIX, it had a 99.99999% uptime that was 30+ years ago... I can tell you right now the stuff out there now gets no where near that! NOTHING CLOSE!

I don't judge, but, I will tell you I am sick and tired of ms and their crud, I have been for decades. If you want to play in the sandbox, go right ahead. I am not getting dirty in there!

Yeah, this is touchy area with me.. I just don't care for ms and their crud, and no I am not too fond of screwoogle etc. either.. And the less I say about crapple the better... I've seen some of those bio pix about crapple, and you know what, even taken with a huge grain of salt, they don't help to make them any better in my eyes.. matter of fact it only solidified the mess that place was/is.

I think the poster nailed it.. I am actually thinking that gee did I get drunk and post under some user name I didn't know about? ! ! ! !

[jglen490]

You can bust your butt as much as you can to rid yourself of Microsoft. And you may even succeed. Just be aware that the reality of this life at this point in time is that Microsoft is not going to the bitbucket any time soon. Ignore them, don't use their products, good for you. Calling them by screwy names can be fun. But, don't get frustrated about their existence - that's not under your control.