Using 'common sense' to clear the Microsoft fog of illusion.[[ ...Continued from previous post [url]http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1527.html[/url] ]]
4. Unable to comprehend security issues.
Even when the United States government warns people to avoid using specific software for personal security reasons, the Microsoft sheep act like they don't understand the reasons. The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) [ www.kb.cert.org ] recommended that people stop using Internet Explorer. The advisory states that there are a "number of significant vulnerabilities in technologies relating to the Internet Explorer domain/zone security model, the DHTML object model, MIME type determination and ActiveX. It is possible to reduce exposure to these vulnerabilities by using a different Web browser, especially when browsing untrusted sites." In the eyes of CERT, Internet Explorer's architecture is at the heart of its security problem, not just that millions of copies are in use. The most compelling thing an alternative browser offers, therefore, is an alternative architecture, one less tightly integrated with Windows.
http://www.redmondmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=439
"With a regular Web browser, a security vulnerability might let someone crash the browser. With an integrated Web browser they can crash the whole operating system. The tight ties to Windows means that the slightest IE security issue becomes an OS-wide panic. It's not just IE, either: Windows Media Player, Outlook Express, and even DirectX, are all, in my opinion, overly integrated and give hackers too much access to core PC functions."
5. Confuses commodity with quality.
Toothbrush, disposable razor, ballpoint pen, hotdog, fast-food hamburger -- these are commodities. You can have thousands of these for every $1 it costs to make them. Which do you enjoy more: A) The overcooked hotdog and soda at a grocery deli? Or... B) Your favorite brew and the steak you've just grilled out on the patio? We throw away ballpoint pens when they run out of ink, but a gold-plated hand-crafted heirloom would be treated with more respect. We simply do not assign VALUE to a commodity. The Windows operating system is designed to be a generic "one-size-fits-all" commodity.
6. Thinks professional means expert.
The word "professional" simply means that one is paid to do a certain job. We like to attach connotations to that word and *expect* that a particular "professional" is the best candidate for the task, can give expert advice, has a well-grounded understanding of his field of study, and should be relied upon to tell the truth {professionals actually have very compelling self-serving reasons to lie -- but that's another story... }. Microsoft fanboys try to use these connotations to discredit the quality of Linux due to it's volunteer contributions from the community. Heck, the evening news is full of exposes showing plumbers and auto-mechanics fraudulently charging high prices for shoddy work. Someone please explain why a paid workman is *so special* that their work is better or that their advice is more trustworthy than someone who does the task as a hobby?
For a closing note I want to ask why it is that the type of person I call "Microsoft fanboy" is typically someone 20 years out of high-school who complains about making less than 20k and they haven't advanced their career beyond a beginner-level state government job?
