Why people don't switch operating systems

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by Sam Varghese

Tuesday, 21 August 2007

! The topic of Linux on the desktop is one that raises its head every couple of days somewhere on the web - and here it is again. Related stories Review: Too Human Dell records boom growth in Asia Pac and Japan Microsoft investment shows all is not well at Novell Worms in space: NASA confirms International Space Station infected Microsoft IE8 Beta 2 released: the web browser for jerk-offs? I was a bit amazed last week to note that someone who wrote that the continued piracy of Windows was affecting the spread of Linux on the desktop was described as raising an "unusual" argument. No guessing where this kind of non-logic gained its mileage - it appeared on the site that provides "news for nerds, stuff that matters." It has been known for at least the last 10 years that Gates & Co have a public stance on piracy - which is: "shoot the buggers down" - and a private stance - which is, "it's helps to spread usage of Windows, do nothing." And if piracy helps the spread of A on the desktop, it does not take an IQ of 150 to figure out that it will inhibit the spread of B. But lemmings follow the leader without question and there were quite a few comments about this "unusual" article. It speaks volumes about the kind of world we have descended into - simplistic, silly notions which are similar to mouse-clicks gain traction pretty fast. Few, if any, bother to think an issue through and then posit something about it. Humans are creatures of habit. Habits die hard - witness the man who wants to give up smoking. Good habits, bad habits, neutral habits all take ages to overcome - ever try to stop biting your fingernails? (BTW, I overcame both). Windows use is also a habit - it is developed in the kindergarten, continues in school, goes with you to college and then into the workplace. It is very difficult to avoid the habit at home. Especially when there are lots of people to feed it. Humans are creatures who always want the whole pie - we want the crust, the gooey innards and the plate as well. When it comes down to choosing between buggy systems that give us grief every two days and a stable system that will not have all the bells and whistles which the buggy one has, we choose the impossible path - "I want the stable system but I also want all those flashy bits." That's incredible stupidity but that's how we humans are. Every heterosexual male wants a woman who's a cook in the kitchen, a whore in the bedroom, a maid in the rest of the house and a good mother too. Few people like to go through the trouble of learning a new way of doing things until they get really burnt. And even at that stage, the reaction is often that of the smoker who's already got lung cancer: "I'm going to die anyway, so I might as well enjoy a few smokes while I'm here." When it comes to use of Windows in businesses there are two additional factors at work that keep the established system going. If you get your PCs from a sufficiently big supplier, you will find that the Windows you use is surprisingly more quiescent than that which the ordinary punter gets from his grey box vendor. Microsoft works with big vendors to iron out kinks and help them settle conflicts. This is especially so in the case of governments; here, mere lobbying won't do, especially when it comes to areas like taxation, defence and so on. And then there may be cases where the one application that you depend on at work only has a Windows version. You have no choice, you have to grit your teeth and suffer through using it, day after miserable day. Your salary serves as compensation. Human beings also have an incredibly high pain threshold. Else, a lot of us wouldn't have been born, given the agony a woman goes through to give birth. And we wouldn't be dragging smoke into our lungs through a tube that heats up to a few hundred degrees Celsius every time you drag on it. We have become conditioned to believe that PCs are meant to crash. That applications are going to pull down an operating system when they get stuck. That operating systems _have_ to be reinstalled every two or three years if they are to work somewhat decently. Worms, viruses, malware, scumware, and all those other Windows delights are never painted as such - they are described as computer viruses. Can one blame the masses for believing that these nuisances are part and parcel of computer use everywhere, no matter what system you use? There's nothing unusual about any of these factors - but then nobody ever bothers to mention them when discussing the question of operating systems. We love simplistic notions - and when we have it all served up on Slashdot, why do we need to look elsewhere? Please enable JavaScript in your browser to post your comment! Tags See All Tags Linux  Microsoft  Open Source  Sam Varghese  Software  Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now

 

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