Microsoft
What could possibly go wrong?
My first computer was a trs80 model 1 with 16k of memory (whopping at the time.)
I used a cassette recorder to save and load programs.
The machine was a wonder - still a favorite - you could turn it on and in it would present "thinking" on the screen for a few seconds and then you were set to go.
Thin King had no operating system. You got booted into Microsoft BASIC. It was a way primitive language, full of gotos and gosubs but I found it easy to understand and even wrote a valuable program in MS BASIC that did a better job than a $5000 standalone box. I even sold it to a shop for $500 and they used it for years.
For years I celebrated Bill Gates as the boy billionaire. And I still celebrate him at that time.
But not now.
I don't know if I can blame Bill for Microsoft now but he built a global monster.
The thing is that if you buy something from microsoft you don't really own it, MS can come into your computer and do 'updates' whenever they want without asking permission or even saying they are doing it.
I've had two of those updates crash my computer completely After the update you get a blue screen of death and have to go back to square one and reinstall everything (if you're lucky).
I do like installing and setting up a new computer system. But it is actually days of work to do it and I don't like having it forced on me. Also, more, I don't like the loss of resources I get each time that happens. My content is pretty well backed up.
But last time MS trashed me I lost access to Photoshop which is a huge issue. I used photoshop since the mid 80s - in school and then in printshops and then on my own computer. I Was fluent in it.
Bam - an update came along and removed my access to it.
My main computer now uses Ubuntu and I like ubuntu way better than windows. But MS does not like Ubuntu at all
I found that I need to use windows. I just bought a film scanner and its software will only work with windows. I've encountered that many times before. It's MS's market advantage but also why they are a monster.
The crowdstrike disaster is an example of how that update without asking permission model fails.
Bad code gets pushed to millions of computers and then banks and airlines and grocery stores can't use their systems
MS has done it to me.
I'd say naughty but that doesn't express my feeling strong enough
what do you think?
I present regular philosophy discussions in a virtual reality called Second Life.
I set a topic and people come as avatars and sit around a virtual table to discuss it.
Each week I write a short essay to set the topic.
I show a selection of them here.