[extropy-chat] Microsoft (was: singularity conference atstanford)

[Samantha Atkins]

On May 16, 2006, at 2:49 AM, Gary Miller wrote:

>> Samantha said: Outlook is not itself the standard just because it is
> widely used.
>>
>> I also doubt it is the most used.  Outlook costs money.  Many  
>> people on
> Microsoft platforms can afford it only at work.  >They use other  
> things
> quite often at home.
>
> Because Microsoft bundles Outlook Express into the Windows XP  
> operating
> system.  And the XP operating comes installed on 99.9 of the PCs  
> used in the
> US whether you like it or not, it has become the defacto standard.
>
> High speed carriers such as Comcast and Verizon only have  
> installation and
> helpdesk support for Outlook.  Try asking them for help configuring  
> another
> mail program and you'll find out you're on your own.
>

I doubt very much that anyone here is at the mercy of ISP preference  
as to what email program to use.  But I take your point that much of  
the unwashed masses may have no idea they have a choice or that it is  
easy to choose differently.

> I know there are a lot of power users out there who enjoy trying new
> software and a lot of the Open Source software out there has been  
> made a lot
> easier for newbies to download/install but the truth is I work with  
> the
> average PC consumer on a daily basis and the vast majority of them  
> don't
> make it any further than Outlook and Interent Explorer.
>

OK.  So perhaps the majority is stuck with whatever quality Microsoft  
did on did not provide for "free".   Sad really.  I have a brilliant  
friend, very gifted mechanical engineer,  who still uses IE although  
I personally loaded Firefox on her home machine and walked her  
through using it.  She actually sees that it is better and more  
secure, yadda, yadda.  But thinking to choose it instead seems to be  
one too many things to think about or something.   She uses web mail  
but uses Yahoo's offering, ads and all.

- samantha