StevenJGore wrote:
What next then?
Car manufacturers not being allowed to include factory-fitted stereos because it stifles competition from other car stereo makers?
I don't see that it's any different.
Oh, but there's a difference. Next time you get behind the wheel of your VW, remember that Blaupunkt make the stereo as a supplier. The seats in your Ford Focus are made by Johnson Controls and the fuel injection system is made by Bosch. The bootlid, dashboard, electrics of my Alfa Romeo are all manufactured separately by third party suppliers and assembled in the end factory.
All of the above are symbiotic relationships that benefit the car company, the supplier and the end consumer. Plus if Alpine can market a better stereo than Blaupunkt, VW can fit that one as standard and so on.
Microsoft on the other hand do everything in house. What they don't do, they buy into and eventually dissolve/assimilate. They actively seek out competition with a view to stifling it before it can even get a foothold. They have tight controls over licensing and can therefore charge what they like for the end product without having to worry about a rival's OS being better quality.
Joe Public will never change their purchasing habit because it's advantageous for us all to be using the same software. It's nice to be able to email a word document, knowing the guy on the other side of the world can read it.
The only way I can around this would be to force MS to use a standard format protocol for all documents/media etc which should be made open source. However, that effectively rules out companies being innovative with new product formats etc....
