From: Sean Middleditch <elanthis@...>
Date: 2002-02-19T01:26:41+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby and .NET

On Mon, 2002-02-18 at 09:41, Albert L. Wagner wrote:
> 
> 
> Sean Middleditch wrote:
> > 
> <snip>
>  In the cases where Microsoft *did*
> > win (web browsers, media) Microsoft simply had the better product.  IE
> > is a hell of a lot better than NS4.x 
> 
> (rotten)Apples and Oranges. What kind of revisionist history is
> this? IE couldn't compare to NS when IE first came out. Which was
> the whole reason for the browser wars.  MS couldn't win fair so
> they won foul.  

The 3.x/4.x versions of browsers, IE had a clear advantage, which is
where IE became the victor.

> 
> > (6.x just recently jumped on the
> > scene, so far as the average user goes), and I'd use WMP over RealPlayer
> > any day.  I generally don't stick the word innovation with MS, but they
> > have mastered the art of improvement.  
> 
> "Art of improvement?" Come on.

^,^  What better phrase would ask me to give it?  The ability to revise
and extend?

> 
> And with people like myself, and
> > 90% of the average users, who simply prefer to use the best, that
> > ability to improve tends to weigh a lot more than the initial
> > innovation.
> 
> Many people do want the best and don't care where it came from,
> which is why selling new name brand goods from the trunk of a car
> is still so popular among such a clientele.

THere is a bit of a difference between someone knowlingly buying stolen
goods and someone who simply thinks one product is better than another,
even if that product "stole" its ideas from another.