I must apologize... 10082

DR-DOS was a very popular and superior alternative to MS-DOS. Vobis installed it on all their machines until Gates paid them a visit.

It was made clear to the Vobis management that if any machines ship with DR-DOS then they would have to pay retail for MS-DOS and the upcoming Windows 3.x product.

Suddenly Vobis was all MS.

And the pattern continues to this day.

It was far superior to Windows (BeOS 5.x), but lacked applications, thanks to the applications barrier to entry.

No - it's a very clever idea that completely snookers Microsoft.

Because as has been explained umteen times no OEM dared flirt with alternatives, or they'd lose their deep discounts.

The world actually lost.

Consider where desktop computing would be if Microsoft had had meaningful compebreastion. Geez, it took them about eight years to create an OS that took advantage of 32-bit processors. That's a shining example of market driving technology.

They're scared of the shoddiness of theit products being discovered.

Yeah right - 20,000 reviewers giving free publicity to Microsoft, developers testing their compiles, and virus writers testing their latest creations.

Thanks to Microsoft lock-in deals with the major OEMs.

Take-up is going to be even more sluggish than XP - the hardware requirements alone will deter many, and witht he slow dribbling away of features there really won't be much point unless you want some fancy desktop.

"In the BETA"??? So how long until I can buy it in PC World? 18 months at least. By which time the opposition will have created something new for Microsoft to "innovate".

With Vista viruses out already? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Car dealers are an extension of the manufacturer's marketing department.

Are you suggesting OEMs are extensions of Microsoft's marketing department?

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Peter