The people love Windows XP 10139

DFS Public mindshare, combined with Microsoft's exclusivity requirement for the deals. If you want to be in the business of selling Windows boxes, you have little choice but to sell *only* windows boxes.

Economically. If they shipped alternatives they would no longe rbe able to compete price-wize with the compebreastion. Microsoft required them to ship Windows *exclusively* to get the price break.

Yes, Microsoft is good at selling repackaged pig poo to the general population. It's a talent, I suppose.

No, it wasn't good enough. That's why people bought Windows 95, because Microsoft promised them it would be better. It wasn't really, and so they sold Windows 98 the same way. Then came XP (because the general population ignored 2000), with the same mantra. They're now old enough to force the market to upgrade via end-of-lifing a product.

Software and hardware vendors had little choice in the matter. They went kicking and screaming.

Hardly. An OEM can't survive if they have to drop $300 for the operating system on a $400 computer. They have no choice but to do what is nessesary for Microsoft to sell them Windows at OEM pricing. They don't really have an option anyway because the majority of users are locked into Windows software.

It's also unethical and choked out superior alternatives. Microsoft has single-handedly set back the computing industry by 12 years. At least.

Not at all. Why do you think OEMs didn't ship Netscape with new computers? Because Microsoft wouldn't sell them Windows at OEM pricing if they included Netscape.

'busts through' is an overstatement. I've said 2008-2009 is when GNU-Linux will see a veritable explosion in use (as in doubling marketshare, or so). That doesn't mean Microsoft's grip on the world is going to crumble overnight.

Probably, provided current trends continue.

I pay Apple's premium, don't I?

Not in my opinion. There are *very* few Windows-only apps that are even worth using. Let alone paying the developers what they think their product is worth.

Uhh. No. Office is alright on the Mac, only because no decent alternative runs natively.

Hell no!

I don't do computer aided drafting, so I can't comment.

Nor 3D modeling.

I'm not an Oracle database administrator.

Disagree very strongly. IMO, the GIMP is just as good. Though I'm not a professional in this field so CMYK output isn't important to me. But I have used Photoshop before.

How many do you really need?

Dozens of alternatives exist on GNU-Linux.

There are a few, but most of the games these days are crap.

Not for me. Almost every app I use with any great regularity is fully cross-platform between all three platforms. I could drop Windows tomorrow and not suffer a loss of productivity. Though I'd likely get bored without the games.