Originally Posted By: DragRace
I think many have tried to challenge MS and failed miserably (if statistics are any indication).
If statistics are any indication, Microsoft has failed miserably, not Linux and Unix. I'm not an expert by any means when it comes to computers, but there are 2 general uses of OS'es:
Desktop environment
and
Server environment
As servers, Linux and Unix far-and-away outnumber Microsoft. Yahoo, for instance, uses FreeBSD (a Unix OS). Your bank, NASA, and nuclear power station are not going to install Microsoft servers for mission critical applications. They use Unix and Linux servers.
Now on the desktop for the general public, true, Microsoft currently outnumbers Unix and Linux, but still Unix and Linux gain more users every year. They aren't going way. They're a pesky thorn in Microsoft's closed-source side, and they're gaining every year. Look at Apple. They realized their old closed-source OS's were junky, and adopted FreeBSD beginning with OS X (or was it OS 9?--I don't know much about Apple OSes). When you run Apple, you're basically running FreeBSD, with Apple's overlay, of course. So right there, UNIX and Linux made huge inroads on Microsoft, when it comes to counting the number of home users. The rumor is that Microsoft is also thinking of adopting UNIX or Linux for future OSes, and overlaying its own GUI on top, just like Apple did.
I haven't used that Microsoft junk on my home desktop since the 1990's. I prefer the best
I guess that's why I'm also trying RLI Bio-Syn oil in my car, Red Line, Amsoil, and others. It's fun using and trying the best stuff. That's also why I bought a Toyota [chuckle]. Okay, you got me: Toyotas aren't fast like Linux, but they are reliable like Linux