Re: MS should control PC configuration?
If an OEM should be allowed to add value with third party products, what's wrong with adding value by replacing replacable components.
The reasons are practical. IE is a nontrivial component. Many of the interfaces it exposes are nontrivial. There's a ton of other nontrivial stuff in Windows that reuses various IE components. Microsoft has poured tons of time and money into testing all that stuff with IE. And here's the key point. Microsoft also knows that no two independent implementations of a nontrivial software specification will ever be 100% compatible. If you don't believe that last part, you've probably never done hard time trying to get a nontrivial Java product to work correctly under several different vendors' JVMs, or taken a good long look at what GNU autoconf does. The bottom line is that if nobody ever tested, say, the Windows file manager on top of someone else's HTML component, there's a good chance it won't work correctly in that configuration. There's a chance it will, of course, but it's a risk that neither Microsoft nor any other software developer in the same situation has any reason to take. And I believe it is unfair and unreasonable to require them to take it. Your thoughts?
If a replacement didn't work, it wouldn't be Microsoft's problem; the OEM is expected to support their PCs.
It's still too risky for Microsoft. Think about it. If a ton of basic Windows stuff doesn't work\ufffd- we're talking about the desktop, the file manager, the administration console, the help system (!), etc.\ufffd- who do you think the user will blame? Whose brand do you think the user will lose confidence in? I realize that many people here will scoff at the notion of confidence in the Microsoft brand, but let's try to be serious here. Do you think that attitude applies to the majority of Microsoft's user base? Heck, forget Microsoft and look around. How many automobile manufacturers give dealers the freedom to modify cars any which way? Don't you think there are valid reasons for that? Even if a vendor has had problems with brand confidence in the past, do you think they should be required, for any reason, to abandon practices designed to protect it?
Or is your argument that MS should be allowed to control the configuration provided to end-users?
No, that's not my argument at all.
