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AnswerRe: Programming Question of the Week? Pin
Jörgen Andersson20-Jan-17 3:26
professionalJörgen Andersson20-Jan-17 3:26 
AnswerRe: Programming Question of the Week? Pin
Mike Hankey20-Jan-17 3:48
mveMike Hankey20-Jan-17 3:48 
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lopatir20-Jan-17 3:52
lopatir20-Jan-17 3:52 
GeneralRe: Programming Question of the Week? Pin
PeejayAdams20-Jan-17 4:05
PeejayAdams20-Jan-17 4:05 
GeneralRe: Programming Question of the Week? Pin
ZurdoDev20-Jan-17 4:13
professionalZurdoDev20-Jan-17 4:13 
GeneralRe: Programming Question of the Week? Pin
lopatir20-Jan-17 4:35
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QuestionRe: Programming Question of the Week? Pin
ZurdoDev20-Jan-17 5:09
professionalZurdoDev20-Jan-17 5:09 
GeneralRe: Programming Question of the Week? Pin
PeejayAdams20-Jan-17 5:46
PeejayAdams20-Jan-17 5:46 
UNIX was seriously hampered by proprietary versions with SCO, IBM, HP and everyone all going their own merry way.

Yes, it was, in a great many ways, a far superior OS especially when it came to handling multiple users but all the big players were so obsessed with the server/dumb-terminal marketplace where they were already kings that they didn't pay any attention to the rapidly rising PC market.

At the same time Microsoft, as leaders in PC-land, were thinking "why can't we extend our OS to server platforms?" When they did, it was the natural way for many to go - they were familiar with Windows and it became a fairly natural choice for what was by then an increasingly a server/PC based world.

In many ways, Microsoft's success was simply brought about by the failure of others to seize the day. They were broadcasting in glorious technicolor while everyone else was happy to stick with black and white.

And it would be wrong to disregard the fact that a fair portion of their success actually is based on quality products. SQLServer is way better than the alternatives; Office has generally been up there amongst the better products; .NET has an awful lot going for it and IIS is solid. There may have been some cruddy things along the way (I hate COM with a passion and there are two or three versions of Windows that should never have seen the light of day) but how many companies get it right every single time?

Sure, they started with a huge stroke of luck and have maybe had a fair bit along the way, but luck alone doesn't keep you on top for too long. Richie Benaud, the late, great Aussie cricketer summed it up beautifully when he said "captaincy is 90% luck and 10% skill - but don't try it without the 10% skill" as did Gary Player when he said "the more I practice, the luckier I get."
Slogans aren't solutions.

GeneralRe: Programming Question of the Week? Pin
lopatir20-Jan-17 6:45
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PeejayAdams22-Jan-17 23:38
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OriginalGriff20-Jan-17 4:28
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KarstenK20-Jan-17 3:54
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User 1013254620-Jan-17 4:04
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Richard Deeming20-Jan-17 5:59
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Mark_Wallace20-Jan-17 4:05
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CDP180220-Jan-17 4:26
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OriginalGriff20-Jan-17 4:29
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Tim Carmichael20-Jan-17 4:26
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User 483504720-Jan-17 6:45
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Ravi Bhavnani20-Jan-17 3:27
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Frank Alviani20-Jan-17 4:59
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Sander Rossel20-Jan-17 5:20
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