On 15 Jul 2006 08:13:47 -0700, "Darren" wrote:


Tom wrote:
After spending the last aggravating hour looking for
my windows reinstallation disk, I began wondering
if the billions that Gates is giving to charity is enough
to keep him from burning in hell.

Why is it that people are spending billions on
Microsoft and Office when Office 97 is no longer
even supported? Are people just stupid or is
Microsoft just evil? Why isnt Office 97 no longer
supported?
I will defer to the experts in the group, but I feel that old products
are no longer supported because of the concept of planned obsolescence.
(see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence
http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbede...s/engcol8.html and a
commentary at
http://forevergeek.com/apple/snl_par...solescence.php)
I can understand the situation from Microsoft's point of view (keep
revenue flowing in order to fund new development, keep stockholders
happy) and the viewpoint of consumers (paid a lot of money for
software/hardware, only to have a "new and improved version" come out a
short time later).

At the moment I happen to be relying on Office 97,
and it is not in the least bit comforting that Microsoft
no longer supports it.

I also know that Linux is the alternative to Microsoft
that would save people mountains of aggravation,
but since collectively people are morons or Microsoft
is incredibly evil, the vast majority of people are using
Microsoft. If Linux was the standard, people would
no longer have to worry that Office 97 was no longer
supported.
Consumers drive the market.

together with producers ?


The belief is that Windows is easy to use,
with applications being easy to install. If these are their priorities,
then I certainly cannot fault them for supporting Microsoft. When the
day comes that Linux has the same perceived ease of use, then perhaps
the market will shift at that time.

Do people enjoy having ulcers, Are people stupid?
People do not enjoy having ulcers. As for people's intelligence, with
the exception of a few politicians, I find that the average person is
quite well informed.

And for how long will Bill Gates burn in hell?
In an email sent using Outlook 8.02, the Evil One stated that Bill is
not expected to be a guest.