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> "Did I miss anything important?" Yes. These problems apply to Windows on the desktop as well. And Windows exists as the 800 lb gorilla on the desktop for two
by roc 14y ago
> "Did I miss anything important?"
Yes. These problems apply to Windows on the desktop as well.
And Windows exists as the 800 lb gorilla on the desktop for two big reasons:
1. massive numbers of legacy enterprise apps with mind-boggling levels of customization. (e.g. plugins, forms, scripts, macros, etc)
2. games
Making life easy for developers in updating/supporting those apps on new versions of Windows has been a huge part of maintaining their dominance. If Microsoft makes an upgrade even nearly as difficult as porting to a brand new platform, they're making a huge gamble that developers won't hedge toward cross-platform solutions and web apps.
Which, while great for consumers, would be disastrous for Microsoft.
- Tichy 14y agoSure, but I think people are getting tired of that kind of lock in, and it seems difficult to recreate. Granted, most iPhone users are probably tied to the platform for life because they spent 100s of dollars on apps already. Then again, most of them probably aren't as essential as MS Office. Also I think the professional companies will simply hire people to port their apps to every platform, no matter how painful it is. Some indie games might be missed, but even then - if they are successful, they probably make enough money to pay for a port.
- bergie 14y agoiCloud is even bigger lock-in. Once you have two years worth of documents there, you will never be able to leave the Apple universe