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No, I don’t think so. But that’s just my opinion! They’re really best left with those that like to tinker, or people that plain just don't like Microsoft. I sometimes get fed up with Windows and Internet Explorer as well, but I stick with them and here is why.
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I have been a developer for many years working on a range of platforms and technologies from mainframes to web sites. This is very relevant because it means I know a geek when I see one. After all, I brush shoulders with them every day in my job and I guess there are those that would say I am one too. Am I offended to be pigeonholed like this? No, I certainly am not and I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to explore and find out how things work.
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However, the point I am trying to make is that geek software isn't for everybody and that should be respected. Open source is a great concept but not everyone wants to modify the software they use. Microsoft tools are popular simply because they work (most of the time) and most people would find them intuitively easy to use. It is very likely that this isn't a black and white situation. The more likely scenario is shades of grey with the pure boffins at one end of the spectrum and the technophobes at the other. Whilst I am more than capable of getting a piece of software to work, tweaking it here and there and solving the problems that arise getting things up and running I fully understand that not everyone is prepared to do this. The average joe public doesn't want to get involved in this kind of thing. They want to open a box, install the software and for it to do the job they expect it to, safely, with the minimum of fuss and at a reasonable price.
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I have diverged slightly here. Linux, Firefox, Opera, Star Office and I guess Apple computers are all alternatives to Microsoft products. There's nothing wrong with that. Healthy competition is good and everyone should have a choice. I have in fact used Opera the web browser in the past myself. What I do find distasteful however are those people that slate Microsoft just because of who they are and how big they have become. They harp on about security vulnerabilities, which are most likely highlighted so quickly because so many people use Windows and Internet Explorer.
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The person in the street isn't dumb and they’ll vote with their feet so to speak so let’s accept it. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll all be using a mac running ‘Lin-OS’ and browsing the web with err… Netscape twelve or something.
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