I am trying to compile information on people's experiences concerning how Microsoft affects Linux users lives. For example, you have just purchased a new computer with M$ OS on it? Did you ask for, and receive a refund for not using the M$ OS?

Maybe your boss at work is a M$ fan, and hates Linux? What happened??

Maybe you have heard of a case where Microsoft has intimidated a company or something? eg. I asked a computer saleman why he no longer stocks Apple Macs...his answer was intimidation by Microsoft.

This is not a "I hate M$ thread", but I do want stories of how M$ has negatively impacted on our lives as Linux users. [Comments by BSD, Mac or any other non-Microsoft OS user are welcome too.

Thanks.

I make side money fixing people's Windoze problems so I can't really say it negatively affects me at all. I hope they keep cranking out broken crap so I can keep cashing in on it.

One thing I have to say, it's not really a treat but can lead to one.

People that use Windows but are not educated or knowledgeable of computers. I know it's not everyones forte tobe a geek or a nerd, but most people I know will call there computer the internet. They have no basic concept of what there actually doing.

How does this effect Linux you say?
Well those users can be used and totally unaware of it, they can be turned in to spam boxes, be infected with some virii or worm that DoS's other computers at random. Be used basically as an army of zombies.

Windows makes it too easy to do anything without telling the user the potential risks of there actions.

I personally don't think that Microsoft, e.g. by its presence in the marketplace, negatively impacts anyone at all.

In our industry, it's not a case of "one size fits all." Computer hardware is not the same; requirements are not the same. Trust me, there is a universe "beyond Microsoft!"

So, there really is no "either/or competition" here. The mere notion that Microsoft has ... or has ever had ... "monopoly power" is actually pretty darned silly. It's just not the case that "neither can live while the other survives..."

Our chosen industry is not like this. Is not now, and has never been.

I am a Microsoft fan. Yes, I know people will hate me, but they really do make managing workstations really easy with their Active Directory and Group Policies. I am eagerly looking forward to Windows Server 2008! Vista is definitely a step in the right direction in terms of security.

I work in an academic institution and Microsoft makes their software really cheap and affordable for us. Yes, I know Linux is free, but sometimes it is nice to have everything synchronized and integrated really easily. Microsoft also offers FREE softwares to many colleges, but unfortunately my place is not one of them. My local community college gets Microsoft softwares for free and I took a class there once and got Windows XP for free.

Regarding Mac OS X, which I am using as my main computer at work, I am indifferent about it. I still do not understand the appeal of Macs, but they have a really dedicated fanbase.

Like my mother and my mother-in-law. I work on my family's computers. Both computers in question had cable modems hooked up, with the static IPs and all else associated with Windows PCs. I installed firewalls and spamblockers, along with other security stuff . . . and waited. Soon, (roughly a month or two) I would get calls to come see what's wrong - and would discover viruses, (virii?) trojan horses, bots, and various other "goodies" stashed. The TX/RX lights constantly blinked or was steady, as was the 10/100 lights on the NICs - which suggested maybe there was a little something extra going on that shouldn't be. I showed both of them on their computers, and then booted up a Linux Live-CD - and what do you know? No frenetic activity or seizure-inducing lights. It turns out that both had turned off the security/firewall programs and was running au naturel, so I gave them the standard informative lecture for relatives, number two and reinstalled Windows. Sadly, I can't quite get them onto Linux. . . maybe later.

The point being, neither had a clue anything untoward was happening - until the computers started falling to their anthropomorphic knees...

Thank you all for your responses. As I said, my post was not a M$ hating exercise, but I was mainly interested on negative impacts of Microsoft on your lives. Of course, the are positive aspects too. I have made money fixing windows boxes/networks as well. The positive impacts of M$ on the world are well known, I was interested in the "downside" in my question.

So please, [even if you think M$ is the best thing since sliced bread], can folks please confine themselves to negative impacts? Thank ye!

I agree with what Micro420 said about MS' Active Directory structure, and how it makes life easier. Policies are pushed out, and software auto-installed via MSI, all without any user intervention. I have yet to see the same functionality in Linux, though my research in that area is sparse, as we don't use Linux for our general users.

I do use Linux as my work and home desktop environment, though, as a personal choice. I got tired of Windows crashes and infections. Linux is a little more intuitive for me, allowing me to configure it according to my desires, and not limiting me nearly as much as Windows. I enjoy the stability and extensibility of Linux, also.

My mind is changing a little about Vista. Not that I ever plan to switch back to MS OS, but I may give Vista a try after it's matured, and I can afford a computer that will run it fairly well.

You mean a software firewall? Why? Thats such a waste of resources. Get a router (builtin firewall). It is much easier to maintain, and almost no way to disable it, if you don't tell them how to get in it. Only other way around it is if they hooked their pcs directly to the cable modem again. Another mistake, perhaps letting your family work in a non-restricted account. Windows in the hands of an inexperienced user has an obvious result, but when a knowledgeable person is working in Windows, even Windows can be secured/secure.