Unpredictable. Unfocused. Just like life.

As I remove you from my blogroll, I thought I'd part with a little something else you haven't learned.

Microsoft does not make computers. They don't install the software that comes on your computer that was made by the manufacturer. They don't tell the manufacturer of your computer exactly what to put on it and what not to put on it. They don't compel the manufacturer to make sure that, just before you buy it, that they’ve upgraded everything on the computer to be the latest version of everything. They don’t require the manufacturer to subject everything on the computer to a test in order to be sure that, when you decide to blame Microsoft for the problem you’re having, they’ll have approved it all and can support you. Instead, they allow the manufacturer free reign over their own box which you buy.

What an awful thing for them to do. All that freedom of choice stuff just gets on your nerves, huh? I guess they should follow Apple’s lead, and manufacturer their own limited series of computers, and make sure that nothing gets put on those boxes that hasn’t been tested, vetted, approved, and, most importantly, paid for. They wouldn’t have to check whether you paid for the software instead of borrowing the CD from your friend. They wouldn’t have to keep several versions of installers just because someone out there didn’t want to upgrade their perfectly functional Windows Me with its perfectly functional 16-bit DOS based core while still demanding up-to-date security protection and access to all the latest features across the Internet. It’s much better to keep everyone in lock-step, controlled synchronization, right?

And the best part is, Bill Gates wouldn’t be able to be any richer than, oh, some average slob like, hm, Steve Jobs, I guess. That’s stickin’ it to him.

Don't get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for Apple, and I think people ought to be free to choose whatever computer they want, and whatever operating system they want, whether it’s Windows, OS X, or Linux, even OS-9 or what have you. Funny thing is, Microsoft, while it does compete vigorously to win in the marketplace, does more than almost any other market leader in ANY industry to encourage you, the manufacturer, and third party vendors, to make choices that work for you. What's the real cost? Besides a few dollars, it means you'll have to solve some problems by using that gray goop between your ears, instead of relying on the gray goop between someone else's ears. Apple will be only too happy to let you use their gray goop, which has solved most of the problem by limiting the scope. Their gray goop is available for a reasonable price, of course.

So, please, accept my blessing. Happy Macincloning!
->A

P.S. I’d added you to my blogroll because someone said he thought you were intelligent, by which I inferred he meant you thought about things carefully. Apparently, you have finished thinking, and that means I'm finished here.