Court’s finding of fact:“While Microsoft might have bundled Internet Explorer with Windows at no additional charge even absent its determination to preserve the applications barrier to entry, that determination was the main force driving its decision to price the product at zero. Furthermore, Microsoft would not have given Internet Explorer away to IAPs, ISVs, and Apple, nor would it have taken on the high cost of enlisting firms in its campaign to maximize Internet Explorer’s usage share and limit Navigator’s, had it not been focused on protecting the applications barrier.”

I would not agree that the browser was bundled with the OS in the early days simply to lock in users to Windows, Mr. Pogson, but let us pretend, for the sake of argument only, that such a thing is true. The theory at the time of Netscape’s heyday was that connectivity alone was enough to control the user’s purchase of computer hardware and that just having Navigator negated any need for Windows specifically. Is that a fair statement?

History has shown, however, that just a browser is not enough, even for purely internet things such as phone apps. Rather, even connected users are connecting with specific apps that optimize the user’s experience. These apps have essentially the same dependency on an underlying OS as do the stand-alone apps common in the early days of personal computing. An OS is required and the OEMs that supply hardware have, in the case of the PC, selected Windows and are not likely to change, at least they have shown zero signs of doing so.

I agree, but this situation is just one of dozens of reasons why the monopoly is dying. One could install FireFox or Chrome or Opera and carry on but the significant thing for the monopoly is that all the reasons M$ bundled the browser with the OS, to lock-in users to the OS, are just about gone. One by one or in groups people are discovering they can live their lives with IT not from M$, mostly web applications. It’s just a tiny step from using web applications on M$’s OS to using web applications on any OS thanks to open standards. Around here, one could swap GNU/Linux for M$’s stuff on retail shelves and many people would just think “8″ has come early. So, the last playing card on which the house of M$ stands is the retail shelves for consumers and for business, the office suite. Both are threatened by LibreOffice and smart thingies on those shelves. It does not take a genius to realize M$ is not running those smart phones and tablets. The clues will come to the inevitable conclusion that the local desktop PC does not need M$ either.

Wow! I guess “Die Hard” is not just a name for a battery or the title of a motion picture series anymore!

It is not so easy to see the connection between an IE bug and doom for Microsoft, though. For one thing, those who are truly put out by such things could easily install Firefox or Chrome or even Safari. The price is the same and, once Microsoft gets something fixed in the latest installer, it is a free choice at initial start up of Windows as it used to be.

Availing oneself of such an opportunity to attack someone’s computer is not a simple act, even if the vector presents itself. For one thing, it is a crime and, just like taking advantage of an insecure bank to rob it or stealing an unguarded purse, you may very well get caught.

For another thing, one is only in danger if one is visiting rather questionable web sites wherein the trap can be sprung. A lot can be said for simple prudence as a good way to avoid such things.

In any case, Microsoft has weathered many, many such storms and this one doesn’t even have a name.

3GHZ Pentium is not want you call cold running.

Some of the atoms and via chips they are the beast that you 10 years time you going what going on here.

Pentium 3 were colder running. Lifespan vs chip temps. More heat shorter the life span.

Parts don’t have to be as strong in a pentium 3 to tolerate the thermal shock. Yes some comes in and buys a entry level atom machine they are ones that might turn up in 15 years time.

motherboard capacitors other than defective batch life span of those is also effected by heat.

Can you make hardware last a long time, of course. Do I recommend to paying business customers, no.

My take is this: I rather take the down time on my time or scheduled down time vs. down time unexpectedly, like at the end of the month or when I am on vacation.

I am currently using a 2004 Dell Optiplex 3GHZ Pentium 4 that I bought for $500 on sale. So far I had two PSU’s, one fan and two drives go bad since then, before that was a 800MHZ Pentium 3 that just ran and ran and ran. I think my record uptime sans rebooting was like 3-years with a 800VA APC UPS.

This is quality of hardware. dougman.

The higher grade stuff if it gets past 3-5 years what is the teething time. Next lot of failures are the 11-15 years. Yes there is a infant mortality.

You will loss a percentage 3-5 due to bearing failure and solider failure. 11-15 is silicon failure. The out edge for the office machine still being running is basically 15 years. Normally replaced before that point because its too darn slow.

–something gives out.– There is a catch. Lot of desktop machines skimp on the power-supply. In fact a desktop power-supply needs to be better quality than a server. Why turning it on and off all the time comes with issues. If the solder is slightly sus the heat change all the time will break it.

Yes its the heat shock that gets the desktop machines so much. This is why arm or more power effective cpu’s that generate less heat also will extend desktop life.

That may have been sound advice in the 1990s but I have only seen a tiny handful of hard drives die in the last decade and a few fans. Everything else just keeps ticking. Check out the mean time to failure for some modern products. They are astounding: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 = 700K hours, around 100 years. Why would you think of chucking that in 4 years?

ATX PSU, typical MTBF is 100K hours, about 11 years. It’s a replaceable part, too. Just change the oil and keep driving.

Many desktop PCs can have a hard drive change and re-image in 15 minutes, much less than the drive costs. Granted that increases risk of infant mortality but one could burn drives in routinely elsewhere to reduce that. In the last decade I have not seen any group of PCs in a school die off from hardware failure. It’s always just a trickle and the old machines seem to die no more often than the newer ones. Typically PCs in schools are useful for ten years as a thick client perhaps more thin.