your truth is a lie and at the end of day, you will regret, but that’s alright, we’re ubuntu people, we understand you.

It all started so innocently. Install xyz distro, it’s free, will cure all of your computing problems and will take you to a new level of existence. Naively, I was in. What could go wrong?

Cult members were helpful at first. Installation problems? Go here, find this, it is what you need. Wow, all they promised was coming true!

I was a believer, I started flaming windows users. Linus was the saviour as foretold.

But then I bought the latest HP multifunction printer. You should see this thing. Does everything. Even has a kitchen sink. Plugged it into my computer. No dice?!??! WTF? Linux was supposed to take me to a new plane of existence. Now I can’t even print the latest pictures of Britney sans panties.

Patience they said. This was all part of the evil empire’s plan to hinder us said another. Be useful and go code your own friggen driver.

Now it was starting to get nasty. I was asking too many questions they didn’t want to hear. Then the threats started. They knew where I lived. Who my friends were. OMG, they wanted to sacrifice my puppies in a way I can’t mention.

I had to get out. Thank you Vista, you saved me!

I’m part of a 12 step program now. There is a God. I need to make amends.

My group still has problems with admitting that Linus is not a higher power. But hey, one step at a time.

This is my story. Don’t let it happen to you. Get out while you still can. There is more to life than downloading free porn.

(Hope is a joke… really)

You’re wrong. Most non-M$ OSs, including Linux, are normal. They don’t force any paradigm. They offer complete programming control. You can very happily use any OOP with C++ on Linux if you want. Only Windows forces a programming paradigm.

Contrary to popular belief, the real reason is not elegance or whatever. The real reason is that C++, unlike C, doesn’t have a well-defined Application Binary Interface (ABI). This is the reason why M$ encourages developers to code using C++. So that the object files produced by M$’s C++ compilers can be made incompatible (i.e., unlinkable) with other C++ compilers. But since the most used C++ compiler on Windows is M$’s own C++ compiler, technical issues like this tend to get ignored.

So if you produce an object file with M$’s C++ compiler, you are forcing all your co-developers to buy & use M$’s C++ compilers. This is just another of M$’s anti-competitive tricks. This is just like - If you use M$ Office, you are forcing all your peers to buy M$ Office (because there is no technical specification about the formats of those .doc, .ppt, .xls files).

On Linux, I can use GNU G++ to compile one C++ file and any other C++ compiler to compile another file and then link them to get a perfectly running executable. And that’s not even necessary. I can just compile both using G++. But that’s only a convenient _option_.

“But EVERYTHING on Windows is an object.”

Yeah. objects compatible with other M$ objects only.

“That’s what I call an established paradigm.”

That’s what experts (I mean real experts, not people like you who don’t know what ‘ABI’ means) and courts call anti-trust/anti-competitiveness.

“You can really enjoy that as it just works - how you can play with the objects, really cool: Devices, Drivers, Drives, Files, Windows, Processes, Threads - They all inherit from Object. That’s nice.”

Yeah. Only if you don’t mind being a slave.

“.NET killed Java, which was Anti-OOP as well.”

Come on, kid. Wake up. Go to any college that offers Computer Science programmes. You’ll find a course named “OOP using Java”. Get educated first.

With best wishes,
Steve Ballmer.

Everything is a file on linux?
No, everything is just garbage on linux.

But EVERYTHING on Windows is an object.
That’s what I call an established paradigm. You can really enjoy that as it just works - how you can play with the objects, really cool: Devices, Drivers, Drives, Files, Windows, Processes, Threads - They all inherit from Object. That’s nice.

Well, and .NET killed Java, which was Anti-OOP as well.

Actually no, Firefox 2 and firefox 3 don’t perfectly render the Acid 2 test, but they are considered a pass. IE 7 does not pass the Acid 2 test at all, IE 8 beta does finally. Until recently, only Opera 8+ and Safari 2+ could perfectly render the Acid 2 test.

Except.. No cause it’s linux

Windows is a niche market, as stated, 1% market share on supercomputing needs. Try getting Windows to boot on a Cray X-5.

Xerox LOST patents for monopolizing the photocopier market. LOST. TAKEN AWAY. Microsoft can suffer the same fate.

Best practices? Don’t make me laugh. I BSODed all the time on XP and I BSOD often enough on Vista. Linux has never crashed as long as I have used it.

Look up CP/M. The source was stolen to make MS-DOS. Unix codes and commands were also stolen to make DOS commands.

As I said, links. Lots of links. More links the better. PROVE IT.

With best wishes,
Steve Ballmer.