Comments

• your_friend

  2010-01-13 21:10:17

  Happy January 13th, 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union we seem to be seeing the fall of another evil empire. At CES vendors openly displayed ARM devices running GNU/Linux. The iPhone stomping keynote speaker must not have been happy about that but there's little he can do to stem the revolt. Microsoft's programmers have not been able to deliver "job number one" security or stability despite a decade of lip service. Nor have they been able to catch up to free software GUI. People have not bought Vista or Windows 7 so there's little reward for retailers and OEMs who remain loyal. There will be a few more punishments for companies and customers that part ways. There will be no end of empty threats but the rest of this story is obvious. Microsoft can't compete and Windows users will soon resemble former Soviet victims, stumbling into the free economy. The walls have come down and change is in full swing.

• Dennis Murczak

  2010-01-13 23:14:45

  Yep, in the free market sense, the x86-based end user market indeed closely resembles USSR and friends. Devouring or transforming it from below using a good dose of ARM can only change things to the better. We have had fat inefficient x86 boxes for long enough. It's time for disruptive change and I think it will happen in the not too far future.

• Roy Schestowitz

  2010-01-13 23:55:20

  Actually, I worry that the West (including the UK) is the new USSR. The world's most advanced places are in the far east, where loans are being made to the West (huge debt that cannot be repaid). It's also where a lot of production and export is centralised (except arms and "IP").

• your_friend

  2010-01-14 05:18:52

  When and if China shakes off its censorship, we may have a better view of what's really going on there. Until then no one really knows.
  
  Microsoft's downfall is a good sign for everyone. Information freedom makes it harder for tyrants to abuse the rest of us. There is a virtuous circle at work where freedom begets more of the same.