"David H. Burns" <dhb### [at] cherokeetelnet> wrote:
> I suppose that's OK, PovRay is written in VC++.

Actually it isn't. It nowadays does come with project files to conveniently
compile with MS Visual Studio, but it doesn't use the MFC framework, nor any
other framework provided by Microsoft, and may compile just as well with any
other C++ compiler suite. POV-Ray 3.6 official releases were actually built
using the Intel compiler suite; the source code releases didn't even provide
any particular support for Visual Studio back then, so any VS user had to set
up their own project files to compile POV-Ray.

> Since Microsoft controls virtually all of the computer industry and most
> computer hardware is built for Microsoft software, there seems little point
>   in going to a lot of trouble trying to learn something else or to
> adapt code
> written in any but Microsoft languages to work on computers using
> Windows.

That, too, is a common misconception - though not surprisingly. Yes, most
*desktop computer* hardware is designed to run Windows. They *dominate* the
market to a good degree, but to say that they *control* it would be
exaggerated. Mac is too strong in the desktop segment, and Unix derivatives are
too strong in both the desktop and server segments, to let Microsoft just have
their will. Not to mention all those mobile phones, PDAs and embedded systems
which I'd consider part of the computer industry, too: Microsoft has achieved
and maintained a foothold in that segment with Windows CE and especially .NET,
most particularly with smartphones, but I guess in the mobile phone segment
Symbian OS is still strongest, with new competitors gaining ground, and
embedded systems tend to run the wildest operating systems you can possibly
imagine.

And then there's customer power that don't let MS just have their will. Yeah,
sure, the private end users seem to swallow all MS has OEMs cram down their
throat bundled with new PCs. But for instance Vista was an absolute no-go in
most professional environments, which was a serious blow to MS. Serious enough
to release the first Service Pack for Vista under an all-new name... no, not a
name - a good old version number. Imagine that. How come? End user pressure?
Bloody likely not. But companies don't go for those fancy names, and it seems
like Microsoft needed to make a statement that they're heading back for more
serious business.

If Microsoft lost their commercial desktop market share to, say, Mac OS or
Linux, I guess they'd lose their private user market share very soon thereafter.
It's quite convenient to use the same OS at home that you need to familiarize
yourself with at work anyway.

So no, they're not controlling the market. I'd rather say it's the market that
controls them.

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