[ultraforce]

Well is there not a bit of an issue currently in that linux is not able to run many programs that people either need or really want and Windows is the most widely supported and also while I may not be correct I believe that OSX is even less open than the current windows OS as long as you have custom settings.

[pdkl95]

I never said anything about Linux or OSX. Sometimes alternatives don't exist. The lack of an alternative doesn't excuse continued support of a company that is trying to lock away the General Purpose Computer. If you decide that you will stop supporting Windows only if a full replacement exists, then you will never change.

Boycotts usually require sacrifice. Do you want to pay that cost now? Or are you going to signal approval to Microsoft by rewarding them with money or market share?

> as long as you have custom setting

That is going to be a never ending treadmill of fixes whenever Microsoft wants to push out changes. If you wake up tomorrow and discover that a new patch for Windows was installed, do you have the disassembled code and/or packet logs to actually know that your "custom settings" are still intact?

But none of that really matters - using "custom settings" is still telling Microsoft that you're fine with their locked "appliances". They will only change course when they see either their revenue or market share start to decrease.

Do you want to make the sacrifices necessary to send that signal now? Or do you want to wait until the costs are even higher?