I'm cheered by today's news that Google will be building off of Android and Chrome to create a new operating system for netbooks.   It was about time that a bully of Microsoft's size and sophistication decided to take on Microsoft.   I've personally had enough of software publishers telling us "your product has reached 'End of Life' (which equals DEAD, in my book) status so you must pay us to upgrade the software, that you know like the back of your hand, just to get support".  Personally, I'd be fine if we were still on Windows 98 and MacOSX.1.  And I might consider an upgrade if they were REALLY getting the bugs out of the next version.  But Vista?  C'mon.   That was a blatant license renewal ploy by Microsoft.  So welcome to the game Google.  Let's hope to create some relatively bug-free operating systems and don't force us all to be your beta-testers.

The truth of the matter is that Microsoft knew that it had its customers in a Catch-22.   If they didn't upgrade their operating systems, new software wouldn't function properly.   But if they did upgrade, then they'd be subjected to swarms of buggy, hair-pulling problems.   Windows 2000 was a sneak preview to this problem.  Vista exposed it graphically.

Microsoft and others argue that in order to offer software of the sophistication and importance of an operating system, it is essential that we be charged for it.   Well, Linux put a lie to that argument.  And Google has been doing its best to challenge that notion as well.   I'm all for paying for a useful service;  I've got no problem with that.   But if I'm going to pay, I want to have a high quality product that actually offers me value.   Vista was/is an abomination -- an alpha-version of Windows 7 that was forced upon computer manufacturers and consumers just because Microsoft could do it.   So you bet that I -- and others -- will be eagerly awaiting what Google will be offering up.    And I'm going to continue to find ways of incorporating Linux into my life.