Reply #10: LOL! It's like saying if you don't like chemicals in your air...

[scentopine]

don't breath it.

I am constantly scolded by the "new" democrats for not trusting in the "free" market solutions. I admit to losing patience with new democrats who seem unwilling or unable to discuss any complex problem without reducing it to a "free" market analogy.

The problem with your statement is that by the time you read this - the message has quite possibly gone through hundreds or thousands of Microsoft products that your purchasing power has no control over. A virus attack has a multiplier effect on operating costs of each link in the chain.

Your banking information, credit card accounts, the network servers that Target, TJ Max and others use are all supported by Microsoft. I have no choice in these deployments. Should I boycott any business that uses microsoft products? Not to mention I have no choice of software in my place of employment.

Taking your assertion at face value, I don't understand the reliance on the "free market" for solutions to problems created by monopolies. Seems like few people have the brain power or attention span to problem solve beyond their blind faith in the invisible hand.

Microsoft is a monopoly and their products are called out for exclusive use in local, state and federal governments. And symptomatic of their monopoly position is a startling lack of creativity and stability in the products we are required to use.