A
Adam Albright
Ever noticed how defensive a little but noisy clique is of Microsoft?
There's a name for this odd behavior even. It's called the Stockholm
Syndrome. OK, that might be a stretch, but then again maybe not.
This syndrome develops when you are in a controlling and abusive
relationship. In time you not only accept being abused, but actually
defend the abuser. In psychology, which I happen to know a little bit
about since it was a college course I took many years ago and
naturally I got all A's.
Anyhow, emotional “bonding” with captors is a familiar story in
psychology. It is more common than you might think. Its seen in abused
children, battered women, cults, abusive relationships, hostage
situations and in POW's.
Is it too big a leap to hint it could happen to long time Windows
users?
We'll begin with the assumption people just want to use their
computers for enjoyment or work and have a reasonable expectation that
their computers will work without undo crashing. What should be a
reasonable goal. Does Vista deliver? Only for some. Probably a
minority of users.
Do we really have a choice or is Windows forced on us? Excluding the
handful of users like me and some here that "build their own" if you
buy a pre build name brand box and don't pick a Apple, something like
93% of everyone getting a PC gets it with Windows preinstalled.
Without asking they're given a Microsoft browser. Also preinstalled.
Things for messaging, email, playing music, videos, preinstalled...no
choices, here, use this. Is this a "feature" or a sinister plot to
train end users that Windows by DESIGN will sputter, break down,
crash, be sluggish and so on.
If you buy a new stove it doesn't come with a turkey already in the
oven. Heck, you even have to put your own light bulbs in a new lamp. I
fully acknowledge buying a new computer minus a operating system would
be a bit much, but if you buy a new refrigerator or washer/dryer you
at least get to pick the color. How come you can't pick which
operating system is installed in your PC?
In most cases you can't. Microsoft has seen to that. Feeling like a
captive yet? The point is over time you come to accept the status quo.
How many times have you seen somebody here say "all software has
bugs"? Then there is the ever present it isn't Microsoft's fault theme
that runs through this newsgroup like a river as wide as the
Mississippi. That's conditioning. If people keep getting told hey,
it's always been that way, then maybe you just accept that line of
bull and start to accept it as true.
Is it maybe possible long suffering Windows users have come to accept
that a OS is suppose to crash, that it will have bugs, it will get
released before it's ready. Well? Hasn't that been the history of
Windows?
In Stockholm Syndrome wives that have been repeatedly beaten to a pulp
refuse to leave their husbands. Children abused by some close relative
for years won't testify against them. Prisoners in concentration camps
when liberated have been known to refuse to leave their prison.
I think I understand guys like Frank and Bill now. They blindly
support Microsoft because they're afraid. They don't want to breath
fresh air, come out into the daylight, they can't pull themselves away
from Blue Screens of Death. They've developed an attachment to UAC nag
screens. Sure, its all just symptoms of abuse, YES, they like other
fanboys are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome! That must be it.
Otherwise why do they defend Microsoft for doing things everybody else
sees as intrusions, sloppy programming or just pain old arrogance?
OK, if you read this far I should tell you I was just pulling your
leg. The truth is Frank and Bill are both nuts. Pure and simple. No
deep mystery here. They don't know why they blindly defend Microsoft
no matter what or their need to attack alternatives. They just do
because they're nuts. Pure and simple case of neither having all their
marbles. Wack jobs. They're crackers! Other fanboy aren't as far gone
as these two losers. Not yet, but they may turn into future Franks and
Bills. We can only hope they don't.
There's a name for this odd behavior even. It's called the Stockholm
Syndrome. OK, that might be a stretch, but then again maybe not.
This syndrome develops when you are in a controlling and abusive
relationship. In time you not only accept being abused, but actually
defend the abuser. In psychology, which I happen to know a little bit
about since it was a college course I took many years ago and
naturally I got all A's.
Anyhow, emotional “bonding” with captors is a familiar story in
psychology. It is more common than you might think. Its seen in abused
children, battered women, cults, abusive relationships, hostage
situations and in POW's.
Is it too big a leap to hint it could happen to long time Windows
users?
We'll begin with the assumption people just want to use their
computers for enjoyment or work and have a reasonable expectation that
their computers will work without undo crashing. What should be a
reasonable goal. Does Vista deliver? Only for some. Probably a
minority of users.
Do we really have a choice or is Windows forced on us? Excluding the
handful of users like me and some here that "build their own" if you
buy a pre build name brand box and don't pick a Apple, something like
93% of everyone getting a PC gets it with Windows preinstalled.
Without asking they're given a Microsoft browser. Also preinstalled.
Things for messaging, email, playing music, videos, preinstalled...no
choices, here, use this. Is this a "feature" or a sinister plot to
train end users that Windows by DESIGN will sputter, break down,
crash, be sluggish and so on.
If you buy a new stove it doesn't come with a turkey already in the
oven. Heck, you even have to put your own light bulbs in a new lamp. I
fully acknowledge buying a new computer minus a operating system would
be a bit much, but if you buy a new refrigerator or washer/dryer you
at least get to pick the color. How come you can't pick which
operating system is installed in your PC?
In most cases you can't. Microsoft has seen to that. Feeling like a
captive yet? The point is over time you come to accept the status quo.
How many times have you seen somebody here say "all software has
bugs"? Then there is the ever present it isn't Microsoft's fault theme
that runs through this newsgroup like a river as wide as the
Mississippi. That's conditioning. If people keep getting told hey,
it's always been that way, then maybe you just accept that line of
bull and start to accept it as true.
Is it maybe possible long suffering Windows users have come to accept
that a OS is suppose to crash, that it will have bugs, it will get
released before it's ready. Well? Hasn't that been the history of
Windows?
In Stockholm Syndrome wives that have been repeatedly beaten to a pulp
refuse to leave their husbands. Children abused by some close relative
for years won't testify against them. Prisoners in concentration camps
when liberated have been known to refuse to leave their prison.
I think I understand guys like Frank and Bill now. They blindly
support Microsoft because they're afraid. They don't want to breath
fresh air, come out into the daylight, they can't pull themselves away
from Blue Screens of Death. They've developed an attachment to UAC nag
screens. Sure, its all just symptoms of abuse, YES, they like other
fanboys are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome! That must be it.
Otherwise why do they defend Microsoft for doing things everybody else
sees as intrusions, sloppy programming or just pain old arrogance?
OK, if you read this far I should tell you I was just pulling your
leg. The truth is Frank and Bill are both nuts. Pure and simple. No
deep mystery here. They don't know why they blindly defend Microsoft
no matter what or their need to attack alternatives. They just do
because they're nuts. Pure and simple case of neither having all their
marbles. Wack jobs. They're crackers! Other fanboy aren't as far gone
as these two losers. Not yet, but they may turn into future Franks and
Bills. We can only hope they don't.