Talk:Network effect/Archives/2013

Questionable points about Microsoft Windows

"The article states that Microsoft Windows is a further example of network effect. The most-vaunted advantage of Windows, and that most publicised by Microsoft, is that Windows is compatible with the widest range of hardware and software. Although this is true, it is in reality the result of network effect:"

This is incorrect. Windows only supports two processor architectures (x86 and x86_64), while Linux supports several dozen (depending on how you count). Furthermore, a recent 2.6.x Linux kernel actually supports more peripheral devices out-of-the-box than any other operating system ever (http://www.kroah.com/log/linux/ols_2006_keynote.html). I realize that the statement in the article was probably true 3 or 4 years ago, and makes a good example, but it simply isn't true. Anyone have any objections to me adjusting it to fit the contemporary situation a bit better? MOXFYRE (contrib) 04:25, 8 September 2007 (UTC) --94.122.94.204 (talk) 00:10, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I agree with this comment. While Microsoft Windows is certainly a product that has benefited from network effects, this piece feels far too slanted. --94.122.94.204 (talk) 00:10, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

I find the network effect of windows to be very small and not worth mentioning. It should be removed from the article. There is a slight advantage in the learning curve if you buy a Windows machine, because everybody knows windows, so there are a lot of people to learn it from, but that isn't really why people buy it. Saying people buy Windows for the gentler learning curve is like saying that people buy an egg at a grocery store because it's easy to learn how to prepare because everybody can do it so everybody can teach you how to do it. By this logic, all goods and services would have an implicit network effect because learning curves get gentler as more people buy and use anything. I do not think that is what people mean when they talk about network effect. The reason why Microsoft Windows is used so much is because it is treated like a complimentary good when somebody buys a computer. That has nothing to do with network effects. Bubblesort (talk) 16:02, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

The network effect here is about the Microsoft Word file format; a Word document can be read by more people than a document in other formats, so it is more valuable to the individual user. It can be used not just by Microsoft Word, but also compatible word processors like OpenOffice Writer. Though HTML is now even more widely readable, it does not work as well for paginated paper documents, and does not have many features that Word documents have. --Macrakis (talk) 18:06, 11 August 2011 (UTC)