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#181
The Windows installed base is the 500 LB gorilla. That's why for a long time now many Linux distros come with installers that assume Windows is already on the machine. I guess you can call that "keeping up" but to me it's semantic. If you want your OS to go on new PCs you can put it on when you sell the PC or add it to a Windows PC. If the latter then MS has the leash and the OS has the ring through its nose.I don’t see where MS is forcing anyone to conform.
Edit: when I mentioned "conform" actually I was thinking in terms of conforming to a standard. I guess I had a flashback to MS anti-trust behavior of yesteryear. :) Standards don't usually happen accidentally. Phone jack ethernet cable connector etc.. So in that vein I guess "keeping up" is on target. C/C++ programming language would not be standardized unless all the heavies got involved. Although after a few kitchen sinks were added on,
Bjarne Stroustrup himself probably doesn't recognize much of it. :)