What do we mean when we talk about software 'alternatives'?

A very insightful article that overlooks one important consideration: User rarely get to choose. I spent most of my thirty years in the IT biz wallowing in a sea of choices. Everything was an alternative and my clients typically depended on me to make the choices for them. Then came the CIO, usually a finance person, who made the choices based on which software company spent the most on wooing him (typcially Microsoft). Whenever the MS Limo returned the CIO from some gala where he had been wined, dined, and bedded, we waited with bated breath to learn what new O/S or application we'd be jiggering with in the coming weeks. As time passed, the alternatives diminished as they were unable to compete with MS marketing. Ah, those were the days...

Are you talking about Operating systems ot the applications...
I Like the Mac's and I-Mac's because they are less susceptible to attacks then Windows ... and have only used Oracle? Ones and it was difficult to adapt to after windows...

I have to admit - I'm guilty of this too.