Is Windows Collapsing?
April 20th, 2008 | Posted in Opinion, Programming, Software | 6 CommentsAccording to an article on computerworld.com Microsoft had best make sure that the Windows operating system has an up to date programlife insurance quote. Because the way things have been going with Vista and Microsoft’s refusal to just be sensible and stick with the XP that already works…. beefing that up instead of scrapping it in favor of the rolling and screaming … disaster that Vista has become.
If Microsoft can’t pull it’s collective heads out soon and do something right with XP, they’re going to end up a has-been that people will start forgetting.
Also, don’t look for the next version beyond vista, code named “Windows 7” to be any better. From what I’ve see thus far, that thing is geared not for the user so much as it is to make Microsoft more money. Instead of just providing a complete operating system, they’re carving that thing up into modular chunks, bits that will require more money (and activation codes no doubt) in order to add them in to the existing base install.
The only thing that this is going to do is turn people away from them even faster than Vista is doing.
Honestly, I think that vista has been the best thing for linux in a long time. Windows 7 promises to be even better for linux.
Technorati Tags: Linux, microsoft, modular, upgrade, vista, windows, windows+7, windows+vista, windows+xp
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hey,
your 100% right about vista being the best thing for Linux in a long time. However due to the fact that Linux is not really at the point of being “easy” for not so computer literate people means that these people end up being forced feed whatever Microsoft shoves down there throat. Some linux distros are getting very close to being able to provide the ease of setup that Microsoft provides, so one day soon we should be seeing a release that is easy enough for a regular user to pop in there mix and match system and be able to install the os and all the drivers without having to look at terminal once.
nice blog!
pumped,
pumped’s last blog post..Music using only windows sounds
I’ve played around a bit with Debian and Ubuntu myself and the last time I tried, both of them installed effortlessly on my homebrew mix-n-match system. Right now, about the only reason I’m waiting hasn’t much to do with linux being ready so much as it does with some windows software that either doesn’t have linux equivalents or can’t be made to run in Wine without a lot of fussing around.
You are kidding, correct? Keep trolling, doesn’t much matter.
Nope, not kidding or trolling. Microsoft is doing such a good job of shooting themselves in the foot over Vista (and soon will be doing the same or worse with “windows 7”) that it’s unnecessary to troll them. All you need to do is watch the next few years see a lot more people become disenchanted with Microsoft and become new Linux users
I’ve been tinkering with a dozen or so Linux distros for a couple of weeks on my old hardware, a Gateway 600YGR laptop (P4@1.4GHz, 2 HDs, 1GB RAM, XP Pro on C: [sda], Mint Linux on F: [sdb]); a Compaq Deskpro EN (P3 running Mandriva Spring 8.1, formerly Win98/2000Pro); a Dell Latitude CP (P3 still running Win98, best used as a doorstop), and have a sort of love/hate relationship with Linux.
While I love the fact that I can restore old machines for free and give them more functions than they ever had with Windows 98/NT/2000/ME, I hate that Linux don’t recognize or utilize my old sound and video cards correctly and that opensource drivers may not yet exist. Worse yet, most of them crash if I have more than two applications running, requiring a power-off restart – problems I don’t have in XP Pro.
Whether using Mandriva Spring 8.1 (which works perfectly on the Compaq), Ubuntu 7.10, Kubuntu 8.04 Remix, or Mint, I only get sound out of the left channel. The right one sometimes works, if I’m willing to go through several reboots – a major annoyance for someone with 20,000 mp3s who’s spoiled by the functionality of Windows MediaPlayer and bothered by the Spartan version, Amarock. Booting in XP, both channels work perfectly every time, and finding my favorite tune in MediaPlayer is as easy as typing the first few letters.
So far, my experience with the most recent Linux versions has been on the low end of mixed. For the kind of stuff that I do, Linux isn’t quite reliable enough to be ready for prime time. It’s a sort of novelty OS that I keep on a second hard disk for whenever I feel like solving a puzzle through experimentation. I would love it if crashed less often and ran my ESS Allegro 1988 (aka Maestro) sound card’s right channel, and I would especially love it if there were a MediaPlayer-class application that wasn’t still in it’s buggy alpha/beta phase, like Mozilla’s Songbird, which, like Linux, needs a lot more time in the nest.
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I certainly understand your frustration with the sound & video issues. I guess with 20K Mp3 files those would be pretty important issues for you. Fortunately from what I’ve read, Ubuntu, Debian, and maybe one or two other distros are coming really close to the point where practically anyone will be able to install them and get started without ever being required to do things they don’t understand at a terminal command prompt (though that option should stay available for those who prefer it)
When Joe & Jane Average can pop in a Linux cd and install the OS and get everything configured in a reasonable time without having to learn new languages and commands right away, then perhaps it’ll be easier to get computer manufacturers to start offering Linux OS bundles with their machines and sofware developers will have more interest in building Linux versions.
When you can walk into WalMart and buy a Linux version of the latest hot new game Linux will be in a position to be the biggest threat to Microsoft since the Apple ][e