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Binaries built on Win7 work on whatever platform you target them for, most certainly including XP

This is tongue in cheek, but I refer you to KB2517589:

On a computer that is running Windows 7 ... you recompile a Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) application ... it does not run on ... earlier versions of Windows

And more seriously, for a time Visual Studio 2012 was never going to have support for Windows XP, never mind what value of WINVER and _WIN32_WINNT you set. They've reversed their stance, but have a look at what was written:

The C++ runtime and libraries that accompany Visual Studio 2012 contain dependencies on several Windows API functions that exist only on Windows Vista and higher versions of the OS. This means that applications built with Visual Studio 2012’s C++ compiler will fail to load and execute on Windows XP.

The workaround was going to be to use the Visual Studio 2010 toolchain from within Visual Studio 2012.

Honestly, I think PlusFiveTroll is right, old software will stay as long as physically possible, after which it will move to virtual machines.

I completely agree with this too. I've had success using a webcam through a VM which the host was unable to use because the vendor refuses to release new drivers.

Windows does it wrong, because they break compatibility with every version they release. Then again, that's their business model, and it's making them craploads of money.

Out of all of those operating systems Windows sucks the least (hear me out!). It runs more hardware, has more applications, and is supported far longer. Windows has the best backwards compatibility of any of the popular commercial operating systems out there. Lets see you run a binary from 1998 on a Mac today, Rosetta is being phased out and support for it is lacking in Lion, and not to mention they've switched architectures; or Linux for that matter, good luck piecing together ancient libraries. Your comment is more appropriate directed at their development tools. On the OS side Microsoft has steadily made improvements, most of the woes were from Microsoft enforcing good development practices, (example, see the "Store Application Data in the Correct Location", or Microsoft's general programming guidelines.) why do you think initially many applications required administrator access to run? Sloppy programmers.

Windows doesn't have a monopoly on sloppy programmers. Whether this is due to ease of development or coder competency is a different topic. Sloppy programming plagues companies big and small - just a few months ago ATI had drivers which would BSOD if ASLR and DEP were enabled.

Honestly, I think PlusFiveTroll is right, old software will stay as long as physically possible, after which it will move to virtual machines.

I completely agree with this too. I've had success using a webcam through a VM which the host was unable to use because the vendor refuses to release new drivers.

Windows does it wrong, because they break compatibility with every version they release. Then again, that's their business model, and it's making them craploads of money.

Out of all of those operating systems Windows sucks the least (hear me out!). It runs more hardware, has more applications, and is supported far longer. Windows has the best backwards compatibility of any of the popular commercial operating systems out there. Lets see you run a binary from 1998 on a Mac today, Rosetta is being phased out and support for it is lacking in Lion, and not to mention they've switched architectures; or Linux for that matter, good luck piecing together ancient libraries. Your comment is more appropriate directed at their development tools. On the OS side Microsoft has steadily made improvements, most of the woes were from Microsoft enforcing good development practices, (example, see the "Store Application Data in the Correct Location", or Microsoft's general programming guidelines.) why do you think initially many applications required administrator access to run? Sloppy programmers.

Windows doesn't have a monopoly on sloppy programmers. Whether this is due to ease of development or coder competency is a different topic. Sloppy programming plagues companies big and small - just a few months ago ATI had drivers which would BSOD if ASLR and DEP were enabled.

When did you start expecting OSes to be stable, long-term investments that could be ignored and left running forever? Win 3.1 (1992)? Win95? Win98? Windows 2000/ME? Windows XP (2001)? XP SP1 (2002)? XP SP2 (2004)? Windows Vista (2006)? XP SP3 (2008)? Windows 7 (2009)?

You've done major upgrades countless times before - I remember plenty of instances where XP Service Packs broke backwards compatibility. If you've got too many things breaking, maybe it's because you've skipped over several major upgrade points already so, rather than being able to incrementally update broken shit (which, I might add, was likely shoddily done to begin with) you're forced to upgrade everything at once?

Vista and 7 can run in 32-bit mode, if you're really concerned. They also pretty amazing backwards compatibility management - have you even looked into Windows XP Mode?

You might not be aware of this, but Microsoft provides a compatibility pack for Office 2003 that allows reading and writing .docx and other 2007+ formats. With the pack, we can all keep the last good MS Office interface for as long as we like. Death to the ribbon!

I'm amazed the number of people complaining.

Whenever I hear people moan about how they're running XP and it has been working just fine for the last ten years, I immediately think to myself that they've been lucky that they haven't needed to do part of their job for so long.

The folks running and maintaining servers or software products do an upgrade once every couple of months and you cannot do one upgrade in ten years?

Upgrading any hardware and software (not just Windows) is part of the cost of doing business, if you haven't factored it in (and after 10 years, calling the "upgrade treadmill" is a tad overly dramatic), then what forward planning have you been doing?

And if you really cannot upgrade, then maybe you should consider looking at implementing backup plans now? Because at some point, whatever you are relying on will stop working and you'll have to do something. It's not like you don't have any prior warning.

How would you suggest they solve the funding dilemma?

The details are a nighmarish, ever-shifting, morass of acronyms and "talk to your rep"; but Microsoft already has a plan where customers can pay annually for "Software Assurance".

Obviously, Microsoft wants to be bug-hunting as few codebases as possible, and presenting as unified a "platform" to 3rd party application vendors as possible, so it is to be expected that the cost/seat of continued support would rise over time as the number of seats in the field dropped; but they already have a mechanism for charging customers on an annual volume basis, which could easily enough be extended to offering paid security support after the support period provided by a boxed license is over...

Not necessarily something that they want to do; but they could.

I believe you're talking about PageDefrag

Surprised I haven't seen this mentioned, but in addition to MSE, Microsoft also offers a second exploit prevention/mitigation tool called EMET http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29851

I second that. Install Microsoft Security Essentials, it's free. Do not turn off automatic OS updates (they are on by default, so you just install the OS). Use Firefox. Done. Setting up Windows is really no-brainer. Just a single more thing: I turn off automatic reboot after updates (several ways to do it; I use gpedit). There is nothing more anoying as being forcibly rebooted in the middle of a game :). When this setting is turned off, there will be a periodic reminder to reboot when needed.

If you do nothing more than above and install a few licensed programs (Steam, games, software from well-known vendors), the box will likely stay secure indefinitely. Now if your kid keeps installing various random stuff and shitty software himself or does other risky things in the internet, it MAY get infected (even with MSE). I don't think you should stop the kid from doing it... this is just a part of healthy exposure to the real world and learning experience how things work, whom to trust and whom don't.

It contradicts their claims, because they're plainly wrong. Here is the official documentation on writing Windows Store apps - note the abundant mentions of C# and VB all over the page. Here is an article detailing the peculiarities of .NET in that environment.

Note that you still can't run a .NET (or any other kind) app that will run on 7, 8 and RT, which was your original requirement. That's because RT only runs Store apps, and 7 doesn't run Store apps at all. So you can get an app that supports 7 or 8 (any desktop app), or 8 and RT (any Store app), but never all three.

Also, in case where you support 8 and RT, and you write the app in .NET, you typically provide a single non-architecture-specific (aka "AnyCPU") binary, and JIT will take care of running it on x86, x64, ARM, whatever. This is unlike native apps, where you have to build binaries for all platforms that you want to cover (you can also build separate binaries for each architecture with a .NET app, but why?).

It contradicts their claims, because they're plainly wrong. Here is the official documentation on writing Windows Store apps - note the abundant mentions of C# and VB all over the page. Here is an article detailing the peculiarities of .NET in that environment.

Note that you still can't run a .NET (or any other kind) app that will run on 7, 8 and RT, which was your original requirement. That's because RT only runs Store apps, and 7 doesn't run Store apps at all. So you can get an app that supports 7 or 8 (any desktop app), or 8 and RT (any Store app), but never all three.

Also, in case where you support 8 and RT, and you write the app in .NET, you typically provide a single non-architecture-specific (aka "AnyCPU") binary, and JIT will take care of running it on x86, x64, ARM, whatever. This is unlike native apps, where you have to build binaries for all platforms that you want to cover (you can also build separate binaries for each architecture with a .NET app, but why?).

What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:

• Linus Torvalds [microsoft.com] [microsoft.com] is an anagram of slit anus or VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.
• Richard M. Stallman [geocities.com] [geocities.com], spokespervert for the Gaysex's Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of mans cram thrill ad.
• Alan Cox [microsoft.com] [microsoft.com] is barely an anagram of anal cox which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.

I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual [goatse.cx] [goatse.cx] propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for secondary rim and cord in my arse. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail [microsoft.com] [microsoft.com], which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for 'Felch Male' -- a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, 'felching' is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into 'e-male.'

As far as Richard 'Master' Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted [salon.com] [salon.com] on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following: 'I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance,' he says. 'It's about being able to question conventional wisdom,' he asserts. 'I believe in love, but not monogamy,' he says plainly.

And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo [comp-u-geek.net] [comp-u-geek.net] slut [rotten.com] [rotten.com]!

Speaking about 'flaming,' who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual [goatse.cx] [goatse.cx] perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children [slashdot.org] [slashdot.org]. To quote from the article linked:

'I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

Is this why you were touching your penis [rotten.com] [rotten.com] in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as 'Slashdot's resident Gasbag.' Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual [goatse.cx] [goatse.cx] terminology found inside the Linux 'Sauce Code,' a 'Gasbag' is a pervert who gain

What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:

• Linus Torvalds [microsoft.com] [microsoft.com] is an anagram of slit anus or VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.
• Richard M. Stallman [geocities.com] [geocities.com], spokespervert for the Gaysex's Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of mans cram thrill ad.
• Alan Cox [microsoft.com] [microsoft.com] is barely an anagram of anal cox which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.

I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual [goatse.cx] [goatse.cx] propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for secondary rim and cord in my arse. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail [microsoft.com] [microsoft.com], which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for 'Felch Male' -- a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, 'felching' is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into 'e-male.'

As far as Richard 'Master' Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted [salon.com] [salon.com] on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following: 'I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance,' he says. 'It's about being able to question conventional wisdom,' he asserts. 'I believe in love, but not monogamy,' he says plainly.

And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo [comp-u-geek.net] [comp-u-geek.net] slut [rotten.com] [rotten.com]!

Speaking about 'flaming,' who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual [goatse.cx] [goatse.cx] perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children [slashdot.org] [slashdot.org]. To quote from the article linked:

'I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

Is this why you were touching your penis [rotten.com] [rotten.com] in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as 'Slashdot's resident Gasbag.' Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual [goatse.cx] [goatse.cx] terminology found inside the Linux 'Sauce Code,' a 'Gasbag' is a pervert who gain

What better way of demonstrating this than by looking at the hidden messages contained within the names of some of Linux's most outspoken advocates:

• Linus Torvalds [microsoft.com] [microsoft.com] is an anagram of slit anus or VD 'L,' clearly referring to himself by the first initial.
• Richard M. Stallman [geocities.com] [geocities.com], spokespervert for the Gaysex's Not Unusual 'movement' is an anagram of mans cram thrill ad.
• Alan Cox [microsoft.com] [microsoft.com] is barely an anagram of anal cox which is just so filthy and unchristian it unnerves me.

I'm sure that Eric S. Raymond, composer of the satanic homosexual [goatse.cx] [goatse.cx] propaganda diatribe The Cathedral and the Bizarre, is probably an anagram of something queer, but we don't need to look that far as we know he's always shoving a gun up some poor little boy's rectum. Update: Eric S. Raymond is actually an anagram for secondary rim and cord in my arse. It just goes to show you that he is indeed queer.

Update the Second: It is also documented that Evil Sicko Gaymond is responsible for a nauseating piece of code called Fetchmail [microsoft.com] [microsoft.com], which is obviously sinister sodomite slang for 'Felch Male' -- a disgusting practise. For those not in the know, 'felching' is the act performed by two perverts wherein one sucks their own post-coital ejaculate out of the other's rectum. In fact, it appears that the dirty Linux faggots set out to undermine the good Republican institution of e-mail, turning it into 'e-male.'

As far as Richard 'Master' Stallman goes, that filthy fudge-packer was actually quoted [salon.com] [salon.com] on leftist commie propaganda site Salon.com as saying the following: 'I've been resistant to the pressure to conform in any circumstance,' he says. 'It's about being able to question conventional wisdom,' he asserts. 'I believe in love, but not monogamy,' he says plainly.

And this isn't a made up troll bullshit either! He actually stated this tripe, which makes it obvious that he is trying to politely say that he's a flaming homo [comp-u-geek.net] [comp-u-geek.net] slut [rotten.com] [rotten.com]!

Speaking about 'flaming,' who better to point out as a filthy chutney ferret than Slashdot's very own self-confessed pederast Jon Katz. Although an obvious deviant anagram cannot be found from his name, he has already confessed, nay boasted of the homosexual [goatse.cx] [goatse.cx] perversion of corrupting the innocence of young children [slashdot.org] [slashdot.org]. To quote from the article linked:

'I've got a rare kidney disease,' I told her. 'I have to go to the bathroom a lot. You can come with me if you want, but it takes a while. Is that okay with you? Do you want a note from my doctor?'

Is this why you were touching your penis [rotten.com] [rotten.com] in the cinema, Jon? And letting the other boys touch it too?

We should also point out that Jon Katz refers to himself as 'Slashdot's resident Gasbag.' Is there any more doubt? For those fortunate few who aren't aware of the list of homosexual [goatse.cx] [goatse.cx] terminology found inside the Linux 'Sauce Code,' a 'Gasbag' is a pervert who gain

I stand corrected, although I thought the Office RT apps ran like other RT apps i.e. full-screen Metro, not desktop window. The photo here seems to indicate that is so.

You may need a Surface Pro, which will be available next year at a higher price.

Yes, I'm aware of the difference between Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets, and I'm going back and forth on which is more appropriate for my needs.

Currently, the Office version for the Surface isn't licensed for business use

True, but you can purchase a license to use in a commercial environment, or if you have a group license that might apply to your device.

rumors that the RT version may not be completely compatible

It's not rumors, it's true that there is a subset of features not available in Office RT. But this subset is still vastly smaller than any current mobile office offering on iPad or Android. For my purposes none of the features listed are an issue. YMMV of course.

You won't be able to load anything else that isn't an RT app

True, and this is why I'm leaning toward a Windows 8 tablet, but on Windows RT you can still remote into a desktop.

It may well be cheaper to get a low-end laptop and an iPad Mini.

Perhaps. I've very eager to see how Apple prices the iPad mini. With the iPod touch starting at $299, and the competition (Nexus 7, Kindle Fire) starting at $199, I'm curious to see where they place it. At any rate, the appeal for me with something like the Surface or Surface Pro is the potential to not have to carry fewer devices.

Interesting read, it looks like if you sign up for a developers license you can install Metro apps without being on a domain. I had recently started tackling how to distribute software to Windows 8 tablet and found the following:

The following quotes from Microsoft article give a flavor of the burden that is required to distribute applications to Windows 8:

"To enable sideloading on a Windows 8 Enterprise computer that is not domain-joined or on any Windows® 8 Pro computer, you must use a sideloading product activation key. To enable sideloading on a Windows® RT device, you must use a sideolading product activation key."

It would appear that I stand corrected, you can install on a tablet that is not joined to a domain. However you have to volume license key and or a developer license (not sure if you need both yet) to do so. Typically volume license keys aren't going to be available to anyone that wouldn't already have a domain to begin with. These quotes below from the link I supplied explain some of the burden that is required to 'sideload' Metro applications onto a Window 8 computer.

Certainly for home users, small business users and a fair chunk of mid size environments these requirements will simply be to burdensome to meet. Yes you /can/ do it, but in the real world it just isn't practical for all but the larger organizations to tackle.

"Typically, Windows Store apps are available only through the Windows® Store. You can submit LOB Windows Store apps to the Windows Store and make them available outside of your enterprise. However, you can also develop Windows Store apps for use only within your enterprise and add them to Windows devices you manage through a process we call sideloading."

"LOB Windows Store apps can be sideloaded onto a PC in the enterprise through scripts at runtime on a per-user basis. They can also be provisioned in an image by the enterprise so that the app is registered to each new user profile that's created on the PC. The requirements to sideload the app per-user or in the image are the same, but the Windows PowerShell cmdlets you use to add, get, and remove the apps are different."

App Signing Requirements

"You can install LOB Windows Store apps that are not signed by the Windows Store. The apps must be cryptographically signed and can only be installed on a computer that trusts the signing certificate."

A pre-release version of Windows 8 can be legally downloaded on microsoft.com. Then if you don't want to change your configuration, you can install it inside Virtual Box. You may want to exorcise your computer after that.

Is that really easier than just "touch the URL field with your finger"? (BTW, ^L is just the analog of cmd-L, which has been the standard for a long time.)

Yes, it's much easier when you already have your fingers on the keyboard.

On a full computer, I can see (and daily take advantage of) the argument that keyboard shortcuts are easier, but when you have the device in your hand and are already interacting with the screen with your fingers, seems like a lot of keyboard shortcuts with a virtual keyboard are actually more difficult than direct manipulation.

We're not talking about a virtual on-screen keyboard, but a physical one - keyboard docks etc. This kind of thing. Of course, when in that mode, you wouldn't hold the device in your hand - you'd have it on the desk or on your laps.

That is simply, factually, incorrect. Win8, including Windows RT, supports sideloading. It's free and can be enabled via a simple command in Powershell. Third-party software must be packaged as .appx bundles, but it doesn't have to be approved for distribution in the app store. In fact, one explicit use case for unlocking Windows RT devices in this manner is to allow installing corporate or other organization-internal apps.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/Hh974578.aspx

Android and iOS support sideloading too. However, your average Joe user will not understand that or be capable of it. The fact that you would have to go to the PowerShell is even worse - since now you're doing things that even most Windows Programmers don't do - e.g. it's there for the corporates not your average user.

Good points, except for one thing: sideloading absolutely does *not* require joining a domain! It can be enabled with a single command entered into an elevated Powershell prompt.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/Hh974578.aspx

That is simply, factually, incorrect. Win8, including Windows RT, supports sideloading. It's free and can be enabled via a simple command in Powershell. Third-party software must be packaged as .appx bundles, but it doesn't have to be approved for distribution in the app store. In fact, one explicit use case for unlocking Windows RT devices in this manner is to allow installing corporate or other organization-internal apps.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/Hh974578.aspx

To learn about such things, I would suggest just reading the posted specifications - you get all the (published) facts, and no biased conjectures.

I can still run the newest version of Visual Studio on XP -- a decade-old OS.

You can't, actually. The newest version of Visual Studio is VS 2012, and it requires Windows 7 or 8.

(The previous one - VS 2010 - did run on XP, though. So it's not a decade, it's 9 years.)

Fixed:
http://img2.store.microsoft.com/prod/clustera/framework/locations/img/dashboard/hero/image01.jpg

Feeling any better in Bizarro World?

Wood tables, instead of white.

At least they dress 'em differently, notice the nametag!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7144/6463151653_fe2764cb8f.jpg

As far as I know the Kill List only applies to Active X controls

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240797

If you know a way to set a Kill Bit on a person I'd be every interested.

Ah, so you're a linux desktop user of past releases? Slackware + Ubuntu/Kubuntu have been the ones I have tried too. And before Web 2.0 I spent most of my time on the FreeBSD command line using lynx! Wasn't maintainable though if I wanted to be involved in the WWW. =D

Just to help out your posts for future benefit (the ones that are concrete, verifiable, & undeniable facts as per your post: http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3189435&cid=41672457), it is worth noting that the second item on that list (NASDAQ) is misleading. Firstly, the comparisons are incorrect since they're not talking about the same transaction method (TPC-C vs TPC-E: http://www.siemon.com/uk/white_papers/08-03-03-latency.asp) and secondly, NASDAQ actually runs Linux for all the real market transactions (http://www.computerworlduk.com/in-depth/open-source/3246835/london-stock-exchange-linux-record-breaking-system-faces-new-challengers/) - they do this at over a million transactions per second (approximately 1,390,000 a second - please note that this is a bit faster than 65,000 per second). It's worth noting that nearly all exchanges run Linux for their core trading platform - that doesn't mean Linux is perfect though!

But I'm not attacking Microsoft Windows! I'm just helping you clear some things up. For example, the last semi-major stock exchange to use Windows was this one: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2010/dec10/12-15directedgepr.aspx

As you can see, Microsoft lauds the low latency of their new system (340 microseconds), but did you know that the latency of NASDAQ's Linux system is under 40 microseconds? That is unfortunately a huge difference in the Trade world: http://www.nasdaqomx.com/technology/marketplacesolutions/trading/

Anyway, I think there are OS's out there that can do better than both Windows and Linux in this area, but that's another discussion. I haven't got time to check all of your other links to verify that they are indeed all concrete, verifiable, & undeniable facts, but I'll leave that to you.

If those are walls, the gate is awfully big and easy to open. Win8 permits sideloading, and doesn't charge for it. Enabling it requires Powershell (oh the horror, a command line!!!!) but is quick and trivial to do.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh974578.aspx

Sideloading is permitted on Win8 as well, though. You don't even have to pay for it. The option is less public than on Android - it requires either having Visual Studio installed or using the command line (Powershell, sepcifically), but it's there, it's free, and the info isn't hard to find if you do a search for it.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh974578.aspx

Using your eyes, look at the surface keyboard. Notice how thin it is. How much travel could there possibly be?

Well maybe that's why they have the touch cover and the type cover, the difference being mechanical key action.

http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US/accessories/type-cover

Perhaps you're not aware of this: http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US/accessories/type-cover

Kodu! Free for PC, cheap for Xbox. Build a game and it's environment using programming concepts without typing. Great for teaching "if this then that" logic, and hugely fun, which is great for keeping kids engaged.
http://research.microsoft.com/apps/mobile/showpage.aspx?page=/en-us/projects/kodu/
Also take a look on YouTube for a slew of games people have built with it.

No one forces you to use Google, unlike Microsoft where every defauly installation of Internet Explorer has BING as the default search engine, and MS embedding msBing into Office applications .. Bing Bar

Well, the Microsoft EFI FAT32 File System Specification (which admittedly isn't the patent itself and may not extend to UEFI) and the language covering its use seems to be specifically of the "you can only use this for EFI itself" type. Ie, even if Linux was used as the boot loader and running kernel--which it rarely is, as usually lilo/grub/whatever is used for boot and when Linux is used as the boot loader it tends to hand over control to a second, newer kernel version--, it'd seem to only allow LFN patent protection for the actual booting process itself. It specifically says "[for] example, you must obtain an additional license in order to create a file system for reading or reading and writing FAT32 in digital cameras recording to flash media, in computer operating systems reading and writing internal/external hard disks or flash media, or in set-top boxes reading FAT-formatted media."

That isn't to say you're wrong. It's just that I can't readily find any other information to collaborate your claim. More to the point, LFN was just a very well known example. During the whole SCO trial thing, it was made pretty clear that Linux almost certainly violates at least *some* patents--and possibly a lot, over 250. Yea, the issue was majorly downplayed by those in the OSS/FSS community and the real risks of patent infringement is often rather small in itself--as a lot of companies aren't interested in generating a lot of bad PR while potentially opening them up to counter-suits which contain just as legitimate complaints. The whole TomTom affair did really virtually nothing to further MS's interests--it did little to slow the adoption of Linux and since MS wasn't competing directly in GPS devices... Of course, patent trolls are a whole other beast since they're just looking for money, but then that may well be blood from a stone.

So, the over reaching point would be that patent trolls who could already be suing Linux developers aren't likely to suddenly start just because nVidia released a driver. And the other interests--Intel and AMD--are generally just as much a target for counter-suits by IBM or Google--huge supporters of Linux. That isn't to say there shouldn't be effort to step lively upon known patent issues that resulted in court settlements--as the risk there is the court not taking too kindly to ignoring court orders. But, it is hard for me to believe that those settlements are sufficient blockades to releasing an open driver. Yea, I can them being performance stumbling blocks--not unlike how arithmetic coding for compression being patented is (was?) a stumbling block. But, even that would likely be a matter of a small performance degradation, not a large one. Ie, it'd be far from the most optimal situation for the end user in many ways, but it'd be a huge step forward compared to the current state of affairs for a lot of users who won't or can't use the proprietary drivers nVidia provides.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/inside_ms.aspx
Revenue and Headcount Last updated: June 30, 2012 Headcount & Revenue Growth Microsoft's worldwide headcount and revenue growth for the past 10 fiscal yearsare summarized below (click headings to sort): Fiscal Year Ending Head Count Net Revenue (US$) Growth Net Income (US$) Growth
June 30, 2012** 94,290 $74.30B 6% $23.60B 5%
June 30, 2011 90,412 $69.94B 13% $23.15B 23%
June 30, 2010 88,596 $62.48B 7% $18.76B 29%
June 30, 2009 92,736 $58.44B -3% $14.57B -18%
June 30, 2008 91,259 $60.42B 18% $17.68B 26%
June 30, 2007 78,565 $51.12B 15% $14.07B 12%
June 30, 2006 71,172 $44.28B 11% $12.60B 3%
June 30, 2005 61,000 $39.79B 8% $12.25B 50%
June 30, 2004 57,086 $36.84B 14% $8.17B 8%
June 30, 2003* 54,468 $32.19B 13% $7.53B 29%
* Fiscal year 2003 results have been restated to reflect the retroactive adoption of SFAS 123, Accounting for Stock Based Compensation. ** Fiscal year 2012 results are adjusted for Windows Upgrade Offer deferral and goodwill impairment charge.

For one thing, SkyDrive is tied to a Microsoft account. According to "Prohibited Uses" in the Code of Conduct for a Microsoft account, all drawings of cartoon characters must be clothed. Arthur Read and Simon Seville are OK, but Tigger and Spyro are not.

For another, "Your computer doesn't support the free SkyDrive app". Apparently, the only Linux distribution it supports is Android, and my laptop runs something based on Debian. I signed into the web version with my Hotmail account, and I got a confusing message that "Your Microsoft account is missing some key info".

Finally, I logged in, and it was 7 GB, not 25 GB. What did you have to do to get 25 GB? Spam it to all your Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN) buddies? Or is there a specific piece of "key info" that one must provide?

The extra effort in question is installing a developer license. Which is free to obtain, and is a command prompt one-liner, but it expires every month, requiring to be updated (and every time you do it, essentially, phones home). It also can't be automated, so far as I know, because it uses a UAC-style elevated dialog.

Once the license is there, you can locally deploy and run any unsigned app, pretty much. But only for as long as it's there.

I have few good things to say about Microsoft - the best I can say is that they've been less evil under Ballmer than under Gates, but that's mostly due to incompetence, so I'm not sure it counts.

However, that quarterly loss don't really count, either. It's an accounting detail - they lost $6.2 billions of goodwill over 5 years (2007 to 2012) and accounted it in a single quarter. That's $6.2 billion lost over 60 quarters, or about $100m per quarter; a bit more if you consider the present risk value of the money. The slowest quarter in that period seems to have had a net profit (excluding this) of $2.6B[1]. That would be 2.5 billion if the goodwill loss had been recognized at that time.

So, even though it is tempting to conclude that MSFT is losing money (and few things would make me happier), it's still making a handsome profit, every quarter.

[1] I got this off http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2011/07/21/microsoft-q4-fy11-earnings-the-charts/ combined with Wolfram Alpha; the full data set seems to be available from http://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/TrendedHistory/default.aspx if you have Silverlight.

does this mean that you're generally okay with the arrangement where you do have to make some considerable extra effort to sideload apps, so long as it's free as in beer? (i.e. the way Win8 Store apps work)

I don't own a copy of Windows 8 yet, so I can't make specific comments on whether the "considerable extra effort" to sideload a WinRT application into Windows 8 is excessive.

But what I can say is that it is tied to a Microsoft account. Something I recently learned about Microsoft accounts while trying to integrate OpenID and other delegated authentication mechanisms into a project at work is that the Code of Conduct incorporated by reference into the terms for a Microsoft account appears to dictate the design of fictional characters in applications, videos, and other works that users create using products and services that require a Microsoft account: "You will not [...] use the service in a way that: [...] depicts nudity of any sort including full or partial human nudity or nudity in non-human forms such as cartoons, fantasy art or manga." In other words, animal characters have to be wearing clothes. For example, Arthur Read OK, Spyro bad. Simon Seville from the 1980s OK, Tigger bad. I hope I'm grossly misinterpreting this line of the Code of Conduct.

does this mean that you're generally okay with the arrangement where you do have to make some considerable extra effort to sideload apps, so long as it's free as in beer? (i.e. the way Win8 Store apps work)

I don't own a copy of Windows 8 yet, so I can't make specific comments on whether the "considerable extra effort" to sideload a WinRT application into Windows 8 is excessive.

But what I can say is that it is tied to a Microsoft account. Something I recently learned about Microsoft accounts while trying to integrate OpenID and other delegated authentication mechanisms into a project at work is that the Code of Conduct incorporated by reference into the terms for a Microsoft account appears to dictate the design of fictional characters in applications, videos, and other works that users create using products and services that require a Microsoft account: "You will not [...] use the service in a way that: [...] depicts nudity of any sort including full or partial human nudity or nudity in non-human forms such as cartoons, fantasy art or manga." In other words, animal characters have to be wearing clothes. For example, Arthur Read OK, Spyro bad. Simon Seville from the 1980s OK, Tigger bad. I hope I'm grossly misinterpreting this line of the Code of Conduct.

does this mean that you're generally okay with the arrangement where you do have to make some considerable extra effort to sideload apps, so long as it's free as in beer? (i.e. the way Win8 Store apps work)

I don't own a copy of Windows 8 yet, so I can't make specific comments on whether the "considerable extra effort" to sideload a WinRT application into Windows 8 is excessive.

But what I can say is that it is tied to a Microsoft account. Something I recently learned about Microsoft accounts while trying to integrate OpenID and other delegated authentication mechanisms into a project at work is that the Code of Conduct incorporated by reference into the terms for a Microsoft account appears to dictate the design of fictional characters in applications, videos, and other works that users create using products and services that require a Microsoft account: "You will not [...] use the service in a way that: [...] depicts nudity of any sort including full or partial human nudity or nudity in non-human forms such as cartoons, fantasy art or manga." In other words, animal characters have to be wearing clothes. For example, Arthur Read OK, Spyro bad. Simon Seville from the 1980s OK, Tigger bad. I hope I'm grossly misinterpreting this line of the Code of Conduct.

Before you embark on anything, consider this:

It sounds like you need the Microsoft Partner Action Pack. Just sign up as a basic partner (no entry requirements) then buy the Action Pack here: https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/uk/Pages/Membership/action-pack-subscriptions.aspx - you know you want to. It makes sense. You even get lots of free training and discounts to sweeten the deal and get embedded further into the ecosystem.

The moment you start promoting this stuff, people want you to use your new skills to help them. A few years down the line, you've nailed it job-wise thanks to your new skill set and have a deployed SQL 2008 instance for your favourite client which has cost them £32000GBP in licenses per machine (not terrible). They are super-happy as it's saved them a fuck load on Oracle and it requires only one DBA. Then the CIO comes to you and asks about SQL 2012 upgrades so they can use the new failover/replication stuff. You do the research, then realise they fuck you over by changing it from physical CPUs licenses to cores, resulting in your cash efficient 12-core Xeons turning into another order of magnitude of cost: £386,000 per server! You phone your partner rep up they say "use Azure" which is fuck all use if your data volume is in the TiB space, so it's bend over and take it or spend a year rewriting it all (you know because you wrote most of the app in T-SQL because it was promoted as the "best way of doing things").

This is a cautionary tale as we are as above. Not only that the license audit legal hounds are upon us and are making sure they bleed us dry or at least drag us through the courts to make a few notes even though we're compliant. Guilty until proven innocent.

Seriously, just use Debian/Ubuntu (and PostgreSQL) and avoid this shit completely.

Posted anonymously as we'll probably get sued. Stallman was ALWAYS fucking right. Listen to the guy.

That's one of the things that's so damn frustrating about Windows and why Ubuntu (or really, any Linux distribution) is so useful. Windows is an awesome OS and I don't mind paying the license fee to run it, but I don't have a few thousand dollars to install it on each of my hobbyist VMs I use for development and testing stuff.

You don't pay few thousand. You pay few hundred. MSDN OS subscription gets you unlimited installs for development and testing purposes. They just tell you not to activate the OS if you reinstall the images all the time.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/buy.aspx

$700 gives you ALL supported versions of windows to install and developer and test with in your VMs or real machines all you like. And no, you DO NOT have to pay this amount each year - the software you gain during subscription is forever valid. You don't get access to new software though until you pony up for renewal or new subscription.

And dev tools are mostly FREE (as in beer) from MS. Windows SDK 7.1 has VS C++ 2010 compilers. Free download.

PS. I only run Windows under KVM in Debian when necessary to compile software for Windows users. I do pay for that MSDN subscription.

For a while they were losing money hand over fist ... until around 2009Q4

http://www.forbes.com/global/2005/1003/036A_4.html
The Xbox game console is hot, but its division has lost $4 billion in four years and isn't yet in the black.

Although it looks like they are back to losing money again ...
http://www.destructoid.com/microsoft-s-xbox-division-loses-229-million-226215.phtml

Their Annual Report is not the place to look ...
http://www.microsoft.com/investor/AnnualReports/default.aspx ... instead you will want the Quarterly Reports. You can find the XBox losses in "Microsoft Entertainment Division" and/or "Entertainment & Devices Division"
http://www.microsoft.com/investor/SEC/default.aspx

For a while they were losing money hand over fist ... until around 2009Q4

http://www.forbes.com/global/2005/1003/036A_4.html
The Xbox game console is hot, but its division has lost $4 billion in four years and isn't yet in the black.

Although it looks like they are back to losing money again ...
http://www.destructoid.com/microsoft-s-xbox-division-loses-229-million-226215.phtml

Their Annual Report is not the place to look ...
http://www.microsoft.com/investor/AnnualReports/default.aspx ... instead you will want the Quarterly Reports. You can find the XBox losses in "Microsoft Entertainment Division" and/or "Entertainment & Devices Division"
http://www.microsoft.com/investor/SEC/default.aspx

Maybe you should look at this then. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=18128

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315231

Right, because Anders Hejlsberg, the creator of C#, was never inspired by C, C++, Java or J++. Oh wait, he was.

* References:
http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2009/03/an-interview-with-anders-hejls.html
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/yyaad03b(v=vs.71).aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Hejlsberg

Not to be like GP and provide factual links: here, I'm sure you've opted in for this, right?

I hope those modding you up get metamodded to hell, so go on highlighting the idiots with modpoints. I almost like your trolling style.