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Gates Provides Windows Crash Statistic
cybercuzco writes "In an otherwise innocuous article at they NYT (FRRYYY) Bill Gates says that according to error reporting software in windows, 5% of all windows installations crash two or more times every day. Gates goes on to state that Microsoft is looking at charging for some of its software updates that it now distributes for free."
Sounds like MS wants to once again jump on the bandwagon of Apple. Perhaps I'm exaggerating but I can foresee MS wanting to charge for updates just like Apple does with its Jaguar, Cougar, Mt.Lion releases ;).
Too bad half the updates I've ever install make my copy of windows worse.
R4NT.com - A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
"The 5% number is just skewed heavily by the fact that any poorly written app that crashes is counted. "
.
That is all good and all, but my experience has been that when an app crashes in windows, the entire system usually becomes unstable in some way (might not crash then, but something is almost always messed up as a result and the only way to fix it is with a 3 finger salute).
Or maybe I am just hyper-sensitive to this issue since I usually use Unix which I have NEVER had this happen to me . .
Sdelat' Ameriku velikoy Snova!
> Not a troll, just say no to zealotry.
Yes, mod it up so everyone can see the entrenched idiocy of Microsoft apologetics.
Other operating systems run applications too, you know.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
I can't stand to use some versions of Windows. But I can't understand how a 5% crash statistic with so few details provided regarding it has been twisted out of proportion by Linux zealots. I use Linux, but I am not pro-Microsoft, pro-Linux or anti-Microsoft; I'm a Pragmatic Programmer. I just use the tool that gets the job done most cheaply. So, I go for Linux. If you want to use Windows 2000, congratulations. If you want to use Mac OS X, go ahead. I don't care.
Note to M1-ers: a curt but otherwise insightful message is not "Flamebait" or "Troll".
Ok Ok, this is not the troll, but it may be true. MS is at the end of their development line for their OS and Office. Their big revenue sources are gonig to go down relativly fast.
That is what the new subscription based licensing is, a way for them to get new blood from the same old stone.
In a nutshell, Microsoft is going to need to reinvent itself. Longhorn, to be honest is going to crash harder than a ton of bricks.
The future for MS is in the X-Box 2. Not as just a game console, but as an all-in-one media device. However, I think that they will not have the same success they once had.
if you want "No More Hiroshimas" then I say "You First. No More Pearl Harbors."
hahaha.. as if Apple isn't charging $129 every six months for the latest and greatest OS X.
Even RedHat charges for decent access to bug fixes (if you don't want to wait through demo up2date hell), and has recently instituted fairly limited continued support of the non Advanced Server product.
You can knock MS for a lot of things, but they're still ahead of the curve for OS updates as far as Redhat and Apple are concerned. The non-commercial linux installations like Debian of course have them beat. The point being that MS is one of the last major OS makers to consider charging for updates in some manor. (Sun still hasn't, but then Sun is really a hardware company).
AccountKiller
Needless to say, I am astonished that anybody continues to use Windows as a "solution". With that out of the way, let's move on to a prediction.
This could mark the beginning of the end for Microsoft's monopoly. That's a pretty big prediction. Here's why:
Two parts of the software game are the initial buy and continued updates. While most vendors charge for major and minor releases, patch level updates have traditionally been free. Patches, as small as they are in practice, are a huge part of the deal. They keep your software from breaking or being broken. In reality, they are 50% of the package.
But previously, we haven't looked at software this way. We saw the initial package as 100% of the deal. Windows isn't free, open source is. Let's shift the perspective. Windows is 50% free, the first half costing money, the second half being free where as open source remains 100% free. If Microsoft goes through with this, Windows becomes 0% free. Open source will of course, continue to provide free updates. That's a very compelling reason to look at open source in a favorable light because now it wins on two fronts regarding entrance fees, not just one.
What else does this cause? That removal of Microsoft's last free 50% means that half of the package is lost to most consumers of their software. The critical component of the deal that keeps your software functional as time marches forward is lost. Who is going to pay for software updates? I doubt 100% of Microsoft's customers will. I cannot begin to speculate on the numbers, but of the people who won't pay for them, some will pirate (becoming criminals in the process) and others will simply cease to use Microsoft products.
In other words, Mr. Gates, if you are reading this, go right along with your plan: it will help the open source movement tremendously.
On the other hand, it could just mean that people will simply buy major software releases from Microsoft rather than pay for piecewise upgrades. I hope that isn't the case, but luckily, that will cost businesses who have bought into Microsoft nonsense a lot of money. That will make the IT budget people very unhappy, and spur the investigation of alternatives.
Join Tor today!
Although I love OS X, I think Apple has MS beat on this one. They charge full price for a freakin' point upgrade!
"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." --George Orwell
that's about the size of it, yeah
but seriously, when it comes to bad value for money, governments have got it taped.
That was classic intercourse!
Apple also sold a broken product, charged for updates that also contained broken products and continues to do so. "It comes with a DVD burner!* (Software for burning not implimented yet.)"
-]Phreak Out[-