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Longhorn Beta is Disappointing
bonch writes "Well, Longhorn beta 5048 was released a day before the start of WinHEC 2005, suggestive of the fact that it is not terribly impressive. Paul Thurrott (a Windows writer whose previously reported review of Mac OS X Tiger was updated after user feedback) confirmed this today in day two of his blog from WinHEC. Microsoft needed something big to kill the hype of competitors, but screenshots show minor visual updates from the last beta, and to quote Thurrot: 'This has the makings of a train wreck.'"
It's even uglier than XP, which is no small feat.
(On a serious note, it'd probably be a good idea to fix that--otherwise, grandma's gonna have a hard time figuring out what the "Shu..." button does on her large-text setup...)
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
The first screen shot is in monochrome, the original Macintosh had more shades of grey than this! :)
Jonathanjk.com
No more Super Mario Land default theme! I'd say that's a step forward.
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
Train Wreck nothing. If we are going to refer to unreleased software as a trainwreck, then what the hell are we going to call Windows ME?
"Redmond speed-up the copies."
We get signal!
(sorry, I couldn't resist)
--
get a free laptop
Is 5048 the expected release date?
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
"This has the makings of a train wreck."
Shouldn't that say plane wreck now that Microsoft is using black boxes?
>to quote Thurrot: 'This has the makings of a train wreck.'
*Dons engineer cap and lights cigar*
Just call me Gomez Addams!
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
"I'm sure many of you would strongly disagree with the idea that XP can run acceptably with 128MB of RAM."
Windows XP runs fine on 128MB of RAM. The problem comes when you try to install or run applications which require any memory whatsoever.
But Windows XP runs fine on 128MB of RAM.
-- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
NOTHING from Microsoft is disappointing.
I call shenanigans.
We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
The commenters on Paul's site are even more juvenile than we are.
No, it wouldn't flip itself -- as soon as the rear bumper touched the ground it would blow up!
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
I think it's actually a slight improvement from XP. But yeah, "ghastly" describes it well.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
I've never used a virus scanner/firewall with Windows XP/Windows 2000.
And that's why I just sent those pictures you took after school last Tuesday to your parents. I thought sending them from your Gmail account was a nice touch, didn't you, Bob? Only time will tell if your sister ever forgives you for stealing her panties.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Naw. win98 was the train wreck...ME was the aftermath.
I would expect the system requirements of Longhaul to be significantly *less* than XP. Microsoft has already cut so many promised features, it will actually be a downgrade by the time it launches. Of course you'll still need like 1GB of video RAM if you want that spectacular icon preview feature that is all that is Longhaul.
...the Recycle Bin is in an alternate universe, where light operates in the reverse direction and files magically cease to exist (unless you need to restore them).
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
How will MS tear themselves out of this cycle?
They'll buy the remnants of Amiga and fsck it up so badly that not even the most rabid fan would ever touch it again.
Then when they've had a good laugh, they'll get back to work and add another 128MB to the memory requirements.
--Phillip
Can you say BIRTH TAX
Steve... is that you???!!!
I believe the scroll bar is temporary until the "menu slide show" functionality is completed. Once that's implemented, the menu will show you one animated icon at a time with marquee-style text prompting you with, "Is this the application you wish to run?" After a two second delay the next menu-item is displayed.
Don't worry though if this sounds tedious. A set of slide show controls nested within the menu will allow you to skip forward, backward, and set the delay time between slides. Who would of thought such a rich user interface could be imbedded into a menu?
Your courageous and selfless spelling corrections have made me a better person.
Who immediately gets the Beck song "Novacane" stuck in their heads whenever they read anything about Longhorn?
"Got so numb, longhorn drum
Detonate with the suicide gate
Test tube, stillborn days
Telescope rays in the rabies haze
Got the momentum, radioactive
Meltdown!"
Yeah, I guess I probably am.
Palaces, barricades, threats, meet promises
I challenge others to so colorfully draw metaphors of Microsoft's Longhorn adventure!
The reason that it can be true that 1+1 > 2 is that very peculiar nonzero value of the + operator
Seriously - how do you get a number like twenty? Would twice as good be enough?
I counted the times I wanted to kill Bill Gates while looking at the interface. I found I had 20 times less homicidal thoughts.
You're right. Let's begin using more sensitive terms for such things and then we won't have to check the news every day for disasters before we open our thoughtless mouths.
"Train wreck" could be "rail transport guidance mishap (RTGM)"
"Plane crash" could be "aeronautic ground avoidance exception (AGAE)"
"Tsunami" could be "exceptional aquatic waveform event (EAWE)"
"Earthquake" could be "sudden geological tension release event (SGTRE)"
"Flood" could be "unexpected hydrological intrusion (UHI)"
"Fire" could be "unwanted thermological surge cause by excessively rapid oxdidation of ambient combustibles (UTSCBEROOAC or UTSCEROAC)"
"Atomic attack" coule be "aggressive chain reaction event unfortunately proximate to valuable life or property (ACREUPTVLOP or ACREUPVLP)"
"Heart attack" could be "biogenic oxidant supply chain problem resulting in catastrophic system pump failure (BOSCPRICSPF)"
"Vomit" could be "retrograde migration of partially processed biological fuel mixture (RMOPPBFM or RMPPBFM)"
By using the abbreviations we could all pretend that nothing ugly happens or exists. "Hey, be careful with that! You could have a BOSCPRICSPF!" "What the fuck did you call me, pissbrain?"Look at the bright side: there's always seppuku.
..they are hold LongHorn for ransom.
LongHorn looks like just another XP skin, just a bit uglier.
Running with Linux for over 20 years!
Luxury. I was run over by a 200 car freight train after which I put in a 12 hour day at the foundry tending a coke furnace.
What's it like? Any tips on maintaining your sanity?
In March of 2004, we got together in Tahoe for a three-day weekend retreat, the whole staff. We had day-long sessions where we divided up into functional teams and discussed all the various ways in which we could piss off some random and utterly inconsequential Slashdotter. This was what we came up with.
Are you fucking kidding me? Like anybody in his right mind would believe for a second that you're sitting there weighing the options. "Hmm. On the one hand, system-wide search that will fundamentally change the way I work forever. On the other, a different-looking toolbar control. Decisions, decisions."
Whatever, dude.
What it should say is, "Your computer might be at risk. Currently downloading: 18,432 viruses, 94% complete. These downloads will automatically install upon completion. For your convenience, you cannot cancel or stop this operation. If you disconnect the network during this time or attempt to reboot, you will be arrested under the DMCA clause that prohibits anti-circumvention with regards to the intellectual property rights of the virus authors. Microsoft. Where do you want to go today?"
Screenshot here.
Yeah, I've got a 333 Celeron with 128 MB too, and you wouldn't believe the trouble I had trying to get OS X to run on it!
I gave up in the end.
*munches popcorn*
*anxiously awaits another response*
*munches popcorn*
ASOTV: Look, you stupid bastard. You've got no arms left.
Lauwenmark: Yes, I have.
ASOTV: Look!
Lauwenmark: Just a flesh wound.
[...]
Lauwenmark: I'm invincible!
ASOTV: You're a looney.