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Challenges To Microsoft For 2006
TekkenLaw writes "Directions on Microsoft, a site which claims to be 'the only independent organization in the world devoted exclusively to tracking Microsoft', has published a list of 10 challenges for 2006 for Microsoft as a company. Top strategic issues in all areas of operation from OS to gaming are covered." From the article: "Windows Vista could offer large organizations improvements in software development, security, reliability, systems management, and user interface. However, public demonstrations have been full of cool graphics effects and consumer features that probably turn off more IT staff than they attract, and sales of Windows upgrade rights to corporations have been disappointing. In 2006, Microsoft has to settle on a feature set for Vista that appeals to enterprises, explain clearly what that feature set is, and reveal what PC hardware and other infrastructure corporations require to reap the benefits." Actually presented in a fairly respectful way, it's interesting to see the overall picture we've reported on for the past year condensed down into one page.
Most of these non-experts actually run WinXP in with the native XP theme, because they don't know how to change it.
I prefer efficiency to worthless eye-candy. I hate all the screen waste and clutter that the XP interface throws at me. It also sucks a lot of time down and provides the potential for inconsistency among users. I have a mix of NT4, 2000, and XP desktops, and trying to troubleshoot a user is a pain. The largest reason for this is the different UI on each. It's just easier to VNC in and fix it myself than to try to get any information out of the user.
When I set up an XP machine, after I clear all the pop-ups that MS throws at me, I set the system to use the classic 2000 theme, turn off the HTML explorer views, and set the start menu to classic. Of course, I also have to turn on file extensions, hidden files, system files, yes really system files, and browsing in a separate process. Then I have to turn off sounds, all the *other* annoying MS pop-ups, and all the fading effects.
People will stick to 2k or XP until they need a new computer. People just don't upgrade their OS. You're talking about people that buy a new computer rather than format/reinstall.