Slashdot Mirror
Is Vista the New OS/2?
An anonymous reader asks: "Well after the long torturous wait, Vista is finally out. Is it just me or do others see similarities between Vista and the OS/2 launch back in the '80's? I mean you need new hardware to run the new OS (Just like OS/2). Even on the best '386 system OS/2 still ran like a dog. Older apps sometimes didn't work (DOS penalty box). And most important, what was the compelling reason to upgrade? Add to this an interview I saw with Ballmer, some time ago, where he was talking about how he knew OS/2 was doomed when IBM kept talking about OS/2's KLOC's (thousands of lines of code), and how bloated OS/2 was. Now I see an interview with him where he talks about how great Vista is due to the, yes you guessed it, the KLOC's of code in it. So is Vista going to see the same fate as OS/2?" This is kind of a hard sell seeing that Vista has Microsoft's might behind it, rather than against it. Still, how long do you think it would take a good percentage of computer users (say 80+%) to migrate to Microsoft's latest and greatest OS?
"1. Vista runs extremely well on any modern PC."
/sigh
Buhahahahahahahahaa!!!
*gasp*
Hahahahahaha!!!
*gasp*
That's funny.
I forget what site it was on, but someone installed Vista on a handful of 'modern' PCs and did some benchmarking. They compared how long it took to open common applications, navigate windows, configure various options, etc...
Several 'modern' PCs just ran amazingly slow... And this wasn't a beta or RC copy.
I'll try to find the article.
By the way, I was wondering if you copied and pasted your post directly out of one of Ballmer's interviews or if you just write their brochures for a living.
With the exception of "Almost nobody is going to "buy" Vista."
You may be thinking of the kids who will download it, but yes, a lot of people are going to be buying this.
A lot of businesses will be buying this simply because it's the next new thing from Microsoft.
Is it any good? Does it get us anything we need? Who cares? New version = must be better! Buy it! Buy it now!
They'll be buying site licenses and support programs and new versions of Office to go with it. MS gets to sell all of its products all over again to huge companies all over the world. Somewhere, right now, a MS accountant just soiled himself thinking of this very concept. That's where they make their big money.
And yes, people will be buying it. Halo addicts who want to play the next version are forced to go with this OS because the next Direct X just won't work on any other OS. *cough*bullshit*cough*
They'll figure out more ways to leverage themselves into people's computers before they actually buy a new PC.
Because hey, it's a new version! Let's all buy it!
/sig
Let's tackle these "reasons" on at a time.
"(a) Many people on Slashdot work where upgrades to Vista are looming large."
Well that's something for YOUR BOSS to worry about. Not you. Besides all this "bellyaching" on slashdot isn't going to change THAT situation one iota.
"(b) Many of THOSE people will be in charge of having to run the migration."
B is basically saying they don't want to do their jobs, and would love for an Indian to come in and get the credit (and money. don't forget the paycheck) for doing the work.
"(c) Other slashdot users buy computers, and frequently these computers have Microsoft OSes installed on them; if they plan on buying a computer in the next few years (esp. a laptop), then it will likely have Vista on it. Even if they wipe the drive and install OpenBSD, they'll likely be on the hook for free support for their family and friends."
Oh this piece of FUD again. I swear this is the lamest bunch of geeks I've seen in decades. I've been able to buy a white box computer for years, and you all could too if you'd get off your lazy asses and do so.
"(d) There's not much going on with SCO or Jack Thompson right now; the Wii vs. PS3 vs XBOX360 battle has cooled; and OMG Ponies!!! isn't for another 4 months."
And NOW we get down to the REAL reason. You're damn bored, and you have nothing better to do with your lives.