Slashdot Mirror
Software Missing From Vista's "Official Apps"
PetManimal writes "Microsoft has just released a list of 800 applications it says are 'officially supported' on Windows Vista. What's special about this list, however, are the programs that are not included: 'Popular Windows software that is conspicuously missing from Microsoft's list includes Adobe Systems Inc.'s entire line of graphics and multimedia software, Symantec Corp.'s security products, as well as the Mozilla Foundation's open-source Firefox Web browser, Skype Ltd.'s free voice-over-IP software and the OpenOffice.org alternative to Microsoft Office.' Another area in which Vista has found to be lacking is gaming, as discussed earlier on Slashdot."
Yup. I guess all those graphics professionals who need to upgrade will have to either find a machine that still comes with XP or get a Mac. All those people who need OpenOffice or Mozilla will have to stick with XP or move to *NIX.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
This is a non-story, sensational only in its attempt to stir up a hornet's nest. (But this is Slashdot, so why am I surprised?)
There's no story here. There is some vague hint in the summary that Microsoft is purposefully not certifying software, but this is a vague and unsupported claim at best. The only real claim that can be made is that some software is not on the list... and so what? There are dozens of reasons. The software could A) not work with Vista, b) not have been submitted for testing, C) be in the process of going through the process...
What's the point? As another poster said, if it doesn't work, don't use it.
"It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." -Peak Performance
From TFA:
Adobe, which will face competition from Microsoft this year when Microsoft releases its Expression suite of graphics and multimedia design tools, did not immediately return a request to comment.
"He may be mad, but there's method in his madness. [...] It's what drives men mad, being methodical." G.K.Chesterton
They've footdragged so much on getting universal binary versions of their software to operate on Intel, that I'm not surprised in the least that they'd also foot-drag on Vista-savvy versions of their software. In an interesting turnabout, the fastest native version of their software (for the remainder of the year) - might be - be OSX for Intel - if the damn thing is released for the Mac users by summer.
Actually I'd be surprised if Adobe's stuff isn't usable in Vista as-is. It's probably just a marketing spat between the two insofar that Adobe wasn't going to commit itself to being "Vista Ready" when Microsoft sent out the promotional packets.
Which brings one to the conclusion that you(*), the purchaser of Microsoft products are not the customer. The shareholder is the customer.
You are the product.
(*) - That's "you" in a general sense. I in no way mean to accuse you personally of actually purchasing said software.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Many stores like Fry's and Best Buy along with "custom" order computers like Dell and Gateway have all but removed windows XP from their selection. It's been a common point in the news lately that almost everybody out there selling computers has practically ousted XP in favor of Vista. The fact is, the customers don't really have an option to buy a computer with XP and very few are going to jump at the idea of spending an extra $100 to get the old operating system.
/. reader above, but rather the generic consumer that only understands that they buy a computer, plug some stuff into the wall and their cable modem, and they can read email, hit some websites, and watch some porn. These people are still limited to windows (or a Mac, which probably doesn't suit their needs either). Linux, despite it's headway, isn't ready for the 'lowest common denominator' computer user.
Take note, I'm not talking about the average
Within a few months, saying "Don't use it" to many of these people will be like telling a one-legged person to "walk it off"
- Nobody would know what RTFA meant if it didn't need to be said all the time
If my memory serves me right, PhotoShop for the Mac is able to do more then the Windows version. I think it has something to do with the Mac using PS for the video (okay, it's not DSP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_PostScript ), instead of Windows Bitmap.
The Mozilla team has identified a couple dozen issues with Vista + Firefox (and Thunderbird). Some of them are fixed already (like making Firefox DPI aware), and some have yet to be (e.g. multiple UAC prompts when installing updates). Some are also "enhancements", like setting the default downloads folder to the new "Downloads" folder in the user's profile, instead of the desktop.
;-) But it's up to the Mozilla team to fix the bugs so that the shim isn't required in the future.
Porobab the biggest one is this: they're considering implementing the same "Protected Mode" sandbox that IE7 uses to run the browsing engine & ActiveX controls on pages with lower permissions than the user themselves have. It's a good idea, because if you narrowly define the precise paths by which something can get out of the sandbox (like the "save" dialog box), it's easier to secure, and vulnerabilities are somewhat mitigated. There's nothing about the technology that's really IE-specific, either; it's a security framework provided by the OS itself.
It also needs to be said that Vista actually includes a compatibility shim for 2.0.0.0 thru 2.0.0.2, to work around some of the problems Firefox has. Yes, Microsoft actually invested time and effort in making Firefox work mostly correctly on Vista.
Debian comes with nearly 20000 applications. 800 is absolutely nothing.
'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'