Time for a Vista Do-Over?

DigitalDame2 writes "'There's nothing wrong with Vista,' PC Mag editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff tells a Microsoft rep at this year's CES. 'But you guys have a big problem on your hands. Perception is reality, and the perception is that Vista is a dud.' He goes on to confess that the operating system is too complex and burdened by things people don't need. Plus, Vista sometimes seems so slow. Ulanoff gives four suggestions for a complete Vista makeover, like starting with new code and creating a universal interface table. But will Microsoft really listen?"

Comments

Nothing wrong

[QuickFox]

Indeed there's nothing wrong with Vista. Except of course the operating system.

Re:Nothing wrong

[netdur]

there's nothing wrong with Vista
                  [deny] [allow]

Re:Nothing wrong

[morgan_greywolf]

At least the disc it comes on is pretty and shiny. Unless it came preinstalled on your computer, in which case, you probably don't have a disc, so, errmmm...scratch that.

I was tryin' to say something nice about Vista! Honestly!

Re:Nothing wrong

[QuickFox]

At least the disc it comes on is pretty and shiny. The box looks nice too.

Let's be honest and give Microsoft credit where credit is due.

Re:Nothing wrong

[Hillgiant]

I agree. The Operating System in emacs is terrible.

Re:Nothing wrong

[PatrickThomson]

scratch that

That's what the walmart staff are for!

Re:Nothing wrong

[nschubach]

you probably don't have a disc, so, errmmm...scratch that.

I thought that was rather well placed wording.

Re:Nothing wrong

[halber_mensch]

At least the disc it comes on is pretty and shiny. Unless it came preinstalled on your computer, in which case, you probably don't have a disc, so, errmmm...scratch that.
I think your conditional is backwards, let me correct it:

At least the disc it comes on is pretty and shiny, so, errmmm...scratch that. Unless it came preinstalled on your computer, in which case, you probably don't have a disc.

Re:Nothing wrong

[MyOtherUIDis3digits]

Just yesterday we had a presentation from a MS rep on Windows Server 2008 (command line based server! - now I have to find a new catchphrase at work instead of the usual "Real servers don't have mice"). At one point he asked who in the room was using Vista. Out of 20 people, 12 haven't even tried it, 7 installed and used it for a while before going back to XP, and one was still using it and liked it.

Of course at the end of the presentation when he started handing out Vista Ultimate discs, we all jumped on it. Now I just have to see if I still remember my eBay password.

Re:Nothing wrong

[Red Flayer]

Well, not exactly my toilet seat, but the little Eepc I have sellotaped to the bottom of it, so I can my family's fecal throughput throughout the summer.

So you can $VERB your family's fecal matter?

I'm intrigued. What is the missing word? This is the best Madlibs I've seen in a while.

monitor?
record?
upload?
fileshare?

Please toss us a bone and let us know exactly *what* you have that Eepc do to your family's logjams. Thanks in advance.

Re:Nothing wrong

[ehrichweiss]

This is /. so it's obviously $VERB=twogirlsonecup

Re:Nothing wrong

[hobbesmaster]

Didn't some guy named Torvalds release a kernel around the same time?

Re:Nothing wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

May God have mercy on your soul.

New Code

[A beautiful mind]

Ulanoff gives four suggestions for a complete Vista makeover, like starting with new code(...)

Brilliant idea! I think it needs a catchy name though. I got it! They could name it after a breed of cattle to signify strength, like the Texas Longhorn.

Oh wait...

Re:bah

[chrish]

This is the nice thing about new Windows releases; it makes the previous version seem insanely fast.

Re:PR won't fix this one

[Loibisch]

Appears it isn't working. PR can't polish a turd. Of course they can. The result will be a shiny turd...see the resemblance to Vista? :)

Re:Universal interface table?

[somersault]

look at Gnome
give fishing rod to gnome
sleep
take fish from gnome
eat fish

Don't mind me, I'm also fighting the urge to use Multi User Dungeons. I was a fool to think that rehab was the end of it.

PC Mags publisher pleading to Microsoft

[sjwest]

Dear Large Advertsing client, I Lance do love your products, and i hate it when people say your product is rubbish. Apple wont spend as much, and that Penguin is mean.

Steve Please Please don't throw that a chair at me, but if you only made a few changes i could tell people that your products are the greatest yet and people who use Vista wont laugh at me like they are currently doing.

I think it is best that i call all users of Vista 'retarded' and my readership too since they do not see the amazing things i see in it. Thus I retain my journalistic integrity and you also win because i cannot never ever upset you.

Please send me a large cash sum, Love and kisses your bestest publisher friend in publishing.

Love Lance

Re:bah

[somersault]

Indeed.. you should see how quick I can finish Minesweeper on Windows 3.1! I also have Quake running at 1600fps, but my monitor can't keep up :(

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[account_deleted]

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Re:New Code?

[e4g4]

Indeed - he did misuse that term, but phrased like: "Vista's kernel is monolithic" it seems quite accurate...

...I think it's quite reasonable to describe the Vista kernel (when loaded in memory) as a "giant black box that drives primates into a murderous rage."

(With apologies to Kubrick and Clarke) :P

Re:bah

[Two9A]

Note the cunning tactic employed here: paste in a Wikipedia link to a random Latin phrase, and instant +5! As they say, quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur; looks like it works on us.

That said, it seems that Vista is taking a real drubbing (here and elsewhere); even my workplace isn't moving to Vista, and we're internally a Microsoft shop. There's Exchange, 2k3 Server, the whole nine yards in the server closet, but the boss has reformatted his new laptop to XP because Vista was such a dog.

Re:bah

[Anonymous Coward]

5 years into the future...

Windows 7 will have a really awesome mini kernel, and then they will shove everything into the kernel so it runs as fast as possible. This one really gets me. Se7en was supposed to be a complete rewrite with all new code. when MSFT bought virtual PC I became happy as I saw it as a sign that backward compatibility would be handled by VPC sandboxing Vista. MSFT kept bragging about how new Se7en would be I had hope.

When Se7en RC1 was released and immediately hit with a virus in an image library that had been directly ported from Vista I knew Se7en was doomed to be crap. The rewrite never actually happened they just ported the code and added yet another layer of crap on top.

Windows 8 will have a really awesome mini kernel, and then they will shove everything into the kernel so it runs as fast as possible.

Re:bah

[CmdrGravy]

I love how the Linux nuts pop on here...

Take a look around my friend, you're already deep in enemy territory and you don't even know it.

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[account_deleted]

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Microsoft just named Windows 7

[jollyreaper]

Windows 7 is the working title for Vista's successor. Microsoft has now released the official name of their new operating system. May I present to you Windows Mulligan.

New Edition?

[runnerup]

Does this mean they'll come out with an edition called Windows Vista Mulligan?

Se7en is going to be really bad

[ringm000]

It will probably include not only gluttony (bloat), sloth (crappy performance), envy (poorly reimplemented stolen ideas), pride (disregard for customer satisfaction), and greed (exorbitant prices), but also wrath!
I just hope it also comes with lust (a good collection of pr0n).

Re:bah

[skolima]

Yes, Ubentu definitely pwns OZX and Viasta.