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Dell Gives Android the Boot, Boots Up More Windows 8

hugheseyau writes "Dell vice chairman Jeff Clarke made a less than shocking announcement at this year's Dell World Conference in Austin. The company is officially giving up on Android phones and tablets. ... So if Dell is giving up on Android, what comes next? The company claims it's doubling down on Windows 8, and the enterprise market."

408 comments

  1. good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Windows 8 and Server 2012 are far from "enterprise" they are basically toys. And don't even get me started on RT, RT is a hunk of junk, you'd think its a Microsoft product so you can at least join it to your Microsoft Active Directory domain to help centrally manage at some basic level, I won't even go so far as to ask for a little Group Policy.

    1. Re:good luck with that by dagamer34 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Uhh.. the reason those features don't exist is to clearly push those kinds of customers towards Windows 8 Pro. It's the same reason why Office RT doesn't have Outlook. Microsoft doesn't want Windows RT to be used in enterprise and there are plenty of clues as to why not.

    2. Re:good luck with that by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Windows 8 and Server 2012 are far from "enterprise" they are basically toys.

      Agreed. It seems the purpose of Windows 8 is to provide a consumer-oriented environment conducive to buying content such as music, movies, books, etc like on the iPad and other tablets and smartphones. To date, the only things I've seen people doing with Windows 8 systems in commercials is playing movies, games, finger painting, Skype, "clicking, clicking, clicking," sliding and (often angry) dancing. No one's using the thing for any actual work...

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    3. Re:good luck with that by TWX · · Score: 1

      I once managed to get Windows NT Small Business Server to function as a backup domain controller, so I'd bet that there are ways of making RT do things that have been disabled in it... *grin*

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    4. Re:good luck with that by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

      Microsoft doesn't want Windows RT to be used in enterprise and there are plenty of clues as to why not.

      I wouldn't think that getting people to not use it would be a problem... Or a goal, for that matter...

    5. Re:good luck with that by ArhcAngel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I've done similar things in the past. The difference here is RT is not an x86 platform. In the past the features were just disabled. In this case they were never there.

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    6. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It isn't very clear what point you're making. Are you agreeing that it's a " hunk of junk" but saying that that's okay because its deliberately a hunk of junk? I Could understand excusing it on the basis that it is actually good enough for some purposes but not on the basis that they just made it crap so you'd buy something else - in that case crap is still crap.

    7. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      To date, the only things I've seen people doing with Windows 8 systems in commercials is playing movies, games, finger painting, Skype, "clicking, clicking, clicking," sliding and (often angry) dancing. No one's using the thing for any actual work...

      Well, sure... in commercials. But in the real world no one's using the thing at all.

    8. Re:good luck with that by aztracker1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I actually had really high, well higher hopes, for WinRT... The consistency of windows APIs without all the debt... .Net code pretty much just works (at least the backend code)... Honestly, I was kind of hoping to see some 32-64 core ARM based systems for servers, running a lighter version of windows, for web servers... Actually, not all that tied to Windows. Working on migrating portions of the site at work to using MongoDB + Node.js as an API backend server... that can run on just about anything.. for now it is on Windows, but will probably migrate.

      --
      Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
    9. Re:good luck with that by smash · · Score: 4, Informative

      You have actually worked in the real world, yes? Windows servers are far from toys and are in use in plenty of enterprises the world over.

      --
      I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
    10. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Um... Windows Server 2012 is as "enterprise" as they come. A quick example:

      Deduplication (although it is passive and not on the fly deduping like EMC.)

      Checksums/CRCs to guard against corruption. This is in ReFS, not NTFS. Linux has no production-level filesystem that can do this.

      Bitlocker + TPM. No other OS has hardware protection against tampering.

      Dynamic LVMs. Linux's LVM is a joke.

      Logging, policies, and so on which are needed for anything bigger than the guy in his basement: Linux doesn't offer this, Windows does via GPOs. This is important come audit time, and the auditors are there.

      Signed executables (AppLocker): Windows has it, Linux doesn't.

      Please name me a feature that Linux has that Windows doesn't that is useful on the enterprise level.

    11. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They aren't "giving up" on Android, they just realized they can make more money foisting WindBlowz 8 on an unsuspecting populace. There's a wider profit margin when you can pretend that the reason it costs more is that you have to send money to Misrosoft, and jack the price up a little higher.

      Why else would someone give up on something free, and popular, that's more secure and actually works, for some shit you have to pay for, is less secure, and doesn't work. Misrosoft. What a joke.

    12. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When was that ever not true? Windows by definition was a toy OS. It never had any acceptable level of scripting, modularity, modifiability, configurability or useful concepts like everything being a file.

      I run it by selecting: "K -> Games -> Windows" ;)

    13. Re:good luck with that by bloodhawk · · Score: 1, Troll

      I will give you windows 8. But Server 2012 is basically completely built around enterprise and while win 8 will probably be a failure in the enterprise, server 2012 will be a huge success with many large functionality upgrades.

    14. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, because a commercial that shows a tired sysadmin plugging away at powershell is sure to sell copies of Win8!

      "OH SHIT SON! That series of piped commands to remove a set of Hyper-V VM network adapters is OFF THE CHAIN!" "Look at these sexy parameters to AD powershell scripts, these guys are able to dance AND admin their azure subscriptions at the SAME TIME!"

    15. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's the same reason why Office RT doesn't have Outlook.

      Because it has a built mail, calendar and contact management apps.

    16. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Windows by definition was a toy OS.

      you've got it backwards, Linux by definition is a toy OS, it was and is a hobby operating system, it's open source for tinkerers to play with.

    17. Re:good luck with that by epyT-R · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A bit fallacious no? Corporate officers are hardly objective when it comes to choosing IT infrastructure, esp when they have no knowledge of it beyond advertising, slick presentations, and from watching hollywood movies as children.

      Anyway, windows' ubiquity might also be a factor in why remote intrusions are so commonplace.

    18. Re:good luck with that by symbolset · · Score: 5, Funny

      What's not to like? Facebook and Twitter integration for your Primary Domain Controller and Exchange Server is the next evolution of social networking. Your PDC can tweet for help when it suffers a drive failure. Your Exchange Server can post a message on your timeline about your technical incompetence. Smells like progress to me.

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    19. Re:good luck with that by symbolset · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Please name me a feature that Linux has that Windows doesn't that is useful on the enterprise level.

      You can use it any way you want, as much as you want, and you won't fail an audit as long as you don't publish modified code.

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    20. Re:good luck with that by symbolset · · Score: 0

      Um, no.

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    21. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Please. Remote intrusions are due to improperly maintained systems.

      I have worked in all sorts of companies using windows, linux, solaris etc. The number of remote intrusions in all those years was exactly one and that was on a Linux box back in 2004 or so.

    22. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you shouldn't find it insightful, it's simply obvious. the fact that you are incapable of refuting it proves that even further.

    23. Re:good luck with that by ohnocitizen · · Score: 4, Funny

      I would watch the shit out of that commercial.

    24. Re:good luck with that by epyT-R · · Score: 5, Informative

      1. passive dedup could be done in userland using a script. big deal..

      2. fs level crc/hashing already exists in ext4, but it is a recent feature. It's recent in windows too, so I don't see how either should be considered stable or reliable.

      3. There are hardware crypto chips available which have drivers in linux, but I wouldn't trust them any more than TPM. If you're going to use crypto at the enterprise level, at least use something that you can have verified.

      4. define 'joke'. what is lacking with linux lvm2? Most raid solutions in enterprise servers are hardware anyway.

      5. logging is one of the most confusing messes ever on windows. this has been true since NT4 at least.. most of it is meaningless boilerplate that doesn't really tell you anything. If you're lucky, you get a hex string to shove into a search engine so you can join discussions on forums of people guessing at the problem just like you. Like managing the registry (vs text in /etc), it's mostly unsearchable without 3rd party tools and offers no more resistance to tampering than any other OS, but if you just mean the auditors give windows a free pass because it's the entrenched standard, you're right.
      --

      linux/bsd positives non all inclusive list.

      1. sensible, flexible, searchable logging system that can be as verbose or as cryptic/dense as desired.
      2. self contained services, each with manageable configurations.. easy to backup/propagate to many machines.
      3. flexible thinclient configurability, from netboot disk images of standard distros to complete custom builds for each netboot device type. windows' botches this with remote desktop and licensing nonsense. Its nonsensical directory structure doesn't help either. the default windows installer ties the install to the specific machine and is not easily imageable without use of microsoft-designed hackneyed tools.
      4. sensible install/uninstall tracking. windows has always been terrible at this.
      5. No licensing auditors!
      6. for intractable problems, having the sourcecode helps immensely. of course, this requires admins who actually know something about what they're administrating. with windows, unless you're a fortune 100 or better, you don't get that kind of attention from microsoft or any of its 3rd party 'solution providers', which do little more than patch serious functionality lapses in the base microsoft products, for exorbitant fees of course.
      7. open source crypto engine with a variety of ciphers and hashing algos. Take your pick.. The admin can crypt a single directory, partition, or whole disk. the open part is key here since who the hell knows if there are backdoors in bitlocker or the TPM. It would not surprise me if there were. By using crypto, you admit you're paranoid, so why not go all the way and have the source verified by an entity you trust (or have it done in house)?
      8. no upgrade treadmill.. upgrade as quickly or as slowly as you like. no pressure.

    25. Re:good luck with that by mjwx · · Score: 1

      I will give you windows 8. But Server 2012 is basically completely built around enterprise and while win 8 will probably be a failure in the enterprise, server 2012 will be a huge success with many large functionality upgrades.

      As long as there is a way to change the interface back to "Classic".

      They've put some kind of dodgy neutered form of Metro on Server 2012, it will seriously hinder it unless it can be replaced.

      Windows 8 will be a complete failure

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    26. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      because on Windows you've got Microsoft wheeling and dealing and willing to pay you to ship Windows as long as you only ship Windows and load it with lots of try-ware from Microsoft. And then there are all the other Windows economy vendors who'll pay you to preload all their crapware.

      Windows is a transport for lots and lots of money to be moved around and out of customers pockets.

      Android, not so much. And it helps Microsoft is spending billions on just marketing Windows 8 and Dell knows that if you talk to Microsoft in the correct way, they'll send lots of that money your way.

    27. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      "LinSux"... please... that's almost as bad as APK's usual "open sores" drivel... almost

    28. Re:good luck with that by Onthax · · Score: 5, Informative

      FYI: linux has zfs.

      ZFS is the only FS to checksum data, ReFS checksums the metadata.

      along that line, ZFS has dedupe and realtime snapshotting (something that windows doesnt have) HyperV snapshotting doesnt count.

      But windows server 2012 is pretty sweet none the less.

    29. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      you might accidentally sell linux with a commercial like that (esp. since powershell is basically a bash ripoff with some .NET bloat)

    30. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 2

      one reason and one reason only... nobody ever got fired for buying microsoft products

    31. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      that's why fortune 500 companies install it on thousands of data center blades, and fuck knows how many routers, firewalls, set top boxes, smartphones, etc rely on it, not to mention a decent chunk of the web is served from it.

      linux started out as a hobby OS, and has matured like a fine wine to become part of critical corporate IT infrastructure
      windows started out as a corporate OS and has become rotten and stale and now companies don't trust it for datacenter use and put up with it on workstations because they have been duped into dependence on the Microsoft application ecosystem (outlook, access, autodesk, adobe, etc).

    32. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You do realize there is a Windows 8 'Enterprise' edition right which is required for joining a domain? Well, you can do it in Windows 8 pro as well. You couldn't join a domain in Windows 7 unless you had pro,ultimate, or enterprise either.

    33. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And which OS is running on every workstation and desktop in those same fortune 500 companies? That would be Windows and the number of systems running it far outnumber the servers running Linux.

    34. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      everyone needs something to play freecell and watch youtube with

      and i doubt your claim... it would seem like their are more desktops than servers, but there are A LOT of servers crammed into big datacenters, all running linux, not to mention virtual linux servers running on linux servers

      ultimately, when you throw the embedded installs into the mix, the number of linux kernels around the world would probably be more than double the number of windows installs (even including pirated windows)

    35. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The fact that you believe that there could possibly be more servers out there than clients is just laughable. You fail.

      By last estimate, Windows was running on 1.5 billion PCs worldwide.

    36. Re:good luck with that by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      It is when you're relying on market segmentation. Enterprise customers have deeper pockets than individuals and OEMs. If Windows RT or the Home edition windows that comes with every PC were good enough for the enterprise, why would they pay extra for a Windows Professional license?

      I view it in terms of the two types of sandwich line on sale at the shop I pass on the way to work: A budget sandwich, and a luxury sandwich. There is no doubt a higher margin on the latter, as well as using higher quality ingredients to justify the price. But it puts the shop in the odd position of having to make sure their budget sandwich isn't too high quality - if they made a really delicious sandwich at that price, there would be no reason for anyone to buy the more profitable luxury sandwich. By segmenting the market they make sure that people pay as much as they can afford to pay.

    37. Re:good luck with that by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      We are talking about enterprises, any enterprise that cares about a UI has already failed at running their enterprise. one of the big benefits of windows 2012 is finally the push towards completely headless servers. it was sorta their in 2008, but far more viable in 2012 with huge improvements to file system and virtualisation as well as storage and scalability. The enterprises I work with have zero interest in windows 8 but they are already in the process of deploying 2012.

    38. Re:good luck with that by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      The iPad has been a huge commercial success. Of course Microsoft are trying to copy the business side - it has a proven history of profitability.

    39. Re:good luck with that by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Considering the install footprint of RT, and the fact the vast majority of those features will have been written in C rather than asm i'm sure they just compiled the same code and then disabled the features afterwards...

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    40. Re:good luck with that by symbolset · · Score: 2

      I once trained an Australian Shepherd to fetch beer from the refrigerator. But I wouldn't recommend it as a business model.

      --
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    41. Re:good luck with that by symbolset · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The myth of deep pockets is that they are stupid. They didn't get deep pockets by being stupid. They know value when they see it, and Windows 8 ain't it.

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    42. Re:good luck with that by symbolset · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So... is this a suicide note?

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    43. Re:good luck with that by symbolset · · Score: 1

      It's this for-pay shovelware that's driving people to Android. Android tablets and phones, iPhones and iPads for the most part don't have it. You don't have to spend three hours disabling shovelware to get to what you want to do on an Android tablet. You turn it on, log in, and go.

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    44. Re:good luck with that by CAIMLAS · · Score: 2

      They are actually a bit like marbles, actually. They're so simple a 12 year old could figure them out, they're always falling down and rolling all over the place, and are kept in a sturdy collection bag. To effectively use them, some Jack comes along and tries to knock them out of the circle; wash, rinse and repeat.

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    45. Re:good luck with that by CAIMLAS · · Score: 1

      1. passive dedup could be done in userland using a script. big deal..

      Um, if this is even remotely possible in your mind, you don't understand dedup. That, and you probably don't understand the word "passive", either.

      This is an extremely costly solution, both in time and resource utilization.

      --
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    46. Re:good luck with that by CAIMLAS · · Score: 2

      And by proxy, Android has ZFS, too. I had a pool on my SD card for a while. It worked. :) Though performance wasn't that great (using the ZoL port).

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
    47. Re:good luck with that by cbhacking · · Score: 1

      Actually, most of the supposedly-nonexistent features in RT are just disabled as well. It's compiled from the same source code (aside from the HAL, a few other low-level parts of the kernel, and possibly the program loader) and a number of the things it theoretically doesn't do (for example, act as a Windows Networking server) are in fact present, just disabled by default and hidden.

      Some stuff may be truly missing, but I wouldn't count on it. However, working around some of the disabled stuff is being a pain, because some of the ways that would help to do this (like TestSigning mode or a kernel debugger) are blocked by the Secure Boot configuration. Besting that one will be a challenge. Currently, the leading theory is that it's easier to break in through an EoP from local Admin to kernel (which is a class of security bug that MS has never bothered with much, as on normal Windows installs an Admin could just install a kernel-mode driver or enable kernel debugging anyhow).

      --
      There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
    48. Re:good luck with that by stenvar · · Score: 2

      Um, if this is even remotely possible in your mind, you don't understand dedup. That, and you probably don't understand the word "passive", either.

      Well, I certainly don't. NTFS doesn't support deduplication AFAIK. For Linux, on the other hand, there are several file systems that do, both natively and through FUSE, plus several user land solutions. Various UNIX systems have had deduplication for decades. The feature never caught on, probably because it actually isn't useful.

    49. Re:good luck with that by Genda · · Score: 1

      That's because the VAST majority of business software applications available today are primarily ported to Windows. Though Windows8 is going to break a whole bunch of software and suddenly for the first time, folks are asking if having a linux version of their products might not be a good idea. As for enterprise server applications, Microsoft is about to show its thanks to it bread and butter IT customers by committing financial rape, to make up for the lost revenue for the failed release of Windows8. M$ is lost and they need to get a clue quick if they don't want to end up doing the Nokia Boogie.

    50. Re:good luck with that by stenvar · · Score: 1

      Lots of UNIX systems, as well as Linux, have offered pretty much everything you list. It's not part of the default Linux installs because they have turned out not to be all that useful, but impose a cost in terms of administrative complexity, failure rates, and/or performance.

      Microsoft has a habit of pushing a lot of advanced-sounding features into their OS because that's what their employees get rewarded for and because the marketing department wants it. But just because it sounds advanced and complex doesn't make it an "enterprise feature".

      The complexity and number of features of Windows is one of the reasons people prefer not to use it in many large-scale applications; there are just too many things that can go wrong in Windows, and it is too hard to disable features that get in the way.

      Apparently, Microsoft still hasn't learned their lesson.

    51. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please name me a feature that Linux has that Windows doesn't that is useful on the enterprise level.

      The obvious one that is painfully absent in Windows that we use every day is channel bonding as standard. Fully supported by the OS for any NIC, compared to Windows lack of support out of the box, and support for only a few chipsets with third party drivers, with their own proprietary controls.

      Having said that, a "feature list" doesn't give the full story - usually when comparing features, Windows may be able to check the box, but the support is awkwardly bad, usually involves installing additional third party drivers or software, only covers the bare minimum of the problem space without in any sense being useful to build a system on top of, and often breaks without warning or any discernable reason or recovery path. That's the difference - Windows at enterprise level is a joke, at best it's a lowly office tool in much the same way as those espousing its use are.

    52. Re:good luck with that by stenvar · · Score: 1

      ZFS is the only FS to checksum data, ReFS checksums the metadata.

      What problem does this actually solve? Has anybody demonstrated that this actually improves something measurably? Has anybody demonstrated that it doesn't lead to higher failure rates?

    53. Re:good luck with that by Bert64 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The luxury sandwich uses higher quality ingredients, so while it does have a higher margin it actually costs more to produce...
      Software on the other hand will typically have the fully featured version developed first, and then extra work is done to disable features and produce an artificially crippled version, thus the cheaper version actually cost more to produce.

      I find such a practice despicable, to do extra work to make intentional changes that make the product less useful to paying customers!

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    54. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why else would someone give up on something free, and popular, that's more secure and actually works, for some shit you have to pay for, is less secure, and doesn't work. Misrosoft. What a joke.

      Because I've been running Android for 10 fucking years, and Princess Leia still hasn't given me a blowjob. Fuck Android. Fuck Jon Stewart. Fuck fucking Isaac fucking Newton, I want my fucking blowjob .

    55. Re:good luck with that by arkhan_jg · · Score: 5, Informative

      Please name me a feature that Linux has that Windows doesn't that is useful on the enterprise level.

      1 - I can run fully functional VM instances of it in 64MB or 128MB of RAM and 2GB hard-drive on my VSphere cluster doing infrastructure work like DNS cache/DHCP in my custom VLANs. Windows Server Core is pretty light, but not quite THAT light. Frees up RAM for my heavy duty stuff.

      2 - I trust it to run as a layer 4 multi-card firewall/router directly exposed to the internet that is far more configurable and powerful than an off-the-shelf solution. I'm not even sure what the equivalent to shorewall would be on windows.

      3 - RADV demon for IPv6 running on an aforementioned mini VM. DHCPv6 and internet connection sharing aren't the same.

      4 - NGINX web server wipes the floor with IIS for most web-serving duties on pretty much any metric you care to mention; security, robustness, speed, flexibility. And yes, I am also running several IIS servers for .NET 3rd party apps, alas.

      5 - No licence worries about whether I've exceeding my allowed server count. Not all businesses can just drop a few extra K for more server licences on demand these days.

      Don't get me wrong; I am running a bunch of Windows 2008R2 servers (AD, DFS file servers, dynamic DNS, Terminal Servers, several 3rd party app specific boxes, hyper-v trial for poor man's VDI) and they do their job - serve data to windows and osx desktops/laptops - well most of the time. (except the DFS setup, that's a been a buggy pain in the arse). But our network is a synthesis, using the strengths of both platforms to do what they do best.

      BTW - BTRFS will be the equivalent or better to ReFS (which is also only just out in 2012). It's still marked as unstable, but Linux's unstable is still better than the quality of most companies' finished 'enterprise' software. Speaking from bitter experience, there...

      --
      Remember kids, it's all fun and games until someone commits wholesale galactic genocide.
    56. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yep we run couple hundred windows servers. They require 24x7 baby-sitting. And weekly scheduled reboots lest they run out of juice. We also run about a hundred Linux servers, which barely require any attention, with uptimes of over 800 days.

    57. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Disclosure of source code. Microsoft should at least add more transparency to their code.

    58. Re:good luck with that by erroneus · · Score: 1

      As much as business currently depends on Linux for reliability, stability and the foundation of so many products at to many levels from the largest of enterprises to the tinyest of devices I have to wonder which direction you are looking if you are unable to see how Linux, to the exclusion of Windows, has been the choice of serious business for year and years now. VMWare is mostly Linux. Cisco is a whole lot of Linux. Some of the brands you trust the most are pushing Linux.

      I don't get why people still think Linux is "only" a toy? That people *can* toy with Linux is a great and wonderful thing. It will certainly most always be able to do what it wasn't expected to be able to do. Microsoft has to work hard to make Windows do yet another trick and it often never quite works the same or as naturally. And Apple... yeah... don't need to bring that into the conversation since they actively work to keep people from doing anything they don't want people doing.

      I suppose it might be okay to use the word "toy" in some ways. But to say it suggesting that it can't handle extremely large things? That it can't handle the responsibility of being reliable and secure? You'd have to be ignoring large parts of the enteprise industry to not see it.

    59. Re:good luck with that by erroneus · · Score: 1

      Workstations? Okay look. Applications on the desktop is and was an evolution of computing when businesses were adopting computers for the workplace long ago. Mainframes and Unixes of the day were simply too expensive. Ironically, in the early days, businesses were adopting toys running DOS and the like to help useful applications to the endpoint. Those were primitive days of computing.

      That Microsoft Windows had managed to keep their desktop OS going for so long is pretty amazing, but we've all been watching it stagnate under its own weight for a long time. Microsoft can't make it smaller and lighter. And the 64bit, 16GB monsters we are putting on desktops today are basically still doing the same things at the same performance levels of things we did 10 years ago on WindowsXP with a fraction of the power and resources.

      Microsoft owes what it has to its practices, not its product quality. OS/2 would have been better had it not been squeezed out. But in case you hadn't noticed, applications are shifting back to servers these days. It is all but impossible to secure data on endpoints and that is increasingly been a huge problem lately. Windows desktops represent a huge liability for the enterprise.

    60. Re:good luck with that by CAIMLAS · · Score: 1

      It's immensely useful, actually. It saves a lot of money on storage, particularly when it's quasi-archival storage (ie an archive which is accessed frequently, such as most of the data most people have for personal use). It's just not been historically all that cost effective (from a computing resource viewpoint) to implement and not all that stable, making even the inefficient "script and file based dedup" seem appealing.

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
    61. Re:good luck with that by davydagger · · Score: 4, Informative

      "Checksums/CRCs to guard against corruption. This is in ReFS, not NTFS. Linux has no production-level filesystem that can do this."
      I'm pretty sure ext4 does this.I know for a fact btrfs does this.

      In addition if you don't like Linux's ext4, which is a great FS, enterprise grade filesystems Are enterprises using ReFS now? Its new. How widespread is that? how does that really stack against ext4 for general usage. Or even JFS/XFS for database performance. Is ReFS tested? After ext4, btrfs is right around the corner. This is the filesystem of your dreams. MS has no answer.

      "Logging, policies, and so on which are needed for anything bigger than the guy in his basement: Linux doesn't offer this, Windows does via GPOs. This is important come audit time, and the auditors are there."

      pretty sure linux has that too.

      "Please name me a feature that Linux has that Windows doesn't that is useful on the enterprise level."
      1. runs on archecture other than x86, namely IBM's z-series. you don't use mainframes in the enterprise world, no sir.

      2. scales well for multiple CPUs (as in hundreds-thousands), making it the de-facto OS for super computers.

      3. stable, doesn't break. developers won't make accusations at you for reporting bugs.

      4. Rock Solid drivers. drivers for linux are generally rock solid, with few problems. The exception being 3 party drivers written by reverse engineering. If your running enterprise and you have factory drives, this is not an issue.

      5. performance in general.
      https://www.pcworld.com/article/230527/ubuntu_linux_day_16_ext4_vs_ntfs.html
      " ReFS does not support data de-duplication, copy-on-write snapshots (a ZFS and Btrfs feature"

      weren't you just talking about this,

      slow day at work mr balmer?

    62. Re:good luck with that by gutnor · · Score: 3, Insightful

      they have no knowledge of it beyond advertising, slick presentations, and from watching hollywood movies as children

      Big companies have actual requirements and actual businesses to run. If they still run Windows Servers a decade after they first "drank the kool-aid", that means that somehow, Windows is delivering.

      Stop with this tiring /. attitude. Not everybody that chose to run a windows server is an incompetent graduate with PHB bosses.

    63. Re:good luck with that by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

      I find such a practice despicable, to do extra work to make intentional changes that make the product less useful to paying customers!

      Not everyone can afford to spend hundreds/thousands of [currency] on the flagship product, but they can usually afford to pay tens of [currency] instead on the 'lesser' versions. So, far from being despicable, it's actually a good thing to have multiple price points - that way everyone can spend as much as theyc an afford, and no more. Plus you get more money from selling many many many more copies :)

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
    64. Re:good luck with that by cornjones · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I used to be proud of over 1 year uptimes until i realized 2 things:
      1. you aren't patching enough
      2. when the reboot happens and it turns out your initialization script for one of your servers wasn't tested thoughly enough (b/c you never rebooted) you have a big problem. having configured it 6 months ago (timeline from when I learned my lesson) and half remembering which configs are which is going to lead to more downtime. You should really reboot after major (re)configurations to make sure your server comes back into the fold effectively... obviously, this should be during a controlled maintenance window but preventative maintenance still counts as maintenance

    65. Re:good luck with that by herojig · · Score: 1

      The World Bank has already rolled out Win8 to enterprise machines, via Dell hardware, and the machines boot into the desktop. So learning curve is near 0. Based on that, I doubt much trouble in the enterprise over this.

      --
      I think therefore I can't be ~TTNH
    66. Re:good luck with that by 19061969 · · Score: 1

      Man, if only I had mod points...

      --
      bang goes my karma... again...
    67. Re:good luck with that by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 0

      I'm using it for actual work. Post production, special fx, 3d animation. Windows 8 is better than 7 and its just fine.

    68. Re:good luck with that by smash · · Score: 1

      1999 wants its memes back. I've got Windows boxes that stay up for months at a time and only go down to be patched. Any enterprise storage array will likely come with a bunch of Windows only tools. To run most industry specific software out there needs Windows clients, and to administer Windows clients it is a lot less fucking around to do it with an active directory domain running on Windows servers.

      If your machines are constantly broken, it doesn't matter what mainstream OS you are running, be it Linux, Windows, OS X or whatever. The problem is the muppet maintaining them, not the platform these days.

      --
      I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
    69. Re:good luck with that by smash · · Score: 1

      You're doing it wrong. With both operating systems.

      --
      I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
    70. Re:good luck with that by smash · · Score: 5, Interesting

      We run operating systems for one reason: application delivery. Windows is where the industry specific applications are, so that is what the client machines run.

      To administer the clients, it is a lot easier to do so with Windows servers.

      Do i run windows servers facing the internet? Fuck no. They are well protected by hardware firewalls, mail, etc. comes through FreeBSD. But Windows has its uses.

      I'm a big fan of heterogeneous networks. Use the most appropriate platform for the service you are attempting to deliver. Any mainstream OS these days can be secured "well enough" with minimal effort if you know shit from clay.

      --
      I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
    71. Re:good luck with that by RabidReindeer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The myth of deep pockets is that they are stupid. They didn't get deep pockets by being stupid. They know value when they see it, and Windows 8 ain't it.

      You don't get deep pockets by being stupid, no. But I swear that once you get there, stupid waltzes in the front door.

      How else can you explain the infestations of Dogbert-style consultants, over-priced/under-performing product acquisitions, and expensive projects that fail more often than not in the larger enterprises? It's like they took all the money they saved by leveraging their synergies and went looking for ways to piss it away?

    72. Re:good luck with that by RabidReindeer · · Score: 1

      The luxury sandwich uses higher quality ingredients, so while it does have a higher margin it actually costs more to produce...
      Software on the other hand will typically have the fully featured version developed first, and then extra work is done to disable features and produce an artificially crippled version, thus the cheaper version actually cost more to produce.

      I find such a practice despicable, to do extra work to make intentional changes that make the product less useful to paying customers!

      No, you're wrong. Software products are more often crippled from day one, luxury version or not. And the only "artificial" thing about it is that the stuff is crippled because they were developed in too little time with too many "cost savings".

    73. Re:good luck with that by Joehonkie · · Score: 1

      So you don't have any competent Windows administrators? That's all I got out of this.

    74. Re:good luck with that by RabidReindeer · · Score: 1

      They aren't "giving up" on Android, they just realized they can make more money foisting WindBlowz 8 on an unsuspecting populace. There's a wider profit margin when you can pretend that the reason it costs more is that you have to send money to Misrosoft, and jack the price up a little higher.

      Why else would someone give up on something free, and popular, that's more secure and actually works, for some shit you have to pay for, is less secure, and doesn't work. Misrosoft. What a joke.

      Dell is a computer company. Windows is a computer OS. I don't find it at all surprizing that Dell would go the Windows route.

      Their bigger problem is that the market for "computers" is shrinking.

    75. Re:good luck with that by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      WIndows servers provide more job security than Linux servers for the sysadmins. Just sitting down with your legs on your desk (because everything Just Works) doesn't look good for most managers.

    76. Re:good luck with that by TWX · · Score: 1

      I donno, I might pay good money for a dog that can retrieve beer for me on command...

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    77. Re:good luck with that by michael_cain · · Score: 1

      How else can you explain the infestations of Dogbert-style consultants, over-priced/under-performing product acquisitions, and expensive projects that fail more often than not in the larger enterprises? It's like they took all the money they saved by leveraging their synergies and went looking for ways to piss it away?

      Not stupidity, perhaps, but rather difficulties with making the mental transition from "we're a start-up and everything depends on the share price increasing by leaps and bounds every year" to "we're a mature company." The only way to drive the share price is by growing revenues, hence the need to buy companies with existing products and customer bases. And to pump money into projects where there's demonstrated potential for high revenues (eg, MS could see how much money there was in game consoles, if only they could take the market share away from Sony and Nintendo). And God forbid that we share the profits with the shareholders by consistently paying a reasonable dividend -- we don't share profits, they'll have to make their money off the capital gains.

    78. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's just ridiculous. Any server that needs weekly scheduled reboots is running some crap application software - which you can't blame on the server. I've had NT4 servers that run hundreds of days, Win2k and 2k3 servers that run hundreds of days, and our 2k8 servers seem just as stable.

    79. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know for a fact btrfs does this. by davydagger (2566757) on Monday December 17, @07:10AM (#42312887)

      I know for a fact btrfs does this (DoS) http://linux.slashdot.org/story/12/12/15/0055217/denial-of-service-attack-found-in-btrfs-file-system

    80. Re:good luck with that by fritsd · · Score: 1
      That's a good point, actually:
      • Microsoft doesn't want Windows RT used in the enterprise
      • Enterprise users don't want Windows RT used in the enterprise
      • Everybody happy with the business model !!1!one!
      --
      To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
    81. Re:good luck with that by tibman · · Score: 1

      Seems odd that just because the arch is different that it can't host the services. It really shouldn't matter what the hardware is. But like you said, if it shipped without the services at all, then it's probably not even possible to try.

      --
      http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
    82. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (anon as I already modded) No, it hasn't. The discussion was about enterprise features, and "0.6.0-rc12" is not enterprise. Perhaps you were thinking Btrfs? But as of Linux 3.7 it is still rated as "unstable", so again, not enterprise. I do prefer Linux both on my desktop and servers, and have successfully used Btrfs for quite a while now personally, but let's keep the facts straight.

    83. Re:good luck with that by tibman · · Score: 3, Informative

      I just run my init scripts after making changes. No need to reboot. But if i make changes to /boot then yeah, you'll have to reboot to check.

      When you say "you aren't patching enough" you can only be talking about the kernel. Nothing else requires a reboot. Even then there is wierdness like kexec: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kexec

      --
      http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
    84. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not true. btrfs has that, too.

    85. Re:good luck with that by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Push towards fully headless servers, like virtually any unix system ever made or for that matter any os that was actually designed to be a server... Windows was not, just the fact that the entire os is named around the gui component says it all - its a workstation os first and foremost, and their "server" version is a shoddy hack job that's only now starting to even vaguely resemble a proper server os.

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    86. Re:good luck with that by kiwimate · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yep we run couple hundred windows servers. They require 24x7 baby-sitting. And weekly scheduled reboots lest they run out of juice.

      Then your Windows admins don't know what they're doing. If you're not exaggerating - if it truly is the norm for your Windows servers to require perpetual baby-sitting and to be rebooted regularly - I suggest you call in Microsoft for a health check. Depending on your level of agreement, it may be free; if it isn't, the recovered time in man hours will more than make up for it. If you're not exaggerating.

      Source: I have been team lead/lead consultant for companies that run hundreds or thousands of Windows servers in 24x7x365 environments. There is simply no excuse in 2012 for weekly rebooting to be the accepted norm.

      Yes, it was more common back in the late 90s. But today? No excuse, and I am serious in my suggestion that you call in MS for a health check. It's in their best interest to help you fix whatever shambles is present in your environment that necessitates this.

    87. Re:good luck with that by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Windows delivers vendor lock.

      It is the thing most compatible to itself so it does best at dealing with the network effects that other Microsoft products generate.

      Beyond that, it demonstrates itself less able to scale well enough to solve the sorts of big problems that large corporations tend to have.

      Microsoft in corporations is a manifestation of the "msword problem".

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    88. Re:good luck with that by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      > So you don't have any competent Windows administrators? That's all I got out of this.

      This tends to be the result when you tell everyone that you don't have to understand what you are doing and that you aren't going to get paid squat.

      When you encourage everyone to believe that you can run Microsoft products with "cheap idiots", then that's what you will end up with.

      The smart ones will get themselves a Unix cert and move up in the world.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    89. Re:good luck with that by stenvar · · Score: 1

      It's immensely useful, actually. It saves a lot of money on storage, particularly when it's quasi-archival storage (ie an archive which is accessed frequently

      And special uses like that have excellent support on Linux, for example via lessfs and DedupFS, in addition to various backup solutions.

      It's just not been historically all that cost effective (from a computing resource viewpoint) to implement and not all that stable,

      Yes, that's because it's a complex feature with a big impact on performance and lots of potential for bugs and data loss. And because 99.9% of users/uses don't need it, normal file systems don't offer this feature.

      making even the inefficient "script and file based dedup" seem appealing.

      Actually, script-based deduping is highly efficient, probably far more efficient than anything you can build into the file system. It simply isn't instantaneous. If you need instantaneous deduplication, you can use one of the FUSE systems.

      As usual, Windows picked the wrong technical solution...

    90. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wouldn't put that on a resume. If you're having to reboot Windows servers weekly you're doing something wrong and I sure wouldn't want to hire you.Your Linux servers sound a lot like our Windows servers.

    91. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would argue the "plenty" part because not many people use them. Linux runs nearly everything on the server side, even Microsoft's websites like Hotmail.

      I concede that windows servers are indeed not toys. Toys are by their definition, a joy to use. Windows servers are not.

    92. Re:good luck with that by marcosdumay · · Score: 1

      There is still a huge portifolio of hardware problems that may get you at reboot time. Doing reboots in a controled manner is still the best way to catch those bugs before they turn into a real problem.

    93. Re:good luck with that by undeadbill · · Score: 1

      Actually, people have. A company I worked for, upon the recommendation of a new manager, tried to convert their monitoring systems over to something windows based. The guy behind the change couldn't make it happen for even twice the cost of the hardware using a *nix based environment. He was politely asked to leave after that. I think it is more about ability to deliver rather than buying Windows. The difference with Windows is that Microsoft will hold your hand (and budget) while providing a neatly delineated solution for failed implementations. If you try that under Linux, be prepared to actually explain all of those things yourself as a manager.

      There are similar stories of this happening elsewhere (getting canned for failed Windows implementations, later replaced by *nix systems), but I do understand the sentiment of having something that is easy to explain in dollars and cents, especially when the business side of the house fails to understand that from the day they replaced file clerks with file servers they went from a company that does X, to being an IT company that does X.

    94. Re:good luck with that by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      If your machines need weekly reboots, even Windows ... you're doing it wrong. Hell, I can point out an XP machine with over a year of uptime. Of course, its in a test environment without an outside network connections as there is no fucking way in hell I'd go that long on ANY machine without patching.

      Windows machines aren't unstable by default anymore. Linux isn't secure for all eternity either. Your post shows your lack of skills and ignorance with a large helping of fanboy.

      If you're rebooting your Windows machines weekly because of some resource problem, you suck as an admin. If you have Internet connected Linux boxes with years of uptime, again, you suck as an admin.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    95. Re:good luck with that by Beat+The+Odds · · Score: 1

      I once trained an Australian Shepherd to fetch beer from the refrigerator. But I wouldn't recommend it as a business model.

      Here's one for your business model: https://www.willowgarage.com/blog/2010/07/06/beer-me-robot

    96. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Great, another "everything in the cloud" advocate. Yeah, you have fun with that dead end.

    97. Re:good luck with that by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      Yes just like unix systems. It has been a long time coming for them and just like a unix server you don't give a shit about a UI as that is for admins that are not competent enough to run servers in the first place. With 2012 it actually finally works well as a headless server. Their server has actually been pretty decent since the 2008 release.

    98. Re:good luck with that by kiwimate · · Score: 1

      Agreed. One of the biggest flaws with Microsoft products, in my opinion, and the reason why they get such a raw deal, is the pretty GUIs make it seem like anyone can configure them. The problem is that setting something up so it looks like it's working is a world apart from setting something up so it's working correctly and according to best practices.

      GUIs can certainly cut down on silly mistakes due to typos in long complicated command lines, for instance, but if the admin doesn't understand what is going on behind the scenes then they'll end up with, well, the kind of situation that the grandparent poster is describing.

    99. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      linux started out as a hobby OS, and has matured like a fine wine to become part of critical corporate IT infrastructure
      windows started out as a corporate OS and has become rotten and stale and now companies don't trust it for datacenter use and put up with it on workstations because they have been duped into dependence on the Microsoft application ecosystem (outlook, access, autodesk, adobe, etc).

      when your arguments are nothing more than "fine wine" vs "rotten and stale" you're just an obvious fanboy who doesn't actually know anything about the topic, nice try though.

    100. Re:good luck with that by exomondo · · Score: 1

      And the 64bit, 16GB monsters we are putting on desktops today are basically still doing the same things at the same performance levels of things we did 10 years ago on WindowsXP with a fraction of the power and resources.

      No, that's just stupidity, if you want to provide something to back that assertion up i would *love* to see it.

    101. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That Microsoft Windows had managed to keep their desktop OS going for so long is pretty amazing, but we've all been watching it stagnate under its own weight for a long time.

      what does that even mean? can you contrast and compare to its competitors because your statement does not appear to have much validity, how does it compare to say linux or osx in the regard you speak of?

      Microsoft can't make it smaller and lighter.

      false. windows 8 is smaller and lighter than windows 7 which was smaller and lighter than windows vista, it is around windows xp levels of resource usage yet it is far more capable, so they can and did make it smaller and lighter. not saying this makes it better but what you are saying is patently wrong.

      And the 64bit, 16GB monsters we are putting on desktops today are basically still doing the same things at the same performance levels of things we did 10 years ago on WindowsXP with a fraction of the power and resources.

      so you are saying the whole industry is a scam and nobody has needed to upgrade for 10 years because nothing has advanced. you havent seen the internet change for the past 10 years? games? CAD/CAM/CAE? design software? simulation? visual effects? you actually believe these things are being done the same with the same performance levels as they were 10 years ago? are you just a complete fool or did you put your head up your ass in 2002 and have not taken it out since then?

      personally i am a mac fan and i dont particularly like the windows 8 aesthetic but i wouldnt let that cloud the facts and just start making up stuff. if you dont like windows then do as i do and dont use it, even say you dont like it if you feel the need but dont take things that are just clearly untrue and parade them as facts, it makes you look foolish and irrational.

    102. Re:good luck with that by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Something being crippled because it's buggy and rushed, fair enough, it happens...

      Something being crippled because they went out of their way to reduce its functionality is just despicable. I never want to use software where the developers have spent their time not improving the product, but intentionally making changes which are purely detrimental to the end users.
      All of that development effort would have been far better spent improving the product, or fixing the bugs... Far from cost savings, they actually increase costs by intentionally spending time to develop negative functionality!

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    103. Re:good luck with that by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      While still carrying all the legacy cruft accumulated through their various half-assed attempts to produce a "server" system by kludging up a desktop os... The latest versions may have improved, but they're still lacking in many areas and i'd rather have something thats tried, tested and well understood.

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    104. Re:good luck with that by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      And Linux was neither to start with. Still only fills one of those roles as a server, which its not even the best at. Other than running on cheap/crappy obscure hardware, Linux offers nothing by let downs compared to something like FreeBSD.

      What is your actual point? Just pretending your favorite fanboy item is the end all be all doesn't make it true.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    105. Re:good luck with that by rsborg · · Score: 1

      It's this for-pay shovelware that's driving people to Android. Android tablets and phones, iPhones and iPads for the most part don't have it. You don't have to spend three hours disabling shovelware to get to what you want to do on an Android tablet. You turn it on, log in, and go.

      Some carriers pre-install apps you can't remove on Android handsets. Luckily crap like v-cast store is no longer, but the intent exists, just like with the Dell Windows boxes you buy today. All it will take is for Google to fold - sure you can re-install a pristine image, but the threat is there.

      Apple has done overtures to this by building in Twitter/Facebook integration, but it's against Apple's values and would risk their vaunted brand image.

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    106. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's this for-pay shovelware that's driving people to Android. Android tablets and phones, iPhones and iPads for the most part don't have it. You don't have to spend three hours disabling shovelware to get to what you want to do on an Android tablet. You turn it on, log in, and go.

      For the most part Android does have it, TouchWiz, SenseUI, MotoBLUR are on all the major handsets except Nexus, they are crappy sluggish bloatware that you need to root, void warranty and re-install to get rid of.

    107. Re:good luck with that by kiwimate · · Score: 1

      How else can you explain the infestations of Dogbert-style consultants, over-priced/under-performing product acquisitions, and expensive projects that fail more often than not in the larger enterprises?

      1. Consultants do make sense in many cases, such as when you want to configure a complex piece of niche software. Do you hire a consultant for six weeks, and get them to come back in once a year for further consulting work, or hire two full time employees, train them up, let them learn all the mistakes, etc? Consultant = much more cost effective.
      2. How do you explain the problems? Several ways. People can't write good requirements. That is where SO many projects go awry; misunderstandings, misinterpretations, etc., because of vague or incorrect requirements. I've also seen people hire consultants, pay them lots of money, and proceed to ignore their recommendations, then wonder why things go stupid. Infighting and insecurity. Geeks get threatened and don't cooperate with the consultants. People lie. Amazing, I know, but in-house techs find they're out of their depth and don't call for help because they fear repercussions. Sales people exaggerate. This is stated SO MUCH on this site, until it's inconvenient. But really, sales people will sometimes say something to make the sale and the consultants get stuck trying to implement it.

      All of this is beside the point. It shouldn't come as a huge surprise, however, to people who read this site regularly that there are a lot of people who term themselves experts and have no idea what they're doing, and/or just simply don't understand the differences between running a ten server network compared to a thousand server network.

    108. Re:good luck with that by mjwx · · Score: 1

      The World Bank has already rolled out Win8 to enterprise machines, via Dell hardware, and the machines boot into the desktop. So learning curve is near 0. Based on that, I doubt much trouble in the enterprise over this.

      Ignoring the non-sequitur, meaning you provided no proof that there was zero learning curve (which we both know is bullshit, there was a learning curve between Win XP and Win7 and the UI was very, very similar) Windows 8 is going to have trouble in the enterprise because it is a radical change and enterprises are covered under SA/EA agreements which means they aren't forced to upgrade if they dont want to. There are still organisations on Windows XP because they don't want to go to 7.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    109. Re:good luck with that by mjwx · · Score: 1

      We are talking about enterprises, any enterprise that cares about a UI has already failed at running their enterprise. one of the big benefits of windows 2012 is finally the push towards completely headless servers. it was sorta their in 2008, but far more viable in 2012 with huge improvements to file system and virtualisation as well as storage and scalability. The enterprises I work with have zero interest in windows 8 but they are already in the process of deploying 2012.

      LoL, Windows is not a headless server. Just because the head has been replaced with RDP/Terminal Services does not change the fact that the servers are GUI bound.

      So sysadmins are going to care about the UI. Hell look at the flame wars between KDE/GNOME or VI/EMACS. UI is very important to people who use these systems day in and day out.

      I'm going to guess you're a market drone, probably working for MS because what you posted is complete bollocks in the real world.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    110. Re:good luck with that by dwlovell · · Score: 1

      Windows 7 has shown itself to be very valuable to all types of customers. Windows 8 is just Windows 7 with a different start menu that a few vocal folks don't like as well as some under the hood improvements.

      I know a lot of people on this site are really hoping that Windows 8 is going to fail, however it is pretty silly to think that if a business thought Windows 7 was valuable that somehow they would think Windows 8 somehow is *less* valuable when it is the same thing with some extra Metro framework that they don't have to use.

      It is fair to argue that there isn't a compelling reason to upgrade to Windows 8 right now if you already have Windows 7, but if you are buying a new machine, businesses will be perfectly happy with Windows 8. I know this because I work in a business and no one is running around complaining that the newer machines are coming with Windows 8.

    111. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Consultants do make sense in many cases, such as when you want to configure a complex piece of niche software."

      That probably you wouldn't need under any sensible corporate IT strategy and that will never fulfill the ROI promised by the vendor for the very reason that -even if it as good as promised, you lack the expertise to fully explote it (thus the need of the consultant).

      "How do you explain the problems? Several ways. People can't write good requirements."

      They CAN'T know the requirements in advance and the problems are much better explained by big corps emergent properties based on goals misalignment between customers, corporation and individuals within it.

    112. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "You have actually worked in the real world, yes?"

      yessir. For more years than I want to admit.

      "Windows servers are far from toys and are in use in plenty of enterprises the world over."

      Windows servers are used *a lot* in *a lot* of enterprises. They are still toys nevertheless.

      When I stop to think how the computing world would look nowadays if somehow it were Linux instead of Windows 95 what made the big difference in corporate world I want to cry.

    113. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "That's just ridiculous. Any server that needs weekly scheduled reboots is running some crap application software"

      Yes.

      Like Citrix, SAP, etc.

    114. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Then your Windows admins don't know what they're doing."

      Well, I can tell my company pays fairly well. We manage about 2500 windows servers and about 2100 multivendor *nix ones (HP-Ux, AIX, Red Hat and Suse, mainly).

      Then we have a fifteen people team for the windows servers and five for the *nix.

      Oh, and do I need to tell where the most incidents come from?

      'Nuff said.

    115. Re:good luck with that by smash · · Score: 1

      The same thing happens when you pay peanuts for unix administrators. Muppet admins are muppet admins, irrespective of platform.

      --
      I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
    116. Re:good luck with that by smash · · Score: 1

      How much they are paid doesn't mean that your recruitment process is competent.

      --
      I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
    117. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > nobody ever got fired for buying microsoft products ...then along came Windows 8, and things started to change...old rules no longer apply...

    118. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Beyond a bit of medical research, some air traffic control and the fast food industry there isn;t much 'work' left to be done in the West. All that's left is playing, watching movies, finger painting and presenting the odd powerpoint dross to PHB management types.

      In other words, Windows 8 is the Perfect Product for Our Times(tm).

    119. Re:good luck with that by thejynxed · · Score: 1

      Simple:

      Marketing and accounting take over the company. It's really that simple. The real innovators and engineers are pushed way out of the loop and the greedy fuckers take their places, and we have plenty evidence of that just by looking at Microsoft and HP, let alone Nokia, etc.

      --
      @Mindless Drivel: 100% of Twitter posts ever Tweeted.
    120. Re:good luck with that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      nobody ever got fired for buying microsoft products

      Because companies don't want to have to worry about updates breaking things and requiring re-compiles and re-deployment.

    121. Re:good luck with that by exomondo · · Score: 1

      If you're rebooting your Windows machines weekly because of some resource problem, you suck as an admin.

      They are always unspecified problems too, if you have a resource problem it's not difficult to identify what is hogging these resources yet virtually all of these posts about necessity to reboot Windows systems fail to specify what that problem is. In light of that my guess is the problem isn't with Windows at all, it's that these "admins" only have one move, which is "turn it off and back on again".

    122. Re:good luck with that by herojig · · Score: 1

      near 0 proof: my wife, an employee, did not even know she was using windows 8 after they rolled it out.

      --
      I think therefore I can't be ~TTNH
    123. Re:good luck with that by davydagger · · Score: 1

      so, it will be like, what, another 3 months before its patched.

      this is the world of linux where security flaws are patched in a timely manner.

      unlike MS, who hides them, for years

    124. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      can only hope

    125. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      windows updates break things (like recently i saw a problem where a win7 cold boot after a windows update caused the machine not to boot completely, instead hanging at a black screen with a mouse cursor without any keyboard response; not even ctrl+alt+del), there was no "re-compile" option... the only way to fix was the IT guy came and pressed ctrl+alt+del at the flower screen before the black screen came alone, started explorer from a run prompt and told the user to never shut down again. fuck knows how he figured that out, but if he didn't the machine would have been trashed and a new one bought.

      people buy microsoft because managers (without IT experience) know of microsoft and they don't know of much else (certainly not linux) and they don't like what they don't know, so if you deploy anything microsoft and it breaks, its microsoft's fault, but if you deploy anything else and it breaks, it's your fault.

    126. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      monitoring systems are a bit different, but they don't really fall under the traditional "IT" banner either (more related to engineering), so if your story was about an IT guy pretending to be an engineer then that's pretty risky on his part anyway.

      i work as an engineer (not IT related) but also do some programming, and engineering-related programming can be a little bit different to your conventional windows programming in that the focus is less about making things look pretty or being user friendly, and more to do with making it perform at peak efficiency for as long as possible, and usually where only trained personnel are entitled to operate it (because the consequences of doing something wrong can be a little more severe than merely having to reboot). operating system bloat and dialog box hell are frowned upon in an environment where a command line is sufficient or the only thing on the screen is an interactive plant schematic, and engineers are also less likely to want to have to pay for "easy to use" operating systems that require a full hardware setup when a reliable free alternative is available for minimal/embedded hardware, even if that alternative requires a bit more nouse to operate.

    127. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      who's last estimate? i'm sure you're right except for the "running" part because many of those counted are probably also buried in landfill

      ...and i didn't actually claim that there were "more servers out there than clients" (i merely countered that there are a lot of servers), so perhaps you should learn to read

      as i said previously, the tipping point is embedded systems (which aren't servers)... there are likely to be more embedded linux installations than windows, even without counting linux servers and desktops

      for just about every windows machine there is a router for internet access, which is running linux... and then there are set top boxes, dvd players, tvs, etc...

    128. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      woops.... i mean "every windows machine there [has] a router"

    129. Re:good luck with that by crutchy · · Score: 1

      i was dumbing it down so you might understand.... i guess i didn't dumb it down enough

  2. Bye Dell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's been nice knowing you. Say hi to Nokia and Ericsson when you hit bottom.

    1. Re:Bye Dell by crutchy · · Score: 2

      "nice".... what planet are you from?

  3. Market changing? Not competing successfully? by kawabago · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Customers disappearing? It's time to turn back the clock and go back to what made your name in the first place. If you're a restaurant, it's a great idea. If you're a technology company, it's suicide. Bye Dell, it was nice while you lasted!

    1. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Time to invest in Dell. If I've learned anything over the years of coming here it's that Slashdots are the most inept people at business trends. Not to say it can't happen but according to the consensus around here I should be able to buy a decent PC with Linux pre-installed at Best Buy and the iPod would be a failure.
       
      Better luck next time.

    2. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by elashish14 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Hey, at least they're not going the way of SCO, Nokia, Ericsson, and dare I say it, Apple by just suing people left and right as they slowly cease to produce anything of value in their industry. They're still trying to innovate their way out of their troubles. They should be given a medal, not under normal circumstances, but when you compare to their corporate peers...

      --
      I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
    3. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Then again, in the restaurant business, nobody would manage to sell dog food mixed with vomit to 95% of the customers in the first place.

    4. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by foniksonik · · Score: 0

      This is a publicly held corporation. They are contractually obligated to do what is in the best interests of their shareholders (within the legal limits). If a series of lawsuits were in line with that charter then that is what they should be doing. What's more likely is that Dell does not hold any relevant patents to the smartphone and tablet domain.

      --
      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
    5. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      HP will die much sooner.

    6. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by gmhowell · · Score: 4, Funny

      Then again, in the restaurant business, nobody would manage to sell dog food mixed with vomit to 95% of the customers in the first place.

      Umm, the McRib IS due for a return later today, smartass.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    7. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by aliquis · · Score: 2

      Nokia, Ericsson, and dare I say it, Apple

      snip

      cease to produce anything of value in their industry

      Bullshit. In the case of Apple sure it's often software and may be more or less easy to come up with but obviously it "got value" for the industry even in that case. Both for Apple and for the opponents.

      Nokia and Ericsson likely still come up with new things and have made innovated others with research done from their own pockets so nothing weird with that (though you could argue they did that to earn money back then selling their products and already have. But obviously it cost more to do research than not doing it and if someone can just steal your work in that area then that become pretty unfair.

      I doubt any of Nokia, Ericsson or Apple has given up on future products either.

    8. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by symbolset · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If that were true they would be making Android devices as fast as they can. Android devices are outselling Windows devices 2:1. Dell's not making ANY profit on Windows devices, so they might as well give Android devices a go. But they don't, which implies that Microsoft has got them by the short curlies.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    9. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by epyT-R · · Score: 4, Insightful

      maybe..but that might suggest that modern day 'business sense' is part of the reason why the economy is tanking. I've seen countless examples of technology companies using the sell-a-turd-as-a-diamond marketing for new products, then, when they don't sell, killing their existing successful products which compete with them, then posting butthurt blogs whining about their lost 'vision' 12 months later as they circle the drain.

      It seems most of the effort today is poured into marketing service constrained 'property' instead of selling quality goods that allow customers to own the intrinsic value. So the only way they can compete is to turn up the marketing rhetoric knob to 11 and hope they can grab the largest group of mouth breathers who don't realize what they're (not) getting.. This dynamic range has largely been filled and we're leveling out at +0db with tons of clipping. The exquisite layering of fallacy and appeals to social insecurity in modern advertising has reached mind numbing levels. It seriously can't get much worse than it is now.. It's whitenoise.

      The slashdot nerd archetype isn't necessarily not business savvy because he's wrong.. He isn't considered business savvy because he's actually more closely tied to reality than today's average marketing department, corporate officer, or consumer. Now THAT should scare us all.

    10. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by crutchy · · Score: 1

      you forgot the (in)famous "year of the linux desktop" :)

    11. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by crutchy · · Score: 0

      dell is pretty much a division of microsoft

    12. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by crutchy · · Score: 1

      ignorance is bliss... most restaurant customers have no idea what goes on in the kitchen (or what goes into their food)

    13. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by crutchy · · Score: 1

      don't they make printers?

    14. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by zakkie · · Score: 1

      FWIW, Linux has been exclusive to *my* desktop since '98. So for me, it's been year of Linux on the desktop accurately every year since then.

    15. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Rogerborg · · Score: 1

      You know that "only obeying orders" doesn't work as a defence, right?

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    16. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Rogerborg · · Score: 1

      Depending on your definition of "desktop", Microsoft has just taken themselves out of that market. It's just a pity that Shuttleworth jumped off the cliff two steps ahead of them. Fortunately, for every problem, there's a solution, and in this case it's called Mint.

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    17. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by tuppe666 · · Score: 2

      Time to invest in Dell. If I've learned anything over the years of coming here it's that Slashdots are the most inept people at business trends.

      Slashdot is a discussion group. Its probably why you have not registered, people with *different* opinions make opposing posts about the topic, where you are only capable of attacking people. Ironically in the context of this article is the Trend is towards Android and away from Microsoft, by every measurable factor, and is set to continue for years...those figures are not from Slashdot. In fact the current trend is Android will become the dominant the computing platform as soon an next year. Detailed Blog post http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2012/12/android-won-windows-lost-now-what-the-battle-of-the-century-is-decided-microsoft-relegated-to-ever-s.html its a fun read.

    18. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I remember a time when McDonald's outbid Alpo on a huge stock of cow anuses and eyeballs. Shortly afterwards, they reintroduced the McRib.

    19. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

      They are contractually obligated to do what is in the best interests of their shareholders

      No they are not. Seriously a company does not work like that, either in theory or practice :) look at how Apple shares have tumbled, Apple *strategy* could have been several things. it could have licensed its OS to third parties, It could have pursued larger market share, by competing on cost, expanded its product lines. It chose none of these things it chose to maximise profits, and that has left in in a very vulnerable [albeit successfully profitable] position hence why it is ineffectively [even if it wins] lawsuits.

      If you don't believe me call apple and tell them you not happy that Android is six time its market share. Lets see how far you get.

    20. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not entirely sure, what you are talking about?
      You can buy descent laptop with linux.
      EEEPC, for example, or this: http://zareason.com/shop/home.php.

      And we all know, quantity doesnt make quality. Millions of fanboys of Apple proove it's good as much, as millions prooved that Bush is good person to be president.
      Same with the best buy, which it's probably not, but I wouldn't know, since I don't live in USA.

      Slashdot doesn't show immedeate trends, but rather long term stuff.

      Linux is good example. Linux fanboys were saying for ages, that there will be year of Linux on desktops. Well, with Steam coming to Linux, guess what, shit is starting up.

    21. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Genda · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Great post! Its so funny watching these CMOs, CIOs, CTOs, COOs, CEOs passing around the same smoke their getting from trade rags, thinking if they can just build a walled garden like Apple they'll all be printing Benjamins like they're going out of style. Forgetting (or never appreciating in the first place) all the while that the one thing Steve got right was creating a beautiful user experience, and that his obsessive need to control every atom was the downside of his vision. These clowns want to implement the downside without ever creating a compelling upside. This is what we call a LOOSER. America has reached the smoke up its ass saturation point. How can you tell when Corporations are lying you... their lips are moving! I'll keep Win7 to run software as long as possible, but more and more of my Windows apps are becoming available as Mac versions and that Mac Mini Server is looking sweeter every day. Especially running fusion with a Linux and Win7 VM all singing all dancing. All the software I need, when I need it the way I want it. Thanks Win8, but no thanks.

    22. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by somersault · · Score: 1

      The walled garden approach isn't a bad idea for clueless users. Locking things down is a good way to avoid malware. I don't see it as a downside, because there are plenty of Android devices for people who want a bit more freedom.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    23. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or they tried their hand at Android, with the Dell Shitstreak 7, and it was a terrible failure so they're assuming that this must be Android's fault rather than their own.

    24. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Customers disappearing? It's time to turn back the clock and go back to what made your name in the first place. If you're a restaurant, it's a great idea. If you're a technology company, it's suicide.

      What made Dell's name in the first place was putting out decent-quality PCs at a decent price in massive numbers. I think they could go back to that successfully.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    25. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by bn-7bc · · Score: 0

      Well I'm no expert, but both CNBC and Bloomberg agree the at lot of the recent drop in Apples stock price i sou to investors worrying over a rather large hike in "Capital gains" taxes if the Fiscal cliff hits, the want to get there gains reported before that point (well who really wants to bay more tax then they have to?). So my uneducated guess is that Apples stock price well see a nice little rise in the beginning of 2013

    26. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by 19061969 · · Score: 1

      To be fair, most here have been called time on HP and Sco fairly well. Okay, HP is still going but let's face it, it's not the great company it used to be, even before losing out on Autonomy.

      --
      bang goes my karma... again...
    27. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by jimicus · · Score: 1

      Android devices are outselling Windows devices 2:1.

      Yep, and about the only people making any profit out of them are Samsung.

      We're in the middle of an absolute bloodbath in the domestic technology (PCs, mobile phones, laptops) industry, and it seems the only companies that are avoiding this are those that don't harp on about their product having the Latest Super Intel Core MegaChip, instead focusing on emotion - things like how you can use it to video call your granny or take photos of your friends and family.

      There aren't many companies doing that. Apple and Samsung are about the only ones who spring to mind. Even Microsoft's own Surface ads featuring lots of people clicking keyboards onto their Surface - those ads must have cost a fortune, but I'm buggered if I can figure out what emotional benefit they are trying to sell.

    28. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by jimicus · · Score: 2

      It's a bit more complicated than that.

      Apple decided many years ago they weren't going to cater to the commodity PC market. Instead, they'd focus on people who want something a bit special. In so doing, every aspect of their business was designed with one explicit goal in mind - make great products that people love using.

      Every aspect. From product design & development through to sales, marketing and aftercare, everything is engineered to make the customer feel a little bit special. Even if that means making the product a little more expensive to manufacture, even if that means using slightly different manufacturing methods that nobody else in the industry is using, even if that means spending rather more money on warranty repairs than most other companies would even contemplate, even if that means spending substantially more on your stores to ensure they look a step above everything else in the shopping centre. Doesn't matter. The whole point is to make the customer feel a bit special, that ain't gonna happen if your store looks and feels like an exact replica of the local branch of Currys. (or Best Buy in the US).

      All companies are fascists regarding their branding, but usually this only extends to their logo, colours, strapline, product packaging and advertising: they'll have a set of brand usage guidelines that are crystal clear, and company policies that state very clearly that those guidelines must be adhered to at all costs. Apple went a bit further - they decided that everything they did was related to maintaining this brand.

    29. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      This is what we call a LOOSER.

      That makes no sense. Who are they setting free, the workers they lay off when their products tank?

    30. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mmmmmm McRib.... Already had two this week...

    31. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... if someone can just steal your work in that area then that become pretty unfair.

      Yeah, Xerox might just agree with that re. Apple. And then there's the issuse of what's "your work" vs what's collective effort...

    32. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is what we call a LOOSER. America has reached the smoke up its ass saturation point.

      No it's not. Nobody calls anything a LOOSER because it's not a noun.

    33. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      A method for collective effort and collective knowledge database and collective rights could also be made.

      As of now that's not how things work and some companies spend a lot of money to develop and evolve within their fields.

    34. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If that were true they would be making Android devices as fast as they can. Android devices are outselling Windows devices 2:1.

      Don't you mean 20:1? :-)

    35. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by nightfire-unique · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Android devices are outselling Windows devices 2:1.

      Android devices are outselling iOS devices 2:1. Windows device sales appear as a rounding error.

      --
      A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
    36. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow - Really, like there is any money (profit) in Android phones.

    37. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then again, in the restaurant business, nobody would manage to sell dog food mixed with vomit to 95% of the customers in the first place.

      Umm, the McRib IS due for a return later today, smartass.

      "It contains a chemical that makes you crave it fortnightly... SMARTASS!!!!"

    38. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by marcosdumay · · Score: 1

      We're in the middle of an absolute bloodbath in the domestic technology (PCs, mobile phones, laptops) industry, and it seems the only companies that are avoiding this are those that don't harp on about their product having the Latest Super Intel Core MegaChip, instead focusing on emotion...

      Interesting that this is also a viable explanation. From my point of view, we are in a bloodbath in the technology industry because nearly all the players turned up into lemmon sellers, and the consumers reacted by buying only the brands they learned to trust.

      At least, that's the rationale I got out of every people that talked to me about buying a phone, a laptop or a tablet recently. People are not that concerned about the quality of their desktops because they can always replace a broken part, but the branding of desktop parts is also getting stronger.

    39. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dell's not making ANY profit on Windows devices, so they might as well give Android devices a go. But they don't, which implies that Microsoft has got them by the short curlies.

      they did, in fact the title of this story, the summary and the article all clearly state that they did and they are now abandoning it because it was a failure. also they do make profit on windows devices, but given that you didn't even realize they have given Android a go despite all the obvious evidence i wouldnt expect you to know that.

    40. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      look at how Apple shares have tumbled,

      Right, because people are selling them at a massive profit before the end of the year when the taxes go up.

      Apple shares 'tumbling' have nothing to do with Apple. Hint: They aren't the only ones like this.

      And again with Android market share ... SO WHAT, no one actually cares that its on every POS free phone. Apple certainly doesn't as they could give a fuck what your cheap ass buys, if you aren't willing to spend, they don't want you.

      You look at individual statistics and build an entire world view from a couple little bits of information while ignoring everything else.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    41. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by jimicus · · Score: 1

      From my point of view, we are in a bloodbath in the technology industry because nearly all the players turned up into lemmon sellers, and the consumers reacted by buying only the brands they learned to trust.

      Pretty much a direct side-effect of an industry-wide arms race to lower price - the gross profit margin for more-or-less everyone, including OEMs, distributors and retailers (though except possibly Microsoft) is something stupidly low like 5% on your average PC/laptop.

      As a result, we're at the point where the great majority of PC manufacturers are:

        - Buying the cheapest hardware they can find to save a couple of cents on a part.
        - Having it put together in the cheapest factory they can find, quality be damned.
        - Sacking everyone with any experience in terms of dealing with customers - those people are expensive, far better to hire the first person who walks in off the street who'll work for minimum wage. Preferably in a country where there is no minimum wage and the cost of living is so low you'll easily be able to hire people for a quarter what they'd demand in any Western country.
        - Putting strict "we'll do the bare minimum to help the customer if things go wrong, even if that may sometimes be illegal" policies in place.

      This passes through the whole chain from manufacture to retail. As a result, I'm pretty sure most end-users are starting to treat their PC - and anyone even remotely associated with it - including the company that made it, the company that sold it to them and very possibly the IT support if they're a business user - in much the same way as they treat their phone company.

      ie. With deep distrust, half-expecting it to fail horribly any minute whereupon they'll be thrust directly into the fifth circle of Hell complete with fire, brimstone and the occasional demon.

    42. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by marcosdumay · · Score: 1

      Pretty much a direct side-effect of an industry-wide arms race to lower price

      It was a race to increase profits. Branded computers (that were the norm) become lemons just like the unbranded ones, it was after it that they needed to reduce their prices, as people stopped trusting the old brands.

      And then, some new brands appeared, most of them out of junk-sellers that started to not sell junk, like Samsung. And the Apple brand survived all the time.

    43. Re:Market changing? Not competing successfully? by crutchy · · Score: 1

      i'm a debian fan personally, but i don't subscribe to the "year of the linux desktop" bullshit... i would rather wintards stay away from linux, or risk linux being infected by idiots trying to make it more like windows

  4. Another company bets the boat on Windows by Nyder · · Score: 1, Troll

    Will Dell go the way Noika has? Time will tell.

    As I've said for years, friends (family) doesn't let friends (family) buy Dell.

    --
    Be seeing you...
    1. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Sir_Sri · · Score: 2

      Except dell is migrating into an enterprise solutions business. Their consumer product business is somewhat secondary to their business software.

    2. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Osgeld · · Score: 1

      exactly, and their cutthoat pricing for enterprise customers doesnt help ... I didnt want the dell laptop issued to me, but for 499$ its a nice little fucker, huge drive, gobs of ram, decent screen, and when the roof leaked on it, leaving it in a puddle of water, a good dryout time and its been working fine for months.

      cheap, powerful tank ... its hard to argue with

    3. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

      Except dell is migrating into an enterprise solutions business. Their consumer product business is somewhat secondary to their business software.

      Good move since the major enterprise players are going bespoke and whitebox. http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/11/amazon-google-secret-servers/ Ooops...

    4. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by HCase · · Score: 1

      So it was a reasonably priced, fairly power tank... Why was it that you didn't you want it? I'm honestly wondering. (lack of cool factor, you didn't think it was going to be the little tank that it was, some feature you still miss it having?)

    5. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by HCase · · Score: 1

      Those are a couple major players, but they are both top tier tech firms with far from normal data requirements and huge engineering departments. They are outliers when it comes to enterprise sales and shouldn't be used to gauge the market.

    6. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Hadlock · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Nokia had a hostile takeover by Microsoft, I think Dell's case is that they completely failed to enter the Android market with any sort of innovative or well marketed product. Nokia was doing just fine until they burnt their non-windows phone product lines to the ground.

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
    7. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We're neither a 'top tier tech firm', and we don't have anything like 'far from normal data requirements' (we do have a 'huge engineering department' though - he is a rather large chap), all our Dells (bar one Windows server, and one desktop machine running Linux) are now (thankfully) out of service and in storage awaiting disposal.
      The best that can be said for the Dells, they had reasonable monitors (we didn't have to purchase new ones for their replacements).
      This is the second job in a decade I've had where the management finally got sick of dealing with all the crap that comes with buying into the 'Dell good' myth.

    8. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

      Sorry... All of my clients that are doing this do not have a news article. I think the market is just starting to go that way... Call them the canaries in the coal mine.

    9. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Nokia may have made a mistake with windows, but they certainly were not doing "just fine" with their non windows line, they had a rapid double digit percent declining market and could see the writing on the wall. They took a gamble (probably a bad one), but certainly no worse than sticking with what they had.

    10. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nonsense. As soon as it was announced that they were giving up on Symbian and going with Windows their sales and stock fell off a cliff. Although we will never know now, it is fairly obvious they would be doing better if they had stuck with Symbian and Meego.

    11. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's a slashdot user, he thinks dell sucks, Microsoft is the devil, and linux is on 99.9% of all desktops and is the perfect solution to everything. Oh and probably thinks all software should be free and open source and available to all.. you know.. for free.

    12. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by symbolset · · Score: 1

      I had this talk with the HP guy as they were moving into services. "We don't make ANY money moving your hardware. We keep the lights on with services margin. Now that you're looking to take our bread and butter, why go with you rather than some other who still lets us stay in business?" Was crickets with the HP guy, and crickets with Dell too.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    13. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Good move since the major enterprise players are going bespoke and whitebox.

      Well, the article you point to says Amazon and Google are going that way, but there's enough -- including government -- that aren't that there is plenty of market for enterprise solutions, especially given the small number of players in the market (Amazon and, especially, Google are arguably more competitors in that market than they are the target customers.)

    14. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by crutchy · · Score: 1

      of course you must be talking about "other" slashdot users, because of course you're not one of those poor ignorant fools, being the super-informed master of the universe, and you would never waste your time posting useless opinionated guff on the very forum you (not so) subtly detest

    15. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by crutchy · · Score: 1

      before iphones and android came out, nokia was the shit. if you wanted a decent phone, you bought a nokia.

      even when iphones came out, unless you were a teenager or an isheep (ie you wanted to come across as respectable, professional or conservative) you still bought a nokia

      still nowadays if you don't want a smartphone, most would opt for a nokia

      nokia makes good conventional mobile phones... they just blew it in the smartphone market

    16. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit, Their Symbian smartphone sales had already fallen off a cliff, the jump to windows was a desperation moment. Nokia's stock started crashing in 2008 some 2 years before their announced shift to windows. The only thing that has kept them alive so long is their non smartphone lines. Their smartphone lines have been dead long before windows announcement was made.

    17. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      might want to check your timeline their buddy. Nokia stock lost something like 60% of its value in the few years prior to the MS announcement, they have been in serious trouble for years with a Symbian smartphone line that was stillborn and no viable replacement on the books. what they should have done is tried to go to droid, but either way they were already in very deep trouble prior to the announcement with market share plummeting in the smartphone line.

    18. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, they raced to the bottom and are now complaining? It is not as if there isn't a market, or they wouldn't be selling, even if it is at no direct profit. They could take a page out of consoles and sell at a loss, but make it up in services for their installed base.

    19. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by tuppe666 · · Score: 1, Informative

      Their Symbian smartphone sales had already fallen off a cliff

      They hadn't :) don't rewrite history, Nokia smartphone sales were twice that of Apple...and four times that of Samsung....and then the Memo happened.

      That is not saying Symbian needed a long term *fix*...it did, but Windows Phone failed as the given solution...Symbian still outsells Windows Phone as a smartphone platform [2.3% vs 2%], Despite Elops best efforts.

    20. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Patch86 · · Score: 1

      To be fair, Dell's Android division was hardly a runaway success was it? Did anyone, anywhere, ever, by a Dell Streak?

      Not that switching a failed tablet division from the most popular major tablet OS to the least popular major tablet OS is ever so likely to turn things around for them, but you can't blame them for thrashing around for a solution to their problems. For them, it probably is the right decision- if you're barely going to sell any of a product, it might as well be as similar as possible to the products you are selling and supporting...

    21. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Osgeld · · Score: 1

      the only thing I miss it having is a nvida video system (for cad work), but even this intel doo-hicky is not bad

    22. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      High end nokias have always been 'crap'. Not quality of hardware, but still shitty phones. The UI has ALWAYS SUCKED ASS. Yes, you can SSH to your linux box, but thats nothing but a silly geek bragging right. They offered nothing that people wanted to do that you couldn't do on an iPhone, except the iPhone had a non-asstastic UI.

      The only reason they were 'good' is because everyone else was a fuckton worse. They were still shit.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    23. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Deefburger · · Score: 1

      I don't know, but my guess is that Dell has a supply side contract problem. If they have been sourcing from hardware vendors, under contracts, that need firmware blobs to drive their chips, then Dell may have run into problems getting Android to run properly on the hardware Dell can build with....

      --
      Most people are mostly good most of the time.
    24. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Hadlock · · Score: 1

      With no-name Chinese manufacturers churning out 7", $80 android tablets by the millions, somehow I don't think this is true.

      --
      moox. for a new generation.
    25. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by Deefburger · · Score: 1

      good point.

      --
      Most people are mostly good most of the time.
    26. Re:Another company bets the boat on Windows by crutchy · · Score: 1

      as far as cellphones go (of which smartphones are a subset), nokia is still (as of 2012) only now second to samsung... nokia still sells more cellphones than apple

      http://www.chipchick.com/2012/12/samsung-cellphone-sales.html
      http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2012/12/18/for-the-first-time-in-14-years-samsung-passes-nokia-as-top-cellphone-brand-in-2012-apple-in-third/
      http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/samsung-bumps-out-nokia-top-phone-maker-beats-apple-smartphones-1C7662756

      apple may sell more smartphones than nokia, but more people are still going with the older (and cheaper) symbian-based phones

  5. Fuck Dell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I mean seriously, they suck. Their products suck. Their goal is never to make good stuff anyway! I have been given 2 laptops from my company, both Dell, both f***ked up within 6 months. I had a Thinkpad before that for 6 years, ran with no issues. I have used Dell desktops too, always had heating issues with that one too. I just think Dell is not a company that even gives a crap about making good stuff. They just want to assemble the cheapest stuff together to make shitloads of money! In this case I am sure they got some money from Microsoft to shitcan Android and use lousy Windows 8. I hope their sales tank after this!

    1. Re:Fuck Dell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dell's general consumer level (ie. cheap) computers suck. Their business class hardware is top notch. You can't remotely compare Inspiron to Latitude. Their Alienware systems are pretty great too, if you're willing to shell out for one.

    2. Re:Fuck Dell by crutchy · · Score: 1

      if you buy microsoft software you may as well buy dell hardware... if you really care about quality, flexibility, security, uptime, scalability, etc you would avoid both like the plaugues they are, but unfortunately ubiquity rules in most companies... if you rock the boat too much, you're dead in the water

  6. I guess thats the end of sputnik? by MrKaos · · Score: 2

    I hope not, it looks pretty good.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    1. Re:I guess thats the end of sputnik? by PPH · · Score: 2

      Dell will just rename it Kwangmyongsong.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    2. Re:I guess thats the end of sputnik? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's Dells Funeral. Especially since W8 is a dud.

  7. Correction: It will be irrelevant: by Penguinisto · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's not like Dell hasn't wandered into markets before and failed miserably

    Of course sometimes they just don't know when to quit.

    Eventually, they'll get the hint and just focus on making servers and business workstations...

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    1. Re:Correction: It will be irrelevant: by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Eventually, they'll get the hint...

      By the time they got the hint, the marketplace would have pulled out the rug out from under their feet ...
       
      See what happened to HP or Nokia, or Kodak?

      --
      Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    2. Re:Correction: It will be irrelevant: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or just about every big company, really.

    3. Re:Correction: It will be irrelevant: by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      more proof for the Judge Idiocracy Theorem.

    4. Re:Correction: It will be irrelevant: by davydagger · · Score: 1

      looks like they are getting back to what they know....

      Desktops, Servers, Worksttions, namely on x86

    5. Re:Correction: It will be irrelevant: by lipanitech · · Score: 0

      There is a version of Debian that can be ran on smart phone wish a major vendor would carry it such a great open source platform. Since they dropped droid maybe that could try that on a phone since they are producing Ubuntu laptops.

    6. Re:Correction: It will be irrelevant: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a short story by Remco Campert: "Nacht op de Kale Dwerg". Probably not translated into english I think..

    7. Re:Correction: It will be irrelevant: by sheehaje · · Score: 1

      They don't just succeed making servers and workstations - while some of their acquisitions have been flops, others have been pretty solid. Equallogic and Compellent on the storage front are two huge markets that cover medium - large business needs. Force 10 in my opinion can be one of their biggest acquisitions as it finally lets them compete in higher end networking. These acquisitions alone allow them to provide complete solutions of their own in the datacenter. I'm interested in seeing what their OpenStack impelementation consists of - I'm guessing they can do everything from SAN to Switch to Servers in house with their own products.

      Another interesting acquisition is Wyse - they now have a VDI solution. Can they deliver over the internet at some point? Most VDI implementations are in house right now - can Dell deliver one over the cloud?

      Android doesn't make too much sense in the enterprise. Yes, email and scheduling - but from a business app development stand point - it's just not there. It's a great consumer/consumption OS - and entertainment OS. The thing I questions is whether Windows 8 really fills that void either. As a desktop OS, it's clunky at best. The verdict is still out whether it becomes a good consumer OS too. It's stuck in limbo - but never the less, it's being forced on users at this point. Most enterprises looking at windows 8 want to make it behave like Windows 7 before they deploy it. So what's the point?

      Dell has spent a lot of money acquiring technology recently. Some have already failed - but others are just ramping up. They even have a software house now. It will be interesting to see if they tie it all together and become what IBM used to be. A one stop shop for enterprise IT.

    8. Re:Correction: It will be irrelevant: by lsatenstein · · Score: 1

      It's not like Dell hasn't wandered into markets before and failed miserably

      Of course sometimes they just don't know when to quit.

      Eventually, they'll get the hint and just focus on making servers and business workstations...

      ===
      To remain in business and expand, you need good profit margins. Android does not provide that to Dell, which is predominately or essentially an USA marketing organization.
      The average Joe on the street at the big box stores will buy expensive toys because he thinks he is getting good value for the money spent.

      --
      Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
  8. And why? by LordLucless · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So why dump Android? According to Clarke, “It’s a content play with Android”. “Amazon is selling books and Google is making it up with search.

    So, basically, there was competent competition, and Dell's me-toosim wasn't cutting it.

    --
    Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
    1. Re:And why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He also fails to mention Samsung, who is making bonkers amounts of money off of Android devices - the devices themselves, not content.

    2. Re:And why? by 21mhz · · Score: 1

      So, basically, there was competent competition, and Dell's me-toosim wasn't cutting it.

      If by "competent" you mean "Big Data pricing pure OEM competition out of the market", yes. Although I don't believe Dell has been producing really competitive tablets, the Android hardware market starts looking really lopsided.

      --
      My exception safety is -fno-exceptions.
    3. Re:And why? by crutchy · · Score: 1

      maybe google changed its diet and now dell doesn't enjoy the fruits of their services to google as much as they once did

    4. Re:And why? by crutchy · · Score: 1

      dell is like an ant to the samsung elephant... probably a wise move to stay out of harm's way

    5. Re:And why? by Sockatume · · Score: 1

      I think he means, it's a software contest, not a hardware one. If you've got two giant software companies willing to make zero to very little profit on the hardware and make up the rest in software, then there's not much left for an all-hardware company. (Although the Samsung comments below belie that, it's the point he's making.) It'd be like trying to get into the business of selling printers without having an ink-making division.

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    6. Re:And why? by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      So, basically, there was competent competition, and Dell's me-toosim wasn't cutting it.

      Which is a perfectly valid business decision. Dell does really well selling to shops who are "Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft" and they can get better margins by going into markets with little competition and/or few comparison shoppers.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    7. Re:And why? by 21mhz · · Score: 1

      It'd be like trying to get into the business of selling printers without having an ink-making division.

      No, it'd be like trying to get into the business of building airplanes without having an airline.
      Wait... I wonder why it's not allowed any more.

      --
      My exception safety is -fno-exceptions.
  9. For those who didn't notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dell made an Android tablet, known as the Dell Streak, it was not a success. Expensive, crap screen, underpowered, cheapy feeling.

    So now they're switching to Windows 8, with their expensive underpowered crap screens, cheap feeling tablets, THEY'RE SURE TO BE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL!!!

    Methinks they're not fixing the real problem. Android sell in bucket loads and if they couldn't sell a tablet with it, then they needed to refine their tablet designs till they did sell. Change Android for Windows 8, doesn't fix their problems, it just adds another one: no touch apps.

    1. Re:For those who didn't notice by fermion · · Score: 4, Insightful
      And for those who did not notice, Dell exists only because MS has made it so. Dell cow tows to the shrine of MS, keeps it own margins and quality low so that MS can rake in the cash, while assuming the risk of inventory so that MS does not have to.

      Is anyone surprised that Dell is jumping on the MS Surface bandwagon.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    2. Re:For those who didn't notice by Genda · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually I'm guessing someone on the M$ board called up someone on the Dell board and informed them they're now going to now assume the position or pay the price, and keep paying. Dell blinked and now to paraphrase Lewis Black, they had to put on a dress, lipstick, a little eye shadow, some glitter and now they're giving sailors blow jobs. And that... is the future of Dell.

    3. Re:For those who didn't notice by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2

      Windows 8 demand on touch is so high OEMs can not meet it!

      We bash it on slashdot, but consumers will refuse to touch Windows 8 on a non touch screen device and it makes sense to go all tiny screen and touch as this is where the market is heading and what the OS is optimized for touch over mouse on purpose

    4. Re:For those who didn't notice by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well, their XPS 12 looks like a decent enough device. Who knows, maybe they can actually make good things that aren't really tablets (but rather convertible notebooks etc)?

    5. Re:For those who didn't notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's more like it was a much harder sell than when they bundled netbooks + desktops at amazing prices. This is just a continuation and their main focus is on selling laptops with windows preinstalled. It does make better sense to have the same on the go bundles available in the same windows format. Just a tablet instead of a netbook, no difference.

    6. Re:For those who didn't notice by symbolset · · Score: 2

      Microsoft ensures a competitive ecosystem by favoring a few, and disfavoring the top. In this way they preserve a competitive ecosystem determined to cut each other out of profit. This is how Microsoft and Intel get the lion's share of PC profits, by playing one against the other. No one could become powerful enough to be bold.

      This worked until Apple and Google ripped the entire carpet out from under them.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    7. Re:For those who didn't notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Expensive, crap screen, underpowered, cheapy feeling.

      Eh? Streak 5 is still an impressive piece of kit, in the class of the Galaxy Note. Still turns heads.

      It wasn't underpowered when introduced.

      Screen can be driven to 215 DPI using custom ROMS.

      Cheapy feel? Solid metal case. Could cleave an iPhone in half should the need arise.

    8. Re:For those who didn't notice by girlinatrainingbra · · Score: 1

      re: Dell cow tows to the shrine of MS
      ;>)
      So I'm guessing that perhaps the "cow tow" was a comment about Gateway and their cow-hide black and white patterns, rather than some joke about a repo-company (or AAA towing franchise) run by bovines? Or did you just misremember Dell as being the company with that pattern?
      .
      kÃu tÃu : kow-tow, damn lack of unicode support for K`OU T'OU makes that look wrong.

    9. Re:For those who didn't notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, the Streak was a phone. It was a fairly decent phone at that, just a massive battery hog due to the technology not being ready to effectively power such a large screen. Unfortunately, Android 4.x never came out for it and interest was lost when other phones started coming out with higher resolutions...

      The Streak was, however, somewhat too large for most people to use as a phone. Those of us with big mits, though, had no issues...

    10. Re:For those who didn't notice by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

      Streak 5 is still an impressive piece of kit, in the class of the Galaxy Note. Still turns heads

      You were tight to try and correct the original poster, but the truth was the Streak was a flawed device released by a company that gave it little love, the fact it could become the Galaxy Note. If Dell hadn't treated it like a computer. It has potential, and first market moving advantage...then gave it away. In my mind its to Dell what the n900 is to Nokia, but like I say it was deeply flawed, and all phones look good compared to an iPhone...unless you want an iPhone.

    11. Re:For those who didn't notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The future? Try their whole live. Dell are a Microsoft whore, nothing else. They do what Pimpsoft says or Pimpsoft will give her a good slap.

      Their own fault, same with all the other companies that jumped on that bandwagon.

    12. Re:For those who didn't notice by westlake · · Score: 1

      And for those who did not notice, Dell exists only because MS has made it so.

      Hell.

      You could say the same for every entrant into the PC market since 1980 --- and every last one of them spent their days crying all the way to the bank.

    13. Re:For those who didn't notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      now they're giving sailors blow jobs

      Sailors tend to pay for getting blow jobs. Dell doing surface is something different and quite a bit more desperate.

    14. Re:For those who didn't notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps. But think about this, there are many android tablets out there. It is a semi crowded market. Now win8 tablet market is not. Also Dell's core market is businesses. Would it not make sense to go after your core market and something MS will put its weight behind? Think AD integration eventually...

      It makes sense to exit a crowded market where the margins are thin. Then enter a possibly growing market.

      Still not sure what MS is thinking though. Win8 is going to be a tough sell. Most people reaction is 'how do you use it'. That is not many peoples reaction to iPad...

    15. Re:For those who didn't notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      re: Dell cow tows to the shrine of MS ;>)

      So I'm guessing that perhaps the "cow tow" was a comment about Gateway and their cow-hide black and white patterns, rather than some joke about a repo-company (or AAA towing franchise) run by bovines? Or did you just misremember Dell as being the company with that pattern?
      .

      kÃu tÃu : kow-tow, damn lack of unicode support for K`OU T'OU makes that look wrong.

      But it should be as in these parens: (), but slashtwat swallowed that too.

    16. Re:For those who didn't notice by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      Actually I'm guessing someone on the M$ board called up someone on the Dell board and informed them they're now going to now assume the position or pay the price, and keep paying. Dell blinked and

      Not likely.

      That phone call would result in Dell hanging up the phone and calling the DoJ since that is the EXACT sort of behavior that got them in trouble before.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
  10. There are no more "Enterprise" phones and tablets by acoustix · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's all going BYOD. As much as I hate it, its all going BYOD. Bad move, Dell.

    Even RIM, which is based on the enterprise, is changing.

    --
    "A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
  11. Michael Dell on Apple by Beer_Smurf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders,"
    Michael Dell

    1. Re:Michael Dell on Apple by SpockLogic · · Score: 2

      "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders,"
        Michael Dell

      Should take his own advice, HA HA HA.

    2. Re:Michael Dell on Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd do that too, and also do it to Dell, Microsoft, and all of the Content Mafia (music, books, movies, software, you name it. They are tiny industries anyway. They only manage to convince everyone they are so big and important because of their cocaine-fueled egos.)

    3. Re:Michael Dell on Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RMS, is that you?

    4. Re:Michael Dell on Apple by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

      RMS, is that you?

      I don't think you know what RMS wants :). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman "He campaigns for the freedom of software endusers to use, study, share (copy) and modify software; software that ensures these freedoms legally (via its license) is termed free software. Stallman opposes proprietary software which takes away a user's rights to exercise these freedoms "

    5. Re:Michael Dell on Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All I need to know about RMS is that he looks like a fat hobo who eats his own toe jam. It is impossible to respect anyone like that.

    6. Re:Michael Dell on Apple by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Complete non-sequitur. How does anything you wrote refute what the GP wrote?

  12. Android made phones/tablets? by hobarrera · · Score: 5, Insightful

    To me, the news is that Dell made phones/tablets. I'd never heard of them before, nor have I ever seen any.
    Am I the only one here?

    1. Re:Android made phones/tablets? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On a site for technically inclined people? Yes, you are probably the only one.

    2. Re:Android made phones/tablets? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I heard, I bought an Android device called Dell Streak, I wish I had not.

    3. Re:Android made phones/tablets? by WindBourne · · Score: 2

      Got a chance to play with the Dell Streak 7 for about an hour. It was a POS. Poor resolution. Poor speed. The list continues on and on and on. Since Dell has moved their manufacturing out of the nation, they have produced nothing but junk. And switching the OS to windows 8 will NOT help that trash heap. In fact, from what I have seen of win 8, things will be even slower.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    4. Re:Android made phones/tablets? by ArsonSmith · · Score: 1

      "..Poor resolution. Poor speed. The list continues..."

          Well now you can add Poor OS.

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
    5. Re:Android made phones/tablets? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      All the old companies we used to expect to make good stuff make only shit now. Dell is a great example. Viewsonic is even better. This is why I have no brand loyalty. Read some reviews, buy something that's been out for a little while that works. It's not worth trying to figure out which of a brand's products aren't shit — Dell still has some things worth buying. So does Viewsonic. But I'm not going to try to figure out what they are just so my logos can match.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:Android made phones/tablets? by Kingkaid · · Score: 1

      Dell made some great smartphones. The "streak" line had Android and WP7. The Dell Venue pro is actually a very good phone. Shame it was never advertised and suffered a horrible death

    7. Re:Android made phones/tablets? by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      Yeah, as somebody that has worked for HP and IBM, I had a great deal of loyality to these companies. Not anymore. They have been sending all of the core tech overseas, and other companies who operate in nations without any decent IP coverage for them, continues to steal their tech. As such, I have quit buying from any of those companies, and would rather buy from the same ones that stole from them. I figure that if they do not care about losing their tech, for just a few dollars, well, then I can save a few dollars as well.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  13. Try ThinkPenguin instead; Dell doesn't get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While ThinkPenguin doesn't sell phones or tablets (at least not at the moment) Canonical and Dell are making big errors. ThinkPenguin's taking users into consideration. There not shipping products dependent on non-free drivers/firmware/etc. This is just another example of Dell not getting it.

    I have to say though that the rest of the industry doesn't get Linux either. Even those which are catering to it.

  14. Interesting analogy... by TWX · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The company claims its doubling down on Windows 8

    Last time I checked, gambling behavior as a primary hobby or profession wasn't considered respectable or responsible, it was considered borderline sociopathic.

    If I were a stockholder I'd be worried. Technology these days seems to be about a combination of giving people what they want and convincing people of what they want. Android, to an extent, is giving people what they want, as Android is popular with users as well as with OEMs. Windows 8, by and large, does not appear to be popular, either in portable devices or on the desktop.

    So, Dell is now moving to a system of neither giving people what they want, nor convincing people of what they want.

    I don't think that Dell is in any danger of going Chapter 7. Where I work buys Dell just about exclusively, in a 30,000 desktop environment. The paltry sales Apple or other OEMs get is almost not worth mentioning. But, their extra markets, like phones, tablets, and other consumer devices will probably die.

    I had actually wanted a Dell phone back in the day, but they weren't compatible with my cell provider. Otherwise they had the features I wanted. Pity that...

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:Interesting analogy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Har har, it's really easy to be an arm chair businessman isn't it. Dells phones and tablets had no traction. Dell needs to try something new. It's hard to race with the Koreans and Taiwanese to the bottom of the Android market.

    2. Re:Interesting analogy... by elashish14 · · Score: 1

      If I were a stockholder I'd be worried. Technology these days seems to be about a combination of giving people what they want and convincing people of what they want.

      Interesting point. Back in 90s and 00s, the field was advancing at the rate that the technology improved. These days, the technical power of the devices we buy have pretty much surpassed average users' needs. Then came the ultrabook fad, which introduced new, lighter form-features and longer battery life. At this point, outside of increasing battery life and perhaps introducing more asinine screen resolutions, there isn't much more innovation to be done, and ultimately, it'll just come down to whatever catches on. But it's not really a race for technical performance and superiority, so the game becomes a lot harder to predict.

      --
      I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
    3. Re:Interesting analogy... by devent · · Score: 1

      don't think that Dell is in any danger of going Chapter 7.

      The same you could have said about Nokia. That was before the "we are standing on a burning platform" memo.

      --
      http://www.mueller-public.de - My site http://www.anr-institute.com/ - Advanced Natural Research Institute
    4. Re:Interesting analogy... by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      How is gambling sociopathic? It's stupid, I'll agree with you there, but sociopathic? I think that word's thrown around too much these days as sophistic ad hom at specific behaviors/activities.

      Anyway, the rest of your post makes sense to me..

    5. Re:Interesting analogy... by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

      Har har, it's really easy to be an arm chair businessman isn't it. Dells phones and tablets had no traction. Dell needs to try something new. It's hard to race with the Koreans and Taiwanese to the bottom of the Android market.

      I think you need to think about your post as its not even close to making any sense. Dell phones did gain no traction...Lenovo from a similar position is doing amazing [with Android] having overtaken Nokia. Dell do need to try something new, in the context of the article they are *not* trying something new...they are moving toward their core business. As for you race to bottom...that is called competition, ironically something Dell should be familiar with [and ironically is successful at]. Its how they became great PC manufacturers. As for dropping Android, Asus, and Sony have found that sticking with Android very profitable...as you point out Samsung is doing pretty Nicely too. :)

      You are an Apple shareholder, and if you are going to offer commentary, your Android attacks are ironic considering market share is currently six times of Apple with Apples shrinking from 23% to 15%. That is not to say that Android is the only alternative...its just the winning alternative right now. Personally I'm looking forward to young OS's like Sailfish or Tizen. :) they could even start their own like your beloved Apple :)

    6. Re:Interesting analogy... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      At this point, outside of increasing battery life and perhaps introducing more asinine screen resolutions, there isn't much more innovation to be done, and ultimately, it'll just come down to whatever catches on.

      Congratulations, you win today's obviousness award.

      There's a lot of innovation to be done. It lies in user interfaces. Otherwise, all a company like Dell can do is pick a good team and back it. As Microsoft did with Kinect (which, hey, is a user interface) you find the promising technology that needs a fostering hand, and you lift it up out of the sea of chaos. Dell has been concentrating on "metoo" and forgotten to look at the future. This is probably because of its "metoo" origins, but that's no way to run a company into the future, only into the ground.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  15. No help by giveen1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As the only Dell Streak 7 Android developer left, it doesn't surprise me that Dell has abandoned Android. I've spent over a year trying to get them to comply with the GPL and give me the last source code for their last kernel update. Every request I have put forth has been turned down or rejected. I still try my best to keep this tablet up to date with ICS and JB, but I can only do so much without more support.

    1. Re:No help by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      Just finished updating my Streak5 ... great devices, too bad they thought a custom interface was the way to go.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    2. Re:No help by Rogerborg · · Score: 1

      Can't you get Eben Moglen to sort them out? The guy talks a good game about how he's never seen the inside of a courtroom because he's sooooo scary, surely he'd put Dell in their place in short order?

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    3. Re:No help by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I miss the old rogerborg. Still cranky, still funny, but not as stupid.

    4. Re:No help by slashdotusername · · Score: 1

      Don't be a tease - this is the first I've heard of JB on the Streak 7 (and I love my Streak 7). Where is this sort of development happening?

  16. Crap!! by Andy+Prough · · Score: 2, Funny

    And I was just about to buy a thousand Dell "Streak" Android Tablets to be the backbone of my business for the next 10 years. I mean - who could pass up on "America's First 4G 7-Inch Tablet"???

  17. Windows 8 + Enterprise = LOLZ by millertym · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A strategy focusing on Windows 8 may work. A strategy focusing on enterprise business may work. A strategy focusing on windows 8 as enterprise software is doomed to failure. No company I know of is planning to use Windows 8 on their desk terminals. Ever. It's Windows Vista all over again for business use. That being said, I've heard some good out of touch devices and Windows 8. That is where their focus with windows 8 needs to be, or they are going to continue to tank.

    1. Re:Windows 8 + Enterprise = LOLZ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A strategy focusing on ... out of touch devices

      lol, I see what you did there.

  18. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BYOD is the easiest way to get the company IT resources screwed, though.

  19. Android != Linux by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Supporting Linux *is* supporting the enterprise market. No way Dell is backing off that.

    I think they may be backing of Android partly as a response to Google announcing they are dropping Exchange integration. Though that could be a coincidence.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Android != Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What? When and where did Google announce they were dropping Exchange integration? Someone's smoking something.

      Exchange-hacked-on-integration-for-iPhone-gmail-sync, yes. Exchange for Android....? No.

    2. Re:Android != Linux by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

      Google announcing they are dropping Exchange integration.

      I find your link tenuous, Google have dropped *another* Microsoft de-facto standard [read abusive patent used by Microsoft to attack Android]. Mainly for getting mail. The open standards are still there and work.

      Dell *could* have stepped in and supplied a *solution* to this if it really was a *artificial* problem, and provided their Dell Android products with a Unique Selling Point.

      All this shows is that Microsoft's proprietary technology is not only not wanted, charging Android vendors for it is obsoleting their own platform in a world of the 'pack of four' rule.

    3. Re:Android != Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eh? Google dropping exchange integration?

      I suspect what you're referring to is Google dropping support for using the ActiveSync protocol to access their email/calendar/contacts services. Nothing to do with Exchange other than Exchange also uses ActiveSync...

      (I suspect it's more that Dell just can't compete against Samsung/Motorola/Amazon/etc in Android tablets and phones. I don't think I've ever ever come across anyone with a Dell phone or tablet).

    4. Re:Android != Linux by whoever57 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      One could see the dropping of Exchange support a a massive show of Google's power. Microsoft's monopoly has been driven by the Outlook/Exchange combo, with other clients frozen out by poor support. Now, Google is saying: Exchange doesn't matter. Open standards work and allow Exchange and Outlook to be replaced, both individually and collectively.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  20. They have their place by TWX · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Their business support doesn't suck though. If you're an enterprise-level customer and have your IT staff certified through Dell's online coursework then you can do all of your warranty work in-house and they generally next-day parts to you, and they really don't make a big deal of misdiagnosed machines where you end up replacing perfectly good parts. We use mostly Optiplexes and Latitudes and keeping up with about 30,000 PCs has been possible with a paltry staff.

    Personally I'm typing this on a several-year-old Lenovo Ideapad S10-2, my wife uses a Thinkpad X301, and Dad bought an Ideapad G550 based on our recommendations, so I like old-IBM/Lenovo fairly well, but I don't think that Dell is quite as bad overall as you've dealt with. I'm using an old Latitude D520 at work in the field without problems, and my Optiplex 780 workstation has handled its duties without problems.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:They have their place by smash · · Score: 1

      We gave up on dell and went to HP. Yes, the dell support is a lot better - the only problem is you need it 10-20x as often. And i'm not kidding.

      --
      I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
    2. Re:They have their place by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      HP is pretty darn bad if you ask me. I find that shocking.

      It is no wonder consumers have switched to Lenovo, Asus, and Samsung. A few buy HP, but I do not see people seek Dells like they did in 2003. Samsung and Asus are innovative and generally do not break unless you buy a crap model.

    3. Re:They have their place by smash · · Score: 1

      I'll clarify here: by HP, i mean elitebooks. We don't by anything else off them.

      --
      I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
    4. Re:They have their place by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

      We were going to go to HP, but the eval machine didn't even have driver packs (for SCCM task sequence) like Dell provides. We never got around to even imaging the box to try it out.

    5. Re:They have their place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I support them both and there is little difference. The hardware for both is good for three years or more, and then it's obsolete. Software admin is out of scope for this question, but I'll go ahead and say that typically I see better software admins on HP gear than Dell.

      /AC for good reason.

    6. Re:They have their place by smash · · Score: 1

      Our dell experience was totally soured by the Latitude E6500 throttlegate fiasco. Also, the Latitude E series in general (all except the E43xx) saw out failure rate go from "minimal" with the old D series, to 35% within 12 months on the E series (mostly E6500s). Dell kept trying to blame our image, or that we were doing inappropriate workloads on the machines, etc. We shit-canned them and went to Elitebooks and haven't looked back.

      --
      I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
    7. Re:They have their place by westlake · · Score: 1

      Their business support doesn't suck though.

      Dell's latest entrant into Windows 8 market looks solid as well Review: Dell's acrobatic XPS 12 is the Windows 8 convertible to beat

    8. Re:They have their place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Their business support doesn't suck though.

      Dell's latest entrant into Windows 8 market looks solid as well Review: Dell's acrobatic XPS 12 is the Windows 8 convertible to beat

      I'd be all over a 10" Android screen-flip convertible.

  21. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but stopping it is like fighting the tide...

  22. Not yet. by Andy+Prough · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Touchscreen-enabled Chromebooks could change all that in 2013 though.

    1. Re:Not yet. by 21mhz · · Score: 1

      2013 is going to be the year of Chrome on the Desktop!
      Sorry, couldn't help...

      --
      My exception safety is -fno-exceptions.
  23. Yes, by Andy+Prough · · Score: 1

    I think I saw an ad for one once in one of those Southwest Airlines in-flight magazines. Certainly not Dell's bread-and-butter business though.

  24. You misunderstand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They're using the KFC definition. The Dell Double Down contains bacon, two different kinds of melted cheese, Dellâ(TM)s secret sauce in between two Windows 8 devices.

  25. Dell makes some decent stuff by Chirs · · Score: 2

    They make some excellent monitors (the IPS panels in particular) and I have a 2yo Vostro14" that I got for a good price and is still going strong.

    1. Re:Dell makes some decent stuff by mridoni · · Score: 1

      In 2006 I got an Inspiron 6400, and almost seven years later I think the only way to stop the damn thing is to throw it into a garbage compactor: In all this time I had to change the display bezel (20 US$) , and the original battery is down to one hour of capacity, but the machine is absolutely rock-solid, to the point that my other (brand-new) notebook is used a lot less than I expected.

    2. Re:Dell makes some decent stuff by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      My lady has a Vostro 1500. Well, I guess I have it now, she bought a Fujitsu Lifebook T900 with the combo digitizer. It is a goddamned tank. Still works, but you could bludgeon an elephant at least halfway to death with it. The power jack has been on fail for a very long time, but she abused it by keeping the laptop on a tray that led to a lot of cord-bending so you can't really complain. However, the battery died pretty shortly into its lifespan, so it has had to play ugly desktop. And it was, I think, $600 with the lowest C2D and 2GB. So all in all, the only good thing I can say about it is that it ran Ubuntu faithfully. But it's big and it's loud and today I have no idea what to even do with it due to the graphics my ass. If we would have bought an Asus for maybe 10% more then I'd probably still be using it. It's just too heavy to want it on my lap, and its graphics are too crap to use it as an HTPC.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Dell makes some decent stuff by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      I had 2 Dell Inspirons ages ago. The power jack was the weak point on both. Granted, they were 17 inch monstrosities, and the were probably tugged by the power cord more than a few times, but both started to fail at the same time.

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    4. Re:Dell makes some decent stuff by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      If only I could have a decent GPU in an expresscard slot. At least, I think it has expresscard. It might have cardbus, that would be hirarious. There's a funny-shaped blank in the card slot, so it must be expresscard.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:Dell makes some decent stuff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here you go. Good luck with the PCIe x1 bandwidth limit.

    6. Re:Dell makes some decent stuff by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Here you go. Good luck with the PCIe x1 bandwidth limit.

      There's a unit out there that does this for $100 rather than $900 but it's not worth the money either way. PCIe x1 would be OK with a superior GPU, but it's just not worth the money. Cheaper to buy a whole PC.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  26. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by Kjella · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's all going BYOD. As much as I hate it, its all going BYOD. Bad move, Dell.

    I really doubt that, a few high-profile incidents where BYOD caused big losses and that idea will die a quick death, not that it was ever alive in many lines of business. The better question is what's the difference between a consumer and enterprise computers, except software? Nothing. My employer-issued smart phone is a regular Android phone, they've just set it up with policies like wiping itself if you enter the PIN incorrectly a few times. There's also a use agreement which says I can't let anyone else gain knowledge of the PIN or operate it - no letting your kids play on it folks - and I'm bearing the full risk of what any non-IT approved application could do to their data. It's a pretty safe bet I won't be installing any.

    I'll be a cold day in hell before they go BYOD on terms that I could accept as well, doesn't even matter if we both pick the same model I'm going to have mine and theirs. But it's a pretty good chance that theirs is going to be a consumer model that I pick. I've heard much the same story with tablets, people like and want to use it but when it comes to putting business critical data on it the requirements often crash and they start looking at corporate issued tablets instead. There'll be less "You can have any color phone you want, as long as it's black" standard issue but it's always going to be trouble for one piece of hardware to have two masters.

    --
    Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  27. Bye Bye DELL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Bye Bye DELL, greetings to Nokia when you meet them at the bottom.

    1. Re:Bye Bye DELL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only on Slashdot do we have open source nutjobs desperately rooting for any underdog, no matter how ridiculous, and calling multi-billion dollar, household name corporations that sell millions of products worldwide as being at "the bottom".

    2. Re:Bye Bye DELL by Patch86 · · Score: 1

      I'm sure the income from the hugely successful Dell Streak was the only thing keeping them going, you're right... [/snark]

  28. Sorry, no Norwegian Blues for Sale... by Genda · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dell walks into a cheese shop, looks around poking and sniffing and suddenly a clerk (who looks vaguely like John Cleese) pops up from behind the counter!

    Clerk: May I help you, Sir?

    Dell: Why yes, I'd like some cheese!

    Clerk: We have a lovely Apple Brie here, smooth, creamy, the customers can't seem to get enough?...

    Dell: Arrghhh, No, Thank you.

    Clerk: Perhaps a nice sharp Android Cheddar? Its full bodied, not as smooth as the Brie, but technically fuller?...

    Dell: No, I don't want any lousy Android.

    Clerk: Well then Sir, what did you have in mind?...

    Dell: I'd like a great big fat slab of the Microsoft Limburger!!!

    Clerk: Sir, I haven't sold any Microsoft in a fortnight, are you sure you wouldn't want something a wee bit fresher?

    Dell: No, My minds made up, I want the Microsoft, and bowl of raw garlic cloves and I'll eat it here!

    Clerk: Are you daft! You're going to die of indigestion and your head'll explode! Then I'll have to call a hazardous waste team to have you remains removed from the premises!

    Dell: What could go wrong? As long as I finish off with a Wafer Thin Mint, I'll be fine, by the way, have you ever sold parrots?

    1. Re:Sorry, no Norwegian Blues for Sale... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmmm... I thought Cleese was the customer and Palin was the shopkeeper?!

    2. Re:Sorry, no Norwegian Blues for Sale... by Genda · · Score: 1

      Its a different skit you silly git ;-)

    3. Re:Sorry, no Norwegian Blues for Sale... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They probably would be just fine if they finished off with a wafer-thin mint.

  29. Hahahahaha! Goodbye Dell! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dell always was Microsoft's rather stupid lapdog.

    Seems like they are also hell-bent on going down with them.

    Oh well, more Linux for the world then. :)

  30. Actually.... by Dcnjoe60 · · Score: 1

    The better question is what's the difference between a consumer and enterprise computers, except software? Nothing. My employer-issued smart phone is a regular Android phone, they've just set it up with policies like wiping itself if you enter the PIN incorrectly a few times. There's also a use agreement which says I can't let anyone else gain knowledge of the PIN or operate it - no letting your kids play on it folks - and I'm bearing the full risk of what any non-IT approved application could do to their data. It's a pretty safe bet I won't be installing any.

    Actually, most smart phones are handled like enterprise models of computer systems, where the model doesn't change during its life cycle. If you buy a Galaxy III when it first came out or a year later, it is still the same hardware. Likewise, with business or enterprise computers, the manufacturer normally guarantees that each model off the line has the same hardware and component specs. On the other hand, consumer grade computers, even if they are the same model number very often have different components and component specs.

    Deploying 1000 business class computers over 18 months is relatively straight forward. Once you get one set up and working as desired, you just create a base image and apply it to each one after that. On the otherhand, consumer grade need to each be set up manually as they very often require different drivers, etc., even if they arrived in the same shipment. In a small office, it doesn't make much difference, but in a medium size to large size business, it makes a huge difference.

    1. Re:Actually.... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      On the other hand, consumer grade computers, even if they are the same model number very often have different components and component specs.

      They might have the same model number on the front, but they have a different, more detailed model number somewhere else. Sort of like the difference between a badge and a VIN, except the VIN is both description code and serial number.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  31. In other words... by Dcnjoe60 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In other words, Microsoft made Dell another offer they couldn't refuse by not shipping other operating systems. It's not the first time, but with the public's acceptance of Windows 8, it could be the last.

    1. Re:In other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Dell was obviously worried from the early stages that Microsoft were going to screw things up: http://bit.ly/R1slUb

    2. Re:In other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously, dell's droid tablets have been an absolute sales disaster, if anything they probably paid MS to help them get their shit together. I doubt MS would give a damn about dells failed droid tablets, more likely they watched with amusement.

    3. Re:In other words... by Sockatume · · Score: 1

      Yes, Microsoft must've paid Dell a lot of money to abandon all that sweet, sweet Dell Streak business they've been doing. Literally tens of dollars.

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
  32. So you aren't selling phones... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So you aren't selling phones using the most popular platform, so you switch to selling phones on a less (much less) popular platform. Sometimes I think these companies made money by accident. I know that Dell sucks up to microsoft like a lap dog to a doggie treat, but in reality I think (if they had any good sense at all), they would expect their sales to be very small. On the other hand, if Dell throws a couple hundred million into it, they will lose a couple hundred million. I guess Dell and microsoft both think that phones and tables are PCs. You kids go hard with that.

  33. Dell's market by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Posting as AC because I used to work for them...

    I remember being on a conference call and someone asked why Dell didn't focus more on the consumer market, in light of the success of the iPhone, etc. It was clear to me from the answer that Dell doesn't take the consumer market that seriously. They see the enterprise market as being much larger and more lucrative, much like Microsoft does. So Dell will always have a presence in the consumer market, just to say that it has some offerings, but they have no intentions of trying to make a big splash there. Basically they will do whatever Microsoft tells them to do. During my time there it was the beginnings of a big push into the enterprise services market. I don't think they have made much of a dent personally but they will continue to pursue that. Tablets and phones are just a hobby for Dell...no news here.

  34. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The better question is what's the difference between a consumer and enterprise computers, except software? Nothing.

    That's not true at all. Workstations with Xeon-class RAS and ECC memory are uniquely business machines, and so are lowly slim profile desktops. For servers, I hope I wouldn't have to explain, but no.. they are not all the same. You pay good money for crappy RAS, and TONS of money all the way to first born child for good RAS.

    There might not be any good business class smart phones or tablets right _now_, but that doesn't mean there couldn't or shouldn't be. They would not be pretty, not nearly as popular.. you know.. sort of like the ugly slim profile desktop on your desk at work, they would be all about price over function and form.

  35. how much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is microsoft paying dell to dump android? considering microsoft has for years paid OEMs for windows market share on the desktop, it's not inconceivable that they'd try the same tactic with mobile devices.

  36. Re:Touch can't keep up with demand by Billly+Gates · · Score: 0

    Server 2012 is fucking awesome. As a server I do not give a crap over if it has a metro start screen instead of a start button. It is not a desktop where you stare at it all day. It is a decent upgrade from Server 2008.

    All the major retailers say they can not keep up with demand on touch devices with Windows 8! It is flying off the shelves for these users who are used to their phones regardless of what slashdotters say.

    Neowin.net, zdnet.com, and even Tomshardware are running stories.

    True Windows 8 is not fit for geeks or for traditional power users and sells crappy on such legacy systems, but devices such as Lennovo's flipscreen can not keep up with demand.

    FYI you can get group policies with AD fine with the surface. You get them through active sync when you log in with an Exchange 2013 account. The other stuff for AD is not worthy as it is static and not dynamic nor designed for the mobile needs of devices that change networks all the time.

  37. Be careful when you say no other! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because what Microsoft is doing now with there O.S., IBM was doing over twenty-five years ago. You can thank Microsoft and its buggy Operating Systems for the theft of trillions of dollars worth I.P. from U.S. companies. Enterprise level is hardware and software, and INTEL just started making enterprise level cpu's, what one years ago, and Itanium doesn't count.

  38. Re:HP clueless as well by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

    HP is going down if rumors are correct that shareholder activist and raider iKahn is making his moves on shutting down HP and sellings its assets.

    After that Dell will be the sole and only player left. People laugh at Dell but I would not be surprised if their share price goes up once HP is down. No one else who buys over 10 units buy from anyone else.

  39. Dell is an idiot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Considering Android has what? like 75+% of the total world market share in mobile computing devices (phones/tabs...etc) It's a pretty fucking stupid move to just throw that away. Yeah guys.. hey! lets totally not make any money at all and go with microsoft who half the planet hates and has like 1-5% of the martket share in the mobile os market. Way to make money guys! /facepalm. Yo board member people. I said it here. That will lose you a lot of money. have fun!

    1. Re:Dell is an idiot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try 68% of the market.

    2. Re:Dell is an idiot by devleopard · · Score: 1

      I think the Android market share issue is overblown. Most of those devices aren't the quality of product that any American company would sell: they're low end Chinese 2.3 phones. More important, is Dell doesn't have a lot of credibility in the Android space. The fact that Android is popular doesn't mean anything for Dell's bottom line if they can't move the devices. Dell, Samsung, HTC, etc aren't in existence to fight the good fight and help Android rule the world. Their purpose is to profit for their shareholders. I think Dell realizes it's best to be a big fish in a small pond than an underfed fish in an ocean filled with whales like Samsung. And even though the Windows pond is small for mobile, Dell is a big fish in the other Windows pond, and they've had tons of success shipping those devices, for a long freaking time.

      --
      The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit.
  40. Shove the others under the bus by symbolset · · Score: 1

    When we see these Microsoft stories it's really heartwarming to see proponents of one business division pushing the others under the bus - ensuring their counterparts will respond in kind.

    It reminds us that Microsoft is a dozen warlords more at war with each other than with us.

    While they seek dominance over each other we might have progress.

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
    1. Re:Shove the others under the bus by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      When we see these Microsoft stories it's really heartwarming to see proponents of one business division pushing the others under the bus - ensuring their counterparts will respond in kind.

      It reminds us that Microsoft is a dozen warlords more at war with each other than with us.

      While they seek dominance over each other we might have progress.

      With this woman, who admits the goal of Metro is to kill the mouse, where we see a sea of people reaching across smearing their 8 inch tiny monitors in the office all day filing repetitive injuries in OSHA is every PHB's dream!

      I happen to agree. Sinsosky was the man who killed the tablet 10 years ago with a crippled font and no Office touch support because he didn't like it. He and this woman above are now crippling their enterprise products.

      Windows 8 has some awesome raid, volume storage, restore, and mobile features, and yes you can still use GPO without AD in Windows 8 with active sync. These are cool features for laptop and tablet users on the go. Just the annoying gui kills it! Windows Server 2012 is a finally a decent server OS for a VM environment unlike its past versions too. But they put the METRO gui on it. I do not care on a server but many IT admins will stick with obsolete server operating systems after shitting their pants with METRO and ignoring everything else 2012 has there-after.

  41. Windows 8 not as good as Server 2012 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I didn't really like Windows 8, but Windows server 2012 is giving me wood. On my gigabit Ethernet the transfers went from around 48MB/sec to around 78MB/sec, compared to the slower Windows 8. Weird, but I'm loving it! 3D also works with my old radeon HD 3450. Plus, if you are a pirate, the Daz windows loader will activate it.

    1. Re:Windows 8 not as good as Server 2012 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, Windows Server can finally utilize a Gbit network? What year is it again?

    2. Re:Windows 8 not as good as Server 2012 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Year?
      Athlon XP with a PCI e1000, linux 2.4. NFSv2. 103MB/s. In 2002. That's a fucking DECADE ago.

  42. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Every company I have ever worked for (even some large ones) have allowed you to hook private phones to Exchange.

    For me it is a trade off. I will allow work to encroach on my personal time answering emails and such if I can do it from my primary personal smart phone. If that isn't an option then I won't keep up with emails after work. Their choice.

  43. Re:Where are the editors? by gagol · · Score: 1

    At church, repenting. It is sunday after all.

    --
    Tomorrow is another day...
  44. LMAO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Really Dell, really? Doubling down on a product that's losing market share is a surefire path to success. If anyone missed it, I'm dripping with sarcasm.

    Nice knowin ya Dell. Good riddance.

    1. Re:LMAO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Smart money is literally in doubling down on an open source crowd sourced web 2.0 cloud paradigm. Ditch the guestimates in favor of a game changing data driven best of breed user experience.

      MBA for hire. Will work for food.

  45. Android not a good fit for Dell by devleopard · · Score: 2

    Keep in mind that Dell is one of the few "mainstream" PC manufacturers that will sell you a top-line laptop with a Linux distro preinstalled and supported:
    http://www.dell.com/us/soho/p/xps-13-linux/pd.aspx

    So why stop selling Android devices (most popular mobile OS) and move to a platform that many don't think will go anywhere? Dell isn't known for Android; they're a trusted name in Windows machines. I've never seen a Dell Android phone or tablet in the wild. There's a good reason for that. Personally I think their Windows 8 devices will flop too, but they'll probably sell more of them than they do Android devices.

    --
    The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit.
    1. Re:Android not a good fit for Dell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, but they charge nearly $1500 for it and still can't manage to put a decent screen in it. Regardless of the other specs, is any developer really going to pay that price for a laptop with a crap screen?

      The only reasons that make sense for trying to sell this POS at this price is either because they are idiots, or they think Linux developers are idiots who'll buy any shit because it has LInux pre-installed, or they actually want it to fail.

  46. What about MSMQ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Frankly this is a 'toy' message queueing system.
    There is a saying
    "MSMQ is a programmers dream and a management nightmare. WMQ is a programmers nightmare and a managememt dream."

    Some of the applications I have to support use MSMQ (coz it's free innit?) and it is a real fight to keep it all running smoothly.
    The other ones use WMQ and require very little attention but it costs money. 'You get what you par for" is so true.\

  47. Re:You comment is invalid. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 0

    That was the only reason I liked WinAmp. WinAmp kicked the llama's ass. When it stopped kicking the llama's ass, I stopped using it. Get in line for your asskicking, little llama!

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  48. Good luck with that, Dell by TheGoodNamesWereGone · · Score: 1

    Good luck with that. Don't forget to turn out the lights before the building gets reposessed.

  49. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by 21mhz · · Score: 1

    Actually, now there's an easy answer: "Sure you can BYOD, as long as the D runs Windows 8, Windows RT, or Windows Phone."

    --
    My exception safety is -fno-exceptions.
  50. Not So much by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    Microsoft in the correct way, they'll send lots of that money your way.

    Begging for money of a corporation...that is any corporation works out badly. Microsoft are simply not going to do anything for free. Dell may have *negotiated* something [exclusivity] with Microsoft behind closed doors. Personally I see any strategy involving continued exclusivity to Microsoft will fail...ask Sony :)

  51. They became a non-player by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They became a non-player when they got rid of the Dell Dude.

  52. Bwahahahahaha! by Chas · · Score: 1

    Oh!

    You guys were SERIOUS?

    Really truly and for-sure?

    Windows 8?

    Noshitiswear?

    BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  53. Old troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is old.

  54. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

    We found a good way to solve that at my workplace.

    Sheet-metal building facade. Wire mesh structure for interior panels. Like working in a faraday cage.

    You want to BYOD? Well, you're not getting a mobile connection, and you're not getting on our network without begging before the judgemental gods of the IT team.

  55. Dell is pretty much a division!? of microsoft by tuppe666 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Lets use the correct term *Dependant* on Microsoft. Dell like all the OEM's is in the position of having only one supplier for its OS, and that makes it very weak, even more so as its only successful products rely exclusively on it. Where it is is very *safe*. Its just weird watching on the outside seeing this massive computing revolution, and a company *choosing* to remain Microsoft's bitch, even when Microsoft are working towards obsoleting them with their own products.

    1. Re:Dell is pretty much a division!? of microsoft by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Dell created it's own demise, it supported, built up it's own competitors, all those ODM's that actually make dells hardware. Dell is an online reseller and all those ODM's that Dell helped to fund are simply cutting out an overhead, 'Dell' and looking to sell direct and basically winning.

      The more of a consumer product that computers become the more they shift to consumer electronics and appliances companies sphere and away from computer company sphere. Consumer electronics and appliance companies want greater control, hence they will push Android.

      Dell is just another company to be chewed up and spit out in a one way to the death partnership with M$.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    2. Re:Dell is pretty much a division!? of microsoft by jimicus · · Score: 1

      Where it is is very *safe*. Its just weird watching on the outside seeing this massive computing revolution, and a company *choosing* to remain Microsoft's bitch.

      They haven't got any choice in the matter. Windows saturated the market to such a huge extent so long ago that the risks and costs associated with trying to loosen Microsoft's grip (and in the process perhaps getting poorer pricing for OEM copies of Windows - in an industry which hasn't seen a decent profit margin in years) simply don't make sense.

    3. Re:Dell is pretty much a division!? of microsoft by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

      They haven't got any choice in the matter. Windows saturated the market to such a huge extent so long ago that the risks and costs associated with trying to loosen Microsoft's grip (and in the process perhaps getting poorer pricing for OEM copies of Windows - in an industry which hasn't seen a decent profit margin in years) simply don't make sense.

      Dell have a choice. Those choices are often uncomfortable and risky. The irony of your post is Microsoft still make massive profits from the PC platform. The reality is right now. If I was a Microsoft OEM. I would make sure that every single Windows machine I sell has Chrome; OpenOffice and Steam installed...with a *Supported* Linux option cheaper. Anything else is negotiating from a position of weakness....Other OEMs are simply selling Android, the very thing Dell was dropped.

  56. Mod parent up by funkboy · · Score: 1

    Best thread today :-)

  57. HP is moving and shaking by tuppe666 · · Score: 2

    People laugh at Dell but I would not be surprised if their share price goes up once HP

    I care little for both companies, but ignoring the fact that Dell shares are sliding *today* and HP shares are up. As an outsider I see HP trying to evolve as a company, and Dell being stagnant , while the world changes [Mobile as a growth market, Microsoft evolving into a Hardware company and losing against the 'Pack of Four']. I prefer HP's strategy, not their poor implementation, but I think doing less than nothing is a recipe for failure. Although you can see companies like Asus and Sony doing nicely simply by throwing Android into the mix...the opposite of what Dell has done.

  58. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by Zouden · · Score: 1

    Do your employees enjoy not being able to receive personal phone calls at work?

    --
    "A week in the lab saves an hour in the library"
  59. You so...American in your thinking. by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    I think the Android market share issue is overblown

    Its that kind of thinking that has got Apple a shrinking market share 23% to 15% [Its shareholders have started to notice :)]...while Android is looking to Overtake Windows as early as next year.

    As for your opinion on Chinese Phones seriously you have no idea, Lets have a little look at the best-selling Chinese http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.cn%2F%25E6%2589%258B%25E6%259C%25BA-%25E9%2580%259A%25E8%25AE%25AF%2Fb%2Fref%3Dsd_allcat_wi_%2F476-1550042-9753562%3Fie%3DUTF8%26node%3D664978051 Look at the most popular android phone its quad core [1.4Ghz]with 2Gb or RAM 4.5" screen [1280x720] resolution running latest Android...you need to revise you thinking, as do Apples product lines ;)

  60. Dell is Fucked ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dell is fucked and has been for a long time, every time they try and pull-out of the MICROS~1 ecosystem, they get dragged back in. Remember they're just the delivery people ...

  61. Nice by xyourfacekillerx · · Score: 1

    Windows 8 market has way more options than Android. Look, mobile computing is moving from this bullshit app centric nonsense to "computer in my hand". Win 8 delivers. Android does not. Now I am liberated from software limited vendor devices, I have an OS that challenges hardware vendors to accommodate full featured hardware for mobile computing functionality that parallels desktop. Stop whining about it, it is the future. I was meant to have a tiny computer in my hands. I was not meant to have a half functional software crippled computer that only works when I submit to a data plan and buy apps for every task I would want the device to do. and HTML5+JS ? Sounds like someone in Redmond realized every app you use is just a shitty rendition of something that should be browser accessible, i.e. virtually free to the end user. How anyone can be opposed to this notion is beyond me....

    1. Re:Nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um.

      Are you an idiot?

      Anyone who wants to can install whatever apps they want on an Android phone. It's just java, the SDK is free, and loading apps is as simple as putting the apk on the phone and installing it.

      You can only install MS-approved apps from the MS app store on a Windows phone.

    2. Re:Nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "something that should be browser accessible" why again do you need that beastly bloated os based "computer in my hands"

  62. Windows 8 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The question is how much were they paid to go for Windows 8. Reminds me of poor Nokia.

  63. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by whoever57 · · Score: 1

    I really doubt that, a few high-profile incidents where BYOD caused big losses and that idea will die a quick death

    One could say the same about Windows, but it doesn't seem to have hampered the use of Windows.

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  64. Re:You comment is invalid. by sosume · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "it really *whips* .. the llama's arse." No kicking involved, I'm so sorry.

  65. Wait: by drankr · · Score: 1

    Dell makes phones and tablets??

  66. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Do your employees enjoy not being able to receive personal phone calls at work?

    If it's important, they can receive a call via the switchboard. If it's not important, it can wait until they leave work, or go to lunch. It's reasonable for an employer to use protection when engaging in information exchange.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  67. Re:You comment is invalid. by jones_supa · · Score: 1

    Just for completeness, here's also a YouTube link to the Winamp whips llama jingle.

  68. Control? by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure how your two point relates to mine "Dell willingly!? under Microsofts Heal" but to address them.

    Dells success [and I am happy to correct it] was all about "Supply chain management" with its pick your consumer parts. Dell always had competition [as does every healthy market] pretending that ODMs have any kind of advantage is kind of missing Dells business model. Dell were never innovative, cutting edge, first movers.

    As for your whole consumer vs business; electronics vs General purpose computer argument. It simply doesn't add up [and ironically contradicts your ODM argument]. Customers are choosing Android because its pretty good on affordable devices. The fact that its free [patent problems aside] and customisable obviously adds to the appeal, but its the fact that Companies are making *money* because of *Demand* that is why they are choosing it.

    Microsoft destroyed many companies through partnerships and allegiances, and Ink may have been used behind closed doors, but the harsh reality is Dell has made a strategic business decision to become an end-to-end service provider [whatever you think of that], and is simply doing that on Microsoft's Platform.

    1. Re:Control? by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Samsung is end to end, ASUS is end to end, ACER is end to end, and the likes of Panasonic, LG and Sony are end to end. Dell is an overhead not a manufacturer. Market consolidation, as for cars so for electronics means Dell is doomed. The real long term players are the companies with real depth, companies who can manufacture a whole range of products. New companies like Huwei etc. are the ones that will finally kill Dell in the cross fire with other major electronics and appliance firms. China has no patience for Dell.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    2. Re:Control? by crutchy · · Score: 1

      true, however i do like alienware... hopefully dell doesn't take it down too

  69. Another Vendor That Probably Doesn't Get It by simpz · · Score: 1

    Dell is just another vendor that thinks MS will pull them all back up with them into a new Windows monopoly world, this time on PC, tablet and phone.

    Maybe will happen, seems not so likely this time....

    These guys just can't see anyway that MS could lose in a market they enter, just like they have never lost for almost the last 30 years.

    Others in this delusion would be Nokia and former HP management (ditching their own better tablet OS).

  70. Not Surprising by David_Hart · · Score: 0

    Dell seems to be going the way of HP. Apple is still doing well, even though the economy and re-releasing the same products every 6 months is starting to hurt them. The reason why Apple has done as well as they have is decent quality products. Dell has forgotten that it's innovation and good products that drive the computing industry. Instead, they have been happily making smaller and smaller margins for mediocre products.

    In my opinion, the most innovative products are coming out of Samsung and ASUS today. Apple still has good products, but they seem to have run out of innovation and have changed their focus to suing everyone in the industry to slow down their competitors. ASUS had one of the first Android tablets (Transformer Infinity) with a higher end "retina" style display and are doing the same with their Windows based Ultra-Portables.

  71. Nothing to do with maintaining massive profits. by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    Well I'm no expert, but both CNBC and Bloomberg agree the at lot of the recent drop in Apples stock price i sou to investors worrying over a rather large hike in "Capital gains" taxes if the Fiscal cliff hits, the want to get there gains reported before that point (well who really wants to bay more tax then they have to?).
    So my uneducated guess is that Apples stock price well see a nice little rise in the beginning of 2013

    Its off-topic, and you need to pay more attention. The only thing certain about Apples three month drop in share value is there is no one reason. The fact is its strategy of perusing profits over market share is now failing. I suspect there will be a topic on this soon to properly discuss it.

    But my points were more companies so not exist for the benefits of shareholders interest....I could have picked RIM or Nokia as an example. Whose share prices are going up!!!

  72. 2013 by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    2013 is going to be the year of Chrome on the Desktop!
    Sorry, couldn't help...

    2013 is going to be the year Android overtakes Windows in Marketshare.

  73. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  74. Candidate for "best of Slashdot" by tekrat · · Score: 1

    I was only days away from giving up on this site and never coming back, but this post has restored my faith in Slashdot's ability to keep me entertained. Bravo Sir!

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
  75. Don't blame marketing for the CEO's beliefs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... countless examples of technology companies using the sell-a-turd-as-a-diamond marketing for new products ...

    Aw, cut marketing some slack, it's more like upper management believing that, if they are tight-ass enough, they can eat carbon life forms and shit diamonds.

  76. Dell put itself in that position by tepples · · Score: 1

    Dell like all the OEM's is in the position of having only one supplier for its OS

    To my left is a Dell machine running Ubuntu. If Dell broke with Canonical as a secondary operating system supplier, Dell put itself in that position.

  77. Re:You comment is invalid. by ScienceofSpock · · Score: 1

    That was the only reason I liked WinAmp. WinAmp kicked the llama's ass. When it stopped kicking the llama's ass, I stopped using it. Get in line for your asskicking, little llama!

    Hey waitaminute! When did it STOP whipping/kicking the llama's ass? I still use winamp, quite simply, because I haven't found anything that works better

  78. Re:You comment is invalid. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

    These days, I'm on Linux, and I use VLC media player for everything. VLC is also available for Windows, and I've met some Windows users who love it just as much as I do. WinAmp stopped whipping the Llama's ass about the time that - uhhh - was it AOL who bought it from the developer? Or Yahoo? Someone bought it, paid the developer to continue developing, but put restrictions on him. No whipping the llama's ass, for one thing.

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  79. Re:You comment is invalid. by ScienceofSpock · · Score: 1

    I'll have to check when I get home, but I believe they removed the "no whipping" restrictions :)

  80. Dell should just shut down... by rberger · · Score: 1

    Dell should just shut down the company and sell the stock back to shareholders

    http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-203937.html

  81. Re:HP clueless as well by marcosdumay · · Score: 1

    You know, the PC market has an incredibly low barrier to entry. If the big players get out, the space will be full again in... How long does it take to open a business in your country?

  82. Re:There are no more "Enterprise" phones and table by the_other_chewey · · Score: 1

    Do your employees enjoy not being able to receive personal phone calls at work?

    Yeah, because nobody has a phone on the desk. Also: How on Earth did you survive
    in pre-mobile-phone times?

  83. Re:You comment is invalid. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "it really whips the llama's ass." No "arse" involved.

  84. drug use; racism; bullying; witches and murder by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    All I need to know about RMS is that he looks like a fat hobo who eats his own toe jam. It is impossible to respect anyone like that.

    Steve Jobs had to work nights because his fellow workers complained about his smell; Bill Gates rocks like a crazy person while he lies under oath. Linus Torvalds potty mouth is in evident everywhere. I've just focused snapshots on the stars although I have skipped over most of the drug use; racism; bullying; witches and murder. If the best you can do is an unsavoury habit he is in good company. The fact that he has achieved more than you, I and most people should be humbling. The fact that your trolling threads with character assassination while he has started a movement; been lead programmer *personally* on great projects like gcc. kind of shows who you are. :)

    1. Re:drug use; racism; bullying; witches and murder by BitZtream · · Score: 1

      And only fanboys worship any of those people, all of which are douchebags and have contributed far far less than they are given credit for.

      None of them made what they are known for alone, most of them didn't even do the majority of the work. Fanboy's just tend to ignore the fact that other people made what they attribute to their heros.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
  85. It Follows :) by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    Complete non-sequitur. How does anything you wrote refute what the GP wrote?

    Don't think you know what a non-sequitur(sic) is. My response was simply stating that he didn't understand what stallman wants, because the AC was implying that Stallman wants the end of these computer and content industries. He doesn't, he wants his definition of free software [although covers DRM; privacy and other topics] for computer users. He advocates change. Even if I was completely wrong its not a Non sequitur because true or false my argument is directly related to his comment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur_(logic).

    1. Re:It Follows :) by unixisc · · Score: 1

      The hyphen made it a spelling error? Whatever!

      Anyway, RMS is on record as saying that he'd like to see proprietary software, particularly Microsoft, go out of business, or disappear from the market. So what the AC said was pretty accurate at least for them, if not for Dell or others. Aside from that, RMS hates other companies that have made successful business models from GPL software - at least the most successful ones, such as Android and TiVo. What you said about his philosophy is right, but there is a whole bunch of anti-business undercurrents that come w/ it, and which just about everybody has figured out by now.

      The reason your post was a non sequitur was that it did not contradict the AC's implicit assertion that RMS wants Microsoft, Dell and the content media guys to go out of business. In all of RMS's writings, he has been pretty clear about both the content media companies, as well as Microsoft. In other words, both your assertion and his are correct, which is why I called it a non sequitur. Had your assertion been a contradiction of his statement, both could not be correct.

      But as it turns out, they are.

  86. Market Share by nurb432 · · Score: 1

    Their market wants windows, so they cater to the market.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  87. Re:HP clueless as well by BitZtream · · Score: 1

    'HP is going down if rumors are correct' has been said for the last 20 years that I've been paying attention.

    --
    Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
  88. Low end Dell with ubuntu by vandamme · · Score: 1

    For the cheapskate/n00b_uncle/websurfer, you can get a low end laptop for $300. Same machine with Windows, an extra $70.

    http://www.dell.com/us/soho/p/laptops.aspx?c=us&cs=ussoho1&l=en&s=soho&~ck=mn#!facets=53996~0~839326&p=1

    And it even comes with a tape drive, according to the spec sheet!

  89. Re:good luck with that - Linux futures.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

        You are joking with this one - aren't you ?

          But ok - here we are ..

        1) SPEED and efficiency !!!
        2) Stability !!!
        3) Price !!!
        4) Linux is OpenSource - so you have your program sources in case of problems.
        5) Linux fantastic scalability - you car run it on - from watches to supercomputers..
        6) Better security...
        7) Enormous flexibility... most processors supported from ARM..,Atom.. to some archaic even..
        8) Luck of LOCK IN to single vendor !
        9) Lack of software registries witch slows your Windows down after each new app installed..
    10) Support of enormous amount of different filesystems strait away !!
    11) Number of programming languages available !!! - FOR FREEE !!!

      Need more ? I just would like to avoid confusing you to much...

       

  90. Targeting business customers? by toriver · · Score: 1

    I guess "dude, you got a Dell" has to change into "manager, you got a Dell" instead then.