I don't think that having a seperate "Windows Legacy" OS would detract from MS's market share, as long as Windows 7 supports Win 200x and Win XP apps. Think about it - the only people who would suffer from this would be the people running code that was meant to run on DOS, Win 3.x, and Win 9x. These people haven't upgraded their apps in over a decade. Do you really think they would be rushing out to upgrade their OS, anyway?
Alexa perfectly illustrates one of my biggest difficulties in dealing with businesspeople - they want numbers, and while they would prefer good numbers, they'll take bad numbers if none others are available. This contradicts my instinct to not report data unless I'm pretty damn sure that it's accurate.
That aside, I think that Alexa is misleading, but not useless. The only people who install the Alexa toolbar are the type of people who think that its statistics are meaningful and worthwhile. Thus, it's a good way to tell if advertising and bizdev people are looking at your site, but it's not really good for much else.
When I was getting my BS in computer science, they made us minor in math. As a result, I had to spend hours and hours doing a whole bunch of math that I pretty much hated. The worst part was that in no way did the math help me to become a better programmer. Sure, if I were doing graphics processing or AI or something like that, I'd probably need some math, but those have never been my areas of interest. Since I've graduated, I haven't used calc or liner algebra or advanced stat a single time. By this point, I've probably forgotten it all.
It's sad to think that all the time I spent doing math in college could have been spent learning useful things, like design patterns or UI design or unit testing.
To my mind, the reviewer and author are simply rehashing Jared Diamond's argument that "Invention is the mother of necessity." Of course, I'm not under the impression that Diamond invented this line of argument - in fact, I'm sure it's just as old as the argument that innovation drives technology. Ultimately, the two arguments go hand-in-hand, and one is no more true then the other.
Ok, so, in other words, you've become the people I hate.
Hapless User : "Ummm, I'm having problems... My computer's not working right, I think I have spyware or something..."
Smug, Obnoxious You : "Buy a Mac!"
Computers are fabulously complex things, and to the user, the operating system is the most complex part of all. Sure, hardware and CPUs are plenty complex, but the user never has to experience this. That is why users can swap out different pieces of hardware, and vendors can be cut-throat when it comes to hardware pricing and configuration.
The user does not want to make their computer experience more complex then it needs to be. Thus, when it comes to operating systems, the "if it works, don't mess with it" line of thinking pervades. Even switching to something as user-friendly as OSX can mean an increase in complexity when the OS is different from what their office or computer-savvy friends (whom they turn to for advice) use.
I've always been of the opinion that Linux, OSX, and other boutique operating systems are for people who really *care* a lot about their OS. Everybody else is just happy with something that works, and don't want to mess with it.
Let's see... This is the same Mark Helprin who wrote the book "Winter's Tale," which is loosely based on the Shakespearean work by the same name.
Thus, if copyrights really did last forever, Helprin would owe a metric ass-ton of money to the Bard's descendants.
If you work in IT, you get lots of complaints from lots of people who have no idea what you're up against.
Chances are that if you're still employed, that means at least your boss likes you. Sure, your boss has problems with the computers and software in the office just like everyone else. However, he also understands the series of tradeoffs that led to the system being the way it is.
Users often aren't aware of these tradeoffs. Furthermore, they often don't even care. They're concerned about their project, their program, and their computer. This isn't because they're childish or self-centered. They just don't have the same perspective as IT or management.
So users complain. They complain a lot. They get angry. Furious. They say silly things. And yes, sometimes they do act childish.
And so what do we do? We make jokes. We laugh it off. We make snarky quips over IM about 'lusers' who clearly don't get it. What the hell else are we going to do?
IT resources are finite, and we are not magicians. Until the world understands this, there will be a disconnect between "IT" and "the users."
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I don't think that having a seperate "Windows Legacy" OS would detract from MS's market share, as long as Windows 7 supports Win 200x and Win XP apps. Think about it - the only people who would suffer from this would be the people running code that was meant to run on DOS, Win 3.x, and Win 9x. These people haven't upgraded their apps in over a decade. Do you really think they would be rushing out to upgrade their OS, anyway?
Alexa perfectly illustrates one of my biggest difficulties in dealing with businesspeople - they want numbers, and while they would prefer good numbers, they'll take bad numbers if none others are available. This contradicts my instinct to not report data unless I'm pretty damn sure that it's accurate. That aside, I think that Alexa is misleading, but not useless. The only people who install the Alexa toolbar are the type of people who think that its statistics are meaningful and worthwhile. Thus, it's a good way to tell if advertising and bizdev people are looking at your site, but it's not really good for much else.
When I was getting my BS in computer science, they made us minor in math. As a result, I had to spend hours and hours doing a whole bunch of math that I pretty much hated. The worst part was that in no way did the math help me to become a better programmer. Sure, if I were doing graphics processing or AI or something like that, I'd probably need some math, but those have never been my areas of interest. Since I've graduated, I haven't used calc or liner algebra or advanced stat a single time. By this point, I've probably forgotten it all.
It's sad to think that all the time I spent doing math in college could have been spent learning useful things, like design patterns or UI design or unit testing.
To my mind, the reviewer and author are simply rehashing Jared Diamond's argument that "Invention is the mother of necessity." Of course, I'm not under the impression that Diamond invented this line of argument - in fact, I'm sure it's just as old as the argument that innovation drives technology. Ultimately, the two arguments go hand-in-hand, and one is no more true then the other.
the first release of NT (which for marketing reasons was called version 3.1)
Huh?
Ok, so, in other words, you've become the people I hate. Hapless User : "Ummm, I'm having problems... My computer's not working right, I think I have spyware or something..." Smug, Obnoxious You : "Buy a Mac!"
Computers are fabulously complex things, and to the user, the operating system is the most complex part of all. Sure, hardware and CPUs are plenty complex, but the user never has to experience this. That is why users can swap out different pieces of hardware, and vendors can be cut-throat when it comes to hardware pricing and configuration.
The user does not want to make their computer experience more complex then it needs to be. Thus, when it comes to operating systems, the "if it works, don't mess with it" line of thinking pervades. Even switching to something as user-friendly as OSX can mean an increase in complexity when the OS is different from what their office or computer-savvy friends (whom they turn to for advice) use.
I've always been of the opinion that Linux, OSX, and other boutique operating systems are for people who really *care* a lot about their OS. Everybody else is just happy with something that works, and don't want to mess with it.
Let's see... This is the same Mark Helprin who wrote the book "Winter's Tale," which is loosely based on the Shakespearean work by the same name. Thus, if copyrights really did last forever, Helprin would owe a metric ass-ton of money to the Bard's descendants.
Wow, that essay was the worst thing I've read since the second half of "Winter's Tale."
If you work in IT, you get lots of complaints from lots of people who have no idea what you're up against.
Chances are that if you're still employed, that means at least your boss likes you. Sure, your boss has problems with the computers and software in the office just like everyone else. However, he also understands the series of tradeoffs that led to the system being the way it is.
Users often aren't aware of these tradeoffs. Furthermore, they often don't even care. They're concerned about their project, their program, and their computer. This isn't because they're childish or self-centered. They just don't have the same perspective as IT or management.
So users complain. They complain a lot. They get angry. Furious. They say silly things. And yes, sometimes they do act childish.
And so what do we do? We make jokes. We laugh it off. We make snarky quips over IM about 'lusers' who clearly don't get it. What the hell else are we going to do? IT resources are finite, and we are not magicians. Until the world understands this, there will be a disconnect between "IT" and "the users."