Windows XP has been around for more than 5 years on Millions of PCs worldwide. Naturally, there's gonna be heel a lot of configs out there.
But the SP3 tinkers with fundamental things like network drivers, antivirus software, IE browser security model etc. Looks like MS is making XP worse, in order to make Vista look better in comparison. A futile effort, in my opinion.
So many hoops to jump through, before a decent working setup in a corporate setting. But our sysadmins thankfully, aren't doing Automatic Update; because Corporate Intranet apps and Moddle have been working decently only with IE6.
But Vista is much worse despite all these attempts by Microsoft to rubbish XP.
I challenge you to find even the slightest bit of evidence to demonstrate otherwise.
Microsoft is blaming its disappointing third quarter client software sales on factors that exclude Vista. Meanwhile, though, a variety of evidence indicates that many Windows XP users aren't upgrading, but switching to Mac or Linux.
Windows revenues dropped 24% last quarter. This means Microsoft has realised that Vista is a disaster, and non-OS and non-Office markets are the only ways to keep the share-holders happy. Hence the (attempted) Yahoo takeover. Now even that has failed spectacularly.
Asus (EEE PC), Ubuntu and Apple have taken significant desktop market shares away from Microsoft. Extending XP for the UMPC was Microsoft's response for the EEE success. The only way Microsoft can win back the desktop race from Apple and Ubuntu would be to declare Vista a disaster, and bring back XP at a lower price.
Until a newer version of Windows - a sleek, slim edition - comes in, Microsoft will have to pray the desktop marketshare will not erode further. Dropping Ballmer and Vista would be a good first step, though.
If Ballmer wanted to redeem his reputation and save his seat after the Vista disaster, he should've boldly declared that Vista was officially being recalled by Microsoft. All current Vista users should've been given a free license of XP Pro / Media Center edition / XP Home.
As it is, Ballmer will still have to decide on whether to allow / discontinue XP Retail and XP - OEM after June 30. Given that Dell, HP and IBM are pi**ing in their pants about the prospect, and finding ways to still offer XP - it shows clearly that even the biggest OEMs are afraid of losing marketshare to companies like Asus and Apple.
And finally, if at all Microsoft decide to drop Ballmer; I have a very important piece of advice. PLEASE LET THE CHAIR-MAN TAKE HIS CHAIR WHEN HE LEAVES.
It would make excellent business sense for Microsoft to provide support in India. Because India is where software gets produced and supported; it makes sense to be liked by the developer community.
Currently in India, most companies prefer to develop on Java and Oracle on Linux, or PHP on Linux - the LAMP stack..Net has a long way to go - even the Microsoft Compare page talks about PHP, Apache etc on Windows - but few developers are swayed to tkae up Windows servers for Open Source development.
As I said, Premier Support is not available from Microsoft India. Support typically comes from Gold partners, and they have no clue about Server technology, choice of platforms, architecture etc., since these are controlled by Microsoft.
Even in rare instances of virus attacks etc, the firewall vendors provide the support and do the cleanup, not Microsoft. And this is the case despite Corporate Volume Licensing.
It is impossible to get support from Microsoft for a company based in India; even if one is willing to pay money. Microsoft sells Server licenses and Volume licenses and Corporate licenses; but nowhere do they sell Support for server, desktop or home software - atleast in India.
One has to go in for support from Microsoft partners and such, but the MCSEs who work there have little clue as to real problems faced by end users.
It thus makes a lot of sense to invest in Linux-based Open Source solutions because IT users have no use buying just Servers and Licenses - the benefit comes from the applications built on top of the servers.
At a hospital I consult with, for instance; we are replacing the entire in-house VB and.Net based system with a completely open source, open standards compliant system. The company that develops this software provides the necessary support for Linux as well. Unlike frequent virus, service pack and other application compatibility issues on Windows - post-Vista; we are yet to face a single issue with the Linux-based solution over the past 2 years.
I think the "Get The Facts" page from Microsoft should be modified for each country and each industry - a general scenario makes no sense.
Out here in India, about 50% of my workday consists of reading Slashdot. With nothing to do, I started talking to a few colleagues and got cryptic responses and several enquiries of my well-being! It's going to be a long night catching up...
It can't be Windows Server2008, because Server Revenues are shown separately, and they were up since 2007.
Advertising in Vista has no relations to revenues, only expenses.
As far as identical OEM pricing is concerned, I think unless Corporate customers buy PCs with NO OS at all; MS would atleast be getting the same revenue as previous years? The PC market is still growing, so a 24% drop in revenues should be really alarming for Microsoft.
Colour me surprised, I thought with customers buying Vista AND XP; Windows revenue should've gone up actually. Even in Vista, the numerous versions out there seem specifically designed to confuse, and increase revenues.
24% decline in revenues could mean that people are either:
1. Pirating Windows XP very easily or 2. Corporate customers buying PCs with no OS, and installing Corporate licensed XP or 3. People switching over to Macs and Linux.
I think it could be a bit of all the above. In 3 years time, if Microsoft does not release a really good successor to Vista, it could be Curtains for Windows! (TM). Will it happen?
It is absurd to suggest that (a lack of) engineers caused Microsoft's downfall. The more engineers and managers it threw at Vista; the worse the end product. Marketing and (poor) management will be the downfall of Microsoft; not engineers or programmers; H1B or otherwise.
Precluding them from doing further business and consequential damage to competition is much better than mere fines. I'm sure MS wouldn't bat a corporate eyelid before writing a check or checks needed to still compete in the EU.. like in the corrupted ISO voting process.
If OOXML passes and the ISO finds out about the ir-regularities; and later the uselessness of the standard; can it meet again to de-recognise the standard? If so what is the procedure for this?
Presumably then, NVidia used the DDK to build its drivers... which begs the question again; are these crashes to be blamed on NVidia or Microsoft again for releasing crappy DDKs?
For a hardware manufacturer to build h/w for the Windows PC? Is there some SDK or some specified method by which the co. can write device drivers? Or is it done by guesswork and hacking, and paying Microsoft for the honour?
I'm seriously puzzled why and how device drivers can cause such major issues in Windows but seldom in Linux (identical hardware, mind).
If the ISO cannot de-recognise OOXML as a standard, how can they sue MS for callin it one? Like the ISO 9000 audits which are conducted periodically, I think the ISO must review this standard and de-recognise OOXML if it has reasons to believe MS did not act in good faith; and the standard has become unfit to be called one.
Assuming this standard gets passed (God forbid!); and 6 months later we find it's business as usual with Microsoft hindering access to so-called standards, and not implementing the standards in their own products.... preventing interoperability etc. etc.
Can the ISO then meet again and de-recognise the DIS29500 standard?
Why is Parent marked Funny? At my office, we have: 60% Windows 2000 20% Windows XP 6% Windows NT / 98 SE 12% Linux - various flavours
We have more than 2000 PCs in all group companies put together.
Windows 2000 is easily the dominant and quick-to-install; easy to maintain OS. XP is a pain - atleast the downloading of patches and service packs part. We have only 3 systems running Vista and all 3 are none too happy with Vista so far.
I'm sure Vista will be adopted eventually, but it will probably take another 5 years because it (Vista) is as popular as XP is now.
I would wager that XP is about 10 times as popular as Vista now... at the very least. Application (in)compatibility is the single biggest problem for corporates, while for home users... as you said, Vista brings nothing new since a browser and Flash is all that home users need. I think Vista will take much more than 5 years to get adopted... by which time its successor should hopefully mkae it ME-II.
Just an hour ago, I spoke to a Zimbra partner, and he informs me that in case MS does get to buy Yahoo, Zimbra would be out of it, to allay antitrust fears. That would mean Zimbra will have to be sold back by Yahoo and bought over by some other company. Is this true? Or is the popularity of Zimbra the reason why Microsoft would buy Yahoo to kill it off?
Slashdot Mirror
Windows XP has been around for more than 5 years on Millions of PCs worldwide. Naturally, there's gonna be heel a lot of configs out there.
But the SP3 tinkers with fundamental things like network drivers, antivirus software, IE browser security model etc. Looks like MS is making XP worse, in order to make Vista look better in comparison. A futile effort, in my opinion.
So many hoops to jump through, before a decent working setup in a corporate setting. But our sysadmins thankfully, aren't doing Automatic Update; because Corporate Intranet apps and Moddle have been working decently only with IE6.
But Vista is much worse despite all these attempts by Microsoft to rubbish XP.
I challenge you to find even the slightest bit of evidence to demonstrate otherwise.
Microsoft is blaming its disappointing third quarter client software sales on factors that exclude Vista. Meanwhile, though, a variety of evidence indicates that many Windows XP users aren't upgrading, but switching to Mac or Linux.
from here: http://www.betanews.com/article/Why_are_Vista_sales_tapering_off/1209414077
That is the more important question. I doubt Google will take it up again, though.
Windows revenues dropped 24% last quarter. This means Microsoft has realised that Vista is a disaster, and non-OS and non-Office markets are the only ways to keep the share-holders happy. Hence the (attempted) Yahoo takeover. Now even that has failed spectacularly.
Asus (EEE PC), Ubuntu and Apple have taken significant desktop market shares away from Microsoft. Extending XP for the UMPC was Microsoft's response for the EEE success. The only way Microsoft can win back the desktop race from Apple and Ubuntu would be to declare Vista a disaster, and bring back XP at a lower price.
Until a newer version of Windows - a sleek, slim edition - comes in, Microsoft will have to pray the desktop marketshare will not erode further. Dropping Ballmer and Vista would be a good first step, though.
If Ballmer wanted to redeem his reputation and save his seat after the Vista disaster, he should've boldly declared that Vista was officially being recalled by Microsoft. All current Vista users should've been given a free license of XP Pro / Media Center edition / XP Home.
As it is, Ballmer will still have to decide on whether to allow / discontinue XP Retail and XP - OEM after June 30. Given that Dell, HP and IBM are pi**ing in their pants about the prospect, and finding ways to still offer XP - it shows clearly that even the biggest OEMs are afraid of losing marketshare to companies like Asus and Apple.
And finally, if at all Microsoft decide to drop Ballmer; I have a very important piece of advice. PLEASE LET THE CHAIR-MAN TAKE HIS CHAIR WHEN HE LEAVES.
It would make excellent business sense for Microsoft to provide support in India. Because India is where software gets produced and supported; it makes sense to be liked by the developer community.
.Net has a long way to go - even the Microsoft Compare page talks about PHP, Apache etc on Windows - but few developers are swayed to tkae up Windows servers for Open Source development.
Currently in India, most companies prefer to develop on Java and Oracle on Linux, or PHP on Linux - the LAMP stack.
As I said, Premier Support is not available from Microsoft India. Support typically comes from Gold partners, and they have no clue about Server technology, choice of platforms, architecture etc., since these are controlled by Microsoft.
Even in rare instances of virus attacks etc, the firewall vendors provide the support and do the cleanup, not Microsoft. And this is the case despite Corporate Volume Licensing.
It is impossible to get support from Microsoft for a company based in India; even if one is willing to pay money. Microsoft sells Server licenses and Volume licenses and Corporate licenses; but nowhere do they sell Support for server, desktop or home software - atleast in India.
.Net based system with a completely open source, open standards compliant system. The company that develops this software provides the necessary support for Linux as well. Unlike frequent virus, service pack and other application compatibility issues on Windows - post-Vista; we are yet to face a single issue with the Linux-based solution over the past 2 years.
One has to go in for support from Microsoft partners and such, but the MCSEs who work there have little clue as to real problems faced by end users.
It thus makes a lot of sense to invest in Linux-based Open Source solutions because IT users have no use buying just Servers and Licenses - the benefit comes from the applications built on top of the servers.
At a hospital I consult with, for instance; we are replacing the entire in-house VB and
I think the "Get The Facts" page from Microsoft should be modified for each country and each industry - a general scenario makes no sense.
Out here in India, about 50% of my workday consists of reading Slashdot. With nothing to do, I started talking to a few colleagues and got cryptic responses and several enquiries of my well-being! It's going to be a long night catching up...
It can't be Windows Server2008, because Server Revenues are shown separately, and they were up since 2007.
Advertising in Vista has no relations to revenues, only expenses.
As far as identical OEM pricing is concerned, I think unless Corporate customers buy PCs with NO OS at all; MS would atleast be getting the same revenue as previous years? The PC market is still growing, so a 24% drop in revenues should be really alarming for Microsoft.
Colour me surprised, I thought with customers buying Vista AND XP; Windows revenue should've gone up actually. Even in Vista, the numerous versions out there seem specifically designed to confuse, and increase revenues.
24% decline in revenues could mean that people are either:
1. Pirating Windows XP very easily or
2. Corporate customers buying PCs with no OS, and installing Corporate licensed XP or
3. People switching over to Macs and Linux.
I think it could be a bit of all the above. In 3 years time, if Microsoft does not release a really good successor to Vista, it could be Curtains for Windows! (TM). Will it happen?
It is absurd to suggest that (a lack of) engineers caused Microsoft's downfall. The more engineers and managers it threw at Vista; the worse the end product. Marketing and (poor) management will be the downfall of Microsoft; not engineers or programmers; H1B or otherwise.
Precluding them from doing further business and consequential damage to competition is much better than mere fines. I'm sure MS wouldn't bat a corporate eyelid before writing a check or checks needed to still compete in the EU.. like in the corrupted ISO voting process.
and all the water turned into steam!
If OOXML passes and the ISO finds out about the ir-regularities; and later the uselessness of the standard; can it meet again to de-recognise the standard? If so what is the procedure for this?
Presumably then, NVidia used the DDK to build its drivers... which begs the question again; are these crashes to be blamed on NVidia or Microsoft again for releasing crappy DDKs?
For a hardware manufacturer to build h/w for the Windows PC? Is there some SDK or some specified method by which the co. can write device drivers? Or is it done by guesswork and hacking, and paying Microsoft for the honour?
I'm seriously puzzled why and how device drivers can cause such major issues in Windows but seldom in Linux (identical hardware, mind).
If the ISO cannot de-recognise OOXML as a standard, how can they sue MS for callin it one? Like the ISO 9000 audits which are conducted periodically, I think the ISO must review this standard and de-recognise OOXML if it has reasons to believe MS did not act in good faith; and the standard has become unfit to be called one.
Assuming this standard gets passed (God forbid!); and 6 months later we find it's business as usual with Microsoft hindering access to so-called standards, and not implementing the standards in their own products.... preventing interoperability etc. etc.
Can the ISO then meet again and de-recognise the DIS29500 standard?
If yes, what is the procedure for this process?
on his blog for more details.
http://www.robweir.com/blog/2008/03/contra-durusau-part-1.html
This guy Durusau seems to have changed his mind to a pro-MS shill in recent times.
Why is Parent marked Funny? At my office, we have:
60% Windows 2000
20% Windows XP
6% Windows NT / 98 SE
12% Linux - various flavours
We have more than 2000 PCs in all group companies put together.
Windows 2000 is easily the dominant and quick-to-install; easy to maintain OS. XP is a pain - atleast the downloading of patches and service packs part. We have only 3 systems running Vista and all 3 are none too happy with Vista so far.
I remember a CNN news snippet on YouTube... it's just not worth pirating Vista, unless one is a hardcore masochist, of course.
I'm sure Vista will be adopted eventually, but it will probably take another 5 years because it (Vista) is as popular as XP is now.
I would wager that XP is about 10 times as popular as Vista now... at the very least. Application (in)compatibility is the single biggest problem for corporates, while for home users... as you said, Vista brings nothing new since a browser and Flash is all that home users need. I think Vista will take much more than 5 years to get adopted... by which time its successor should hopefully mkae it ME-II.
Just an hour ago, I spoke to a Zimbra partner, and he informs me that in case MS does get to buy Yahoo, Zimbra would be out of it, to allay antitrust fears. That would mean Zimbra will have to be sold back by Yahoo and bought over by some other company. Is this true? Or is the popularity of Zimbra the reason why Microsoft would buy Yahoo to kill it off?