Because Microsoft is controled by its Marketing Dept. Vista was supposed to put to bed the notion that Windows is inherently insecure. That was goal #1 company wide.
But, just like when NT was under development, too many compromises were made. Microsoft needs a balls-out technical effort, just to show that they can produce technology that can stand with the rest.
First, It would not piss off their base, if they could still run apps through virtualization, or simply stay with the current OS. Building a new OS from scratch doesnt mean simply abandoning the rest. If the new OS offered better performance and security at the cost of upgrading, who would not want that?
Next, it is the backwards compatability, and the need to not break existing apps that has kept Microsoft from throwing out millions of lines of legacy code. It is ridiculous to suggest there isnt the talent there to build a new OS. Cutler could assemble a team and get it done in 3 years.
This uber-geek technical elite you speak of? The ones setting the direction of computing 10 years out? Uh, been there, done that, okay? Its pure nonsense.
You see, eventually these folks, flush with their startup money have to evolve into businesses with CUSTOMERS. This is the moment when all their foresight, vision and knowledge gets kicked in the ass by the reality of their target audience, who whether they like it or not, are generally using Windows in one form or another. I see this all the time. Awesome ideas, cool marketing strategies, beaten senseless by a a few basic questions: "This is cool, but will it work with Exchange? No? Damn, we cant switch. Sorry." "You mean we cant SSO with this?" Or "Okay, but can I control this through GPOs or can we LDAP it with Active Directory? No? Damn. Sorry, we cant switch."
No, Microsoft is not doing anything intreguing, but I think that for the moment(though not too much longer) they have enough entrenchment to fight off all but the most innovative of ideas. Microsoft can still zap Apple any time they want by stopping MS Office development on the MAC. This will change too, but if your business docs are in nothing but Word and Excel, you are not going anywhere soon.
One of the reasons for the dotcom bust was that too many startups never got around to the thought of what their customers WANTED, thinking that they could just convince them that their idea was so cool, so sweet, that they would just jump on it, without business considerations being a factor.
Its just like parental pride in a newborn baby. No matter what it looks like, they think the child is beautiful, when in reality, it could be a hideous creature and they would never know it.
If you are an Entreprenuer who believes that they have a target market large enough to pay back their VC without some form of Windows compatibility, they are headed for a fall, just like all the others before them. You dont find a Google every day of the week.
This would suggest that Microsoft is only asleep, not dead.
They can always wake up, decide to toss out the old OS code, or run it in virtual mode, then build a brand new OS from scratch. Maybe this time, they can let Cutler run wild without without the need for backward-compatibility and make something worth looking at? As Vista is quickly becoming this decade's Windows M.E, Microsoft is going to have to consider taking the big leap.
In the mean time, they can still just sue the crap out of any entreprenuer, right or wrong, because there are few with that kind of cash and time on their hands. Most if not all would just settle, giving Microsoft access to their inventions anyway.
Microsoft in various media statements, has declared that if there is going to be piracy, they want it to be done on their platforms, and TO their platforms. Anything that keeps marketshare from competitors is a good thing, as far as they are concerned.
The truth is, were Linux accessible to the masses, Windows would be free.
Dude, I see your point, but its just a difference in priority. Microsoft has hundreds of people who give a good presentation. I think if Gates and Ballmer were honest, they would tell you that they hate doing presentations, and if they had a choice, would not do them at all.
Wish I had mod points for you, dude. I disabled the fucking power settings, reset the RAID controller, and voila! Thanks, man. By the way, XP did do drive power management, but it was not on be default.
Gotta agree, searches are nice, and blindingly fast after Vista indexes the drive. Even searches over network attached drives not-indexed are much faster.
At this very moment, my primary workstation is in the middle of a Spinrite recovery cycle, because Vista keeps corrupting my SATA Raid, and cause it to disapear.
This computer dual boots XP, where this never happens. The RAID driver is exactly the same on both OS's so I blame Vista.
You think Gates and Ballmer make their own slides, do you? Outside of Outlook, I dont know that either of them have taken the time to learn how to use any of the Office tools. I've done presentation support for Ballmer (the geek behind the curtain in case of a blue screen) and many times, he didnt get a look at the presentation until on the airplane on the to the conference. Those guys have larger issues on their minds. But, if you notice the guys at PDC's or other shows, they are generally well prepared.
Microsoft forces those who will be giving public presentations to take a one week training course on doing it right. It was jokingly called 'Touch-Turn-Talk' school, for those of us hired who were not comfortable public speakers. Probably the best career enhancement class I ever took. We were videotaped and able to see along with our classmates the the true extent of our suckage.
At the end of the class, the improvement was amazing.
No company should allow anyone to speak for them without some sort of formal public speaking training. The ROI is immeasureable. Microsoft is not responsible for companies using Powerpoint, anymore than Sears would be if you use your Craftsman wrench to club your wife in the head.
If a presenter is reading their own slides, it is a dead givaway that they dont really know the subject matter. If a presenter only glances at a slide to see where they are, need to skip ahead, or spend extra time on a particular point through prior audience request, then you have a hope of learning something from that person, which IS THE POINT.
You are not supposed to be learning from the slides, just getting information about what you are hopefully going to learn from the speaker.
By now, if you dont understand MPEG4 or XviD compression, you deserve to get cut off. 5G is what, 8 movies a day?
*Disclamer*
Of course, I know nothing about this, and only overheard someone else talking about it. I LIKE spending 10 dollars a pop at the theater, because there is nothing like having to squeeze past the fat chick in the aisle to fetch a 5 dollar coke for your spouse. I am helping to provide theater jobs for young folks, because I am a good person.
Come on, you know what happened, she asked him if he could come over fix her computer, because her unemployed rock star boyfriend doesnt know anything about those things, and they are running out of hard drive space for their sex videos.
Look at your list, and it would appear that in each case, you let others influence you into doing something other than what you wanted to do.
You love programming? Why the fuck are you not self-employed, so that YOU can decide what you do with your talents, instead of being trapped into making money for someone else by whoring out your time?
I dont get you folks who allow yourselves to be ruled by others, when you have the ability to pick and choose what you do, AND WHO YOU DO IT FOR.
Go with the flow, my ass.
If you are good at what you do, work for yourself.
The right question is: "Which area of IT do you LOVE?"
Almost all areas are 'hot', but that doesnt mean anything. The one that will STAY hot for you, is the one that you love enough to continue your education throughout your career, and dont just pick someting to do for a paycheck.
If you love a particular area, your constant learning and improvement will lead you into related areas and keep you relevant throughout your career, you can move into consulting, writing and development within your chosen area and never miss a beat.
I defy you or any other coder to look back at their early code and say it isnt shit, compared to what they can do now. Early Exchange WAS shit, but even as shit, it kicked the crap out of Notes.
Exchange today, is an awesome piece of software, and wont be matched anytime soon. But even with the old shit, nobody has improved or even come close to what the schedule/calendar was way back when.
As a former member of the original Exchange group, I will make a prediction right now that NOBODY will come up with anything usable with the Exchange protocals that they can use to make a competing application.
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Because Microsoft is controled by its Marketing Dept. Vista was supposed to put to bed the notion that Windows is inherently insecure. That was goal #1 company wide.
But, just like when NT was under development, too many compromises were made. Microsoft needs a balls-out technical effort, just to show that they can produce technology that can stand with the rest.
First, It would not piss off their base, if they could still run apps through virtualization, or simply stay with the current OS. Building a new OS from scratch doesnt mean simply abandoning the rest. If the new OS offered better performance and security at the cost of upgrading, who would not want that?
Next, it is the backwards compatability, and the need to not break existing apps that has kept Microsoft from throwing out millions of lines of legacy code. It is ridiculous to suggest there isnt the talent there to build a new OS. Cutler could assemble a team and get it done in 3 years.
You see, eventually these folks, flush with their startup money have to evolve into businesses with CUSTOMERS. This is the moment when all their foresight, vision and knowledge gets kicked in the ass by the reality of their target audience, who whether they like it or not, are generally using Windows in one form or another. I see this all the time. Awesome ideas, cool marketing strategies, beaten senseless by a a few basic questions: "This is cool, but will it work with Exchange? No? Damn, we cant switch. Sorry." "You mean we cant SSO with this?" Or "Okay, but can I control this through GPOs or can we LDAP it with Active Directory? No? Damn. Sorry, we cant switch."
No, Microsoft is not doing anything intreguing, but I think that for the moment(though not too much longer) they have enough entrenchment to fight off all but the most innovative of ideas. Microsoft can still zap Apple any time they want by stopping MS Office development on the MAC. This will change too, but if your business docs are in nothing but Word and Excel, you are not going anywhere soon.
One of the reasons for the dotcom bust was that too many startups never got around to the thought of what their customers WANTED, thinking that they could just convince them that their idea was so cool, so sweet, that they would just jump on it, without business considerations being a factor.
Its just like parental pride in a newborn baby. No matter what it looks like, they think the child is beautiful, when in reality, it could be a hideous creature and they would never know it.
If you are an Entreprenuer who believes that they have a target market large enough to pay back their VC without some form of Windows compatibility, they are headed for a fall, just like all the others before them. You dont find a Google every day of the week.
They can always wake up, decide to toss out the old OS code, or run it in virtual mode, then build a brand new OS from scratch. Maybe this time, they can let Cutler run wild without without the need for backward-compatibility and make something worth looking at? As Vista is quickly becoming this decade's Windows M.E, Microsoft is going to have to consider taking the big leap.
In the mean time, they can still just sue the crap out of any entreprenuer, right or wrong, because there are few with that kind of cash and time on their hands. Most if not all would just settle, giving Microsoft access to their inventions anyway.
The truth is, were Linux accessible to the masses, Windows would be free.
Dude, I see your point, but its just a difference in priority. Microsoft has hundreds of people who give a good presentation. I think if Gates and Ballmer were honest, they would tell you that they hate doing presentations, and if they had a choice, would not do them at all.
Wish I had mod points for you, dude. I disabled the fucking power settings, reset the RAID controller, and voila! Thanks, man. By the way, XP did do drive power management, but it was not on be default.
Gotta agree, searches are nice, and blindingly fast after Vista indexes the drive. Even searches over network attached drives not-indexed are much faster.
This computer dual boots XP, where this never happens. The RAID driver is exactly the same on both OS's so I blame Vista.
You think Gates and Ballmer make their own slides, do you? Outside of Outlook, I dont know that either of them have taken the time to learn how to use any of the Office tools. I've done presentation support for Ballmer (the geek behind the curtain in case of a blue screen) and many times, he didnt get a look at the presentation until on the airplane on the to the conference. Those guys have larger issues on their minds. But, if you notice the guys at PDC's or other shows, they are generally well prepared.
Microsoft forces those who will be giving public presentations to take a one week training course on doing it right. It was jokingly called 'Touch-Turn-Talk' school, for those of us hired who were not comfortable public speakers. Probably the best career enhancement class I ever took. We were videotaped and able to see along with our classmates the the true extent of our suckage.
At the end of the class, the improvement was amazing.
No company should allow anyone to speak for them without some sort of formal public speaking training. The ROI is immeasureable. Microsoft is not responsible for companies using Powerpoint, anymore than Sears would be if you use your Craftsman wrench to club your wife in the head.
Oh man, you are right. Some joker who cant even remember their own slides when their laptop dies on them. Okay, that IS worse.
If a presenter is reading their own slides, it is a dead givaway that they dont really know the subject matter. If a presenter only glances at a slide to see where they are, need to skip ahead, or spend extra time on a particular point through prior audience request, then you have a hope of learning something from that person, which IS THE POINT.
You are not supposed to be learning from the slides, just getting information about what you are hopefully going to learn from the speaker.
I think we all have, and it is true hell, and creates immediate distrust in the presenter.
Oh wait,.......
Its a fucking joke, stupid!
*Disclamer*
Of course, I know nothing about this, and only overheard someone else talking about it. I LIKE spending 10 dollars a pop at the theater, because there is nothing like having to squeeze past the fat chick in the aisle to fetch a 5 dollar coke for your spouse. I am helping to provide theater jobs for young folks, because I am a good person.
Final Four, or Super Bowl, Dad is saying..."Fuck you, junior, and those arent my kids. Bitch set me up."
Come on, you know what happened, she asked him if he could come over fix her computer, because her unemployed rock star boyfriend doesnt know anything about those things, and they are running out of hard drive space for their sex videos.
When is your book coming out?
Look at your list, and it would appear that in each case, you let others influence you into doing something other than what you wanted to do.
You love programming? Why the fuck are you not self-employed, so that YOU can decide what you do with your talents, instead of being trapped into making money for someone else by whoring out your time?
I dont get you folks who allow yourselves to be ruled by others, when you have the ability to pick and choose what you do, AND WHO YOU DO IT FOR.
Go with the flow, my ass.
If you are good at what you do, work for yourself.
Almost all areas are 'hot', but that doesnt mean anything. The one that will STAY hot for you, is the one that you love enough to continue your education throughout your career, and dont just pick someting to do for a paycheck.
If you love a particular area, your constant learning and improvement will lead you into related areas and keep you relevant throughout your career, you can move into consulting, writing and development within your chosen area and never miss a beat.
Never chase a paycheck.
Exchange today, is an awesome piece of software, and wont be matched anytime soon. But even with the old shit, nobody has improved or even come close to what the schedule/calendar was way back when.
You keep creative. We'll just keep the money.
But I do intend to enjoy watching the efforts.
Good luck, bitches!