I'll be honest; I'm not sure why there's so much delay before the general release anyhow.
Microsoft is carefully stage-managing the hype.
They are well aware that they need a win, some way to coax computer users off XP without frightening them into jumping off the Windows ship altogether. They can't take a risk by producing an innovative or interesting OS, but they still need to generate some excitement to erase all the bad feeling generated by Vista.
So they release a mildly facelifted version of their failed OS, rely on improved hardware to mask the worst of the sluggishness and hype it to the max.
Government-owned implies tax-funded, which means that the costs have already been shifted to the general public.
The Australian general public paid for it.
American companies are exploiting it (and charging Australians premium prices for it).
Do you see why Australians might like to see an organisation which has been funded by us, and will return benefits to us, receiving the profits of their invested capital rather than the money going to organisations which have no connection to the Australian general public?
Does anyone else think these companies are the real trolls?
Duh.
Though the way so many American companies have been allowed to transform themselves into brutal, antisocial organisations speaks more of a failed regulatory climate than an inherent failure of the businesses themselves.
Let's wait for the final build before you start omgwtftrashing MS.
Oooooh, poor baby MS. Did I hurt their widdle feelings now? Should we refrain from commenting on ANY beta software?
Anyway, it's not just me that's panning it.
Stephen Frank said
I’ve been a recreational and professional computer user for, what, 25 years, and I can’t make heads or tails of the user interface on this Office 2010 preview...
Seriously, go look at this thing.
Or how about Scott Feldstein
Sweet jebus noooo!
Why does Office have to look like you're piloting the friggin' space shuttle?.
FWIW, my prediction is that Office 2010 will be the Vista of MS Office suites.
Unless you're desperate to stick with Microsoft products or are part of a large organisation which can use the collaboration features, there's better options out there. It's a huge, slow, clumsy tool, not something that welcomes casual use.
I'd suggest you get hold of the tech preview and see for yourself.
since their media department is funded better then the NSA to disagree with them only reveals futile ignorance? I think you missed a couple of steps somewhere....
I think its more Microsoft attempting to be similar to Apple. But the problem is they are failing because PCs are just too common.
I think you're right about what they're attempting, but not that they're failing.
They're not trying to make themselves look cool, because as you say, they sell a ubiquitous product. What they are doing is setting their customers up to feel hip. The advert makes it very easy to sneer and feel superior to the awkward geeks portrayed by the actors on screen. People like to feel superior, they even feel more graciously disposed to their 'inferiors'. They might even hold ironic or deliberately grungy versions of the Win 7 parties themselves.
So, as alert consumers, you have to ask yourself one question:
"Which is more likely, that an advertising agency with a virtually unlimited budget would make such a truly amateurish video, or that you are being subtly manipulated?"
It's grim, it's slow, everything's badly designed and nothing really works properly: using Windows is like living in a communist bloc nation circa 1981.
Seriously though, I think the video is pretty successful. Microsoft has been desperate to hype Windows 7, and the OS itself just isn't an exciting product. The average computer-buying person will notice there have been a few interface changes, muddle through getting their favourite apps and files on the machine, then carry on using it as though it was still 1995.
Under the hood, the software may be vastly more sophisticated, but in terms of user interaction, not much has changed for more than a decade. And in many ways, that's what their main customers, large businesses want. They don't want to have to retrain employees, change business process, etc, etc.
So for Microsoft to get people to notice they have a new product out, they need to get some discussion going. They can't outcompete Apple in cool, and that's not their key market. They've chosen a slightly retro, awkward and geeky theme to these adverts, and trust me, the awkwardness is intentional (Remember Bill Gates and Seinfeld?).
It's not a bad marketing trick for a vast, habitually arrogant organisation to portray itself as a geeky underdog. It feels a lot less threatening that way.
Firstly, this is a collaboration with ETH Zurich, not exclusively a Microsoft project, and secondly, the OS isn't available under any existing license. to quote:
Excluding some third-party libraries, which are covered by various BSD-like open source licenses, Barrelfish is released under the following license (also included in the download):
Copyright (c) 2007, 2008, 2009, ETH Zurich and Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
* Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
* The names of the authors may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
It's great that this source will be open for study, at least at this early stage, but it's very likely to be locked away under copyright and/or patents by the time it becomes useful.
Slashdot Mirror
What a ridiculous answer.
So you were just trolling all along? Ok, you got me this time, but it'll be something I'll remember next time I see one of your advertorials.
I don't use Microsoft's OS or any of their other products for that matter.
The people who make the software I use already listen to my feedback, and don't have a history of abusing my trust.
Why would I help Microsoft? They've done nothing to earn my loyalty and a lot to earn my contempt.
Does it? It seems like it would require a VERY complicated answer to me.
Since it's so simple, perhaps you could help us get started by describing your innovative OS concepts.
Are you guys SO desperate for ideas for Win 8 that you have to ask random Slashdotters for hints?
Microsoft is carefully stage-managing the hype.
They are well aware that they need a win, some way to coax computer users off XP without frightening them into jumping off the Windows ship altogether. They can't take a risk by producing an innovative or interesting OS, but they still need to generate some excitement to erase all the bad feeling generated by Vista.
So they release a mildly facelifted version of their failed OS, rely on improved hardware to mask the worst of the sluggishness and hype it to the max.
Profit.
Lake Tanganyika/Malawi cichlids.
The Australian general public paid for it.
American companies are exploiting it (and charging Australians premium prices for it).
Do you see why Australians might like to see an organisation which has been funded by us, and will return benefits to us, receiving the profits of their invested capital rather than the money going to organisations which have no connection to the Australian general public?
Duh.
Though the way so many American companies have been allowed to transform themselves into brutal, antisocial organisations speaks more of a failed regulatory climate than an inherent failure of the businesses themselves.
Desperation sets in...
Indeed.
If the BSA was genuinely concerned about software piracy, they'd be actively promoting free and open alternatives.
Oooooh, poor baby MS. Did I hurt their widdle feelings now? Should we refrain from commenting on ANY beta software? Anyway, it's not just me that's panning it.
Stephen Frank said
I’ve been a recreational and professional computer user for, what, 25 years, and I can’t make heads or tails of the user interface on this Office 2010 preview...
Seriously, go look at this thing.
Or how about Scott Feldstein
Sweet jebus noooo! .
Why does Office have to look like you're piloting the friggin' space shuttle?
FWIW, my prediction is that Office 2010 will be the Vista of MS Office suites.
Have you tried Office 10?
Unless you're desperate to stick with Microsoft products or are part of a large organisation which can use the collaboration features, there's better options out there. It's a huge, slow, clumsy tool, not something that welcomes casual use.
I'd suggest you get hold of the tech preview and see for yourself.
They have one main use.
They contribute about $12,000,000,000.00 per year towards making Windows the most stable, secure and innovative OS on the planet.
What about apt and in-house repositories?
Reprepro in particular seems to be up to the task
http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/286
Hey, why not? We've had Microsoft's evangelism team infesting this place with the same goal for years.
A few more pointless drones generating high-tech buzzes won't make a lot of difference.
Microsoft's consulting services developed the "sucky software".
Microsoft developed the underlying platform.
If the company that developed the platform can't even build a stable solution on it, what hope is there for anyone else?
The patents are of less value to Microsoft than the disruption they'd cause Linux/FOSS
They'll sell them to a third party.
They've already used Sco in a similar role, and tried to offsell other patents to patent trolls. They'll be more careful how they do it next time.
Careful, he'll be throwing chairs again soon!
Evolution?
More likely Outlook and the colander-like OS it runs on.
I think you missed the whole stairway!
That's not even close to what I said.
[Citation Needed]
Do you have any benchmarks showing performance improvements over anything but Vista?
I think you're right about what they're attempting, but not that they're failing.
They're not trying to make themselves look cool, because as you say, they sell a ubiquitous product. What they are doing is setting their customers up to feel hip. The advert makes it very easy to sneer and feel superior to the awkward geeks portrayed by the actors on screen. People like to feel superior, they even feel more graciously disposed to their 'inferiors'. They might even hold ironic or deliberately grungy versions of the Win 7 parties themselves.
So, as alert consumers, you have to ask yourself one question:
"Which is more likely, that an advertising agency with a virtually unlimited budget would make such a truly amateurish video, or that you are being subtly manipulated?"
Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
That's because the video is intended to mirror the real-life experience of using a Microsoft OS.
To quote Charlie Brooker;
It's grim, it's slow, everything's badly designed and nothing really works properly: using Windows is like living in a communist bloc nation circa 1981.
Seriously though, I think the video is pretty successful. Microsoft has been desperate to hype Windows 7, and the OS itself just isn't an exciting product. The average computer-buying person will notice there have been a few interface changes, muddle through getting their favourite apps and files on the machine, then carry on using it as though it was still 1995.
Under the hood, the software may be vastly more sophisticated, but in terms of user interaction, not much has changed for more than a decade. And in many ways, that's what their main customers, large businesses want. They don't want to have to retrain employees, change business process, etc, etc.
So for Microsoft to get people to notice they have a new product out, they need to get some discussion going. They can't outcompete Apple in cool, and that's not their key market. They've chosen a slightly retro, awkward and geeky theme to these adverts, and trust me, the awkwardness is intentional (Remember Bill Gates and Seinfeld?).
It's not a bad marketing trick for a vast, habitually arrogant organisation to portray itself as a geeky underdog. It feels a lot less threatening that way.
Cooking may not have made us human, but it certainly makes us crispy.
Firstly, this is a collaboration with ETH Zurich, not exclusively a Microsoft project, and secondly, the OS isn't available under any existing license. to quote:
Excluding some third-party libraries, which are covered by various BSD-like open source licenses, Barrelfish is released under the following license (also included in the download):
Copyright (c) 2007, 2008, 2009, ETH Zurich and Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
It's great that this source will be open for study, at least at this early stage, but it's very likely to be locked away under copyright and/or patents by the time it becomes useful.