It would be tempting to try the Netbook Remix as an alternate desktop( session type ). Putting all that wasted space in the title bar to use is a great idea. Using Kubuntu, you'd gain another 40*(screen width) pixels across the bottom of the screen and twice that if you were using standard Gnome-based Ubuntu.
The existing businesses were asked to provide better service and they refused. The fact that the town could implement it from scratch and do it for less money should be a sign for all other towns to consider as a public service for their residents. And it should be used as a testament to how much those companies are ripping off the public and that's without considering the billions they got from the federal government( tax payers ) and did nothing with it.
using this guys logic, he should be saying to dump Microsoft and use another OS due to the large number of breakins on Windows boxes. Notice I didn't say attacks because attacks do not mean security failure. I'll bet he picked his words, or MS did, for legal reasons.
anyways, Microsoft and RSA have been buddy buddies for a few years now so it's no wonder MS has the RSA picking on Adobe. Adobe has almost as large a distribution channel as Microsoft and that makes Adobe a big target. Add to it Adobe's Flash and the target is as large as the one on Tux.
do you think they will ever come up with anything outside of MS Windows which makes them a profit? Please don't say Xbox because they'll need to sell that at a $1 annual profit for a number of years before that pays off the losses over the past many years. MSN has lost billions since the 1990s and their handheld OS platform itself has lost over $10 billion since it hit the market in the 90s.
They have done a great job at protecting and growing the monopoly but come on, they've been a one-hit wonder for over 20 years now. They can't even pull off a media player people like.
As far as what Bill and Steve added to this, IMO Steve was probably ruthless with the OEMs and the sales channels with killer exclusionary contracts. Bill, he made sure that the developers built software which locked ISV's into Windows and had something for Windows which was hot on the market and even if that meant taking it and dealing with the courts a few years later. It was a 2 headed hydra but not any more. Steve is still playing hardball with the OEMs but all he has for a weapon these days is cash kickbacks. Netbooks are a prime example of that seeing how quickly they were willing to increase the device price, increase the device hardware all to fit Windows on it and an old version of Windows at that. Steve still has the marketing dollars holding OEMs to restrict advertising of Linux based products but he's not been able to stop them from selling Linux products, only slow down the sales growth. That'll only last so long and they, Microsoft, have only PC based Windows to rely on for profits. They are great profits but at this point in time, those have little room to go up and lots of room to go down. IMO
So keep these kinds of historic reports coming, people need their eyes opened to what history really was and what the future holds.
What brilliance, they lock out the use of the 2nd most used browser at the same time. Those Redmond people are always coming up with good ideas.;-)
It's really looking like Windows 7 on these little devices is really just an exercise in cramming an elephant into a VW beetle. Even if you can do it, it no longer is really good at getting you anywhere.
My guess is that like the OLPC, they are more interested in stopping the growth or interest in this market segment than they are at enabling it. Anything below the cost of a desktop PC costs them money because Linux is there for the vendors if Microsoft doesn't spend $$$ enticing them to use Windows. So now that Microsoft has purchased up a good portion of the netbook suppliers, giving customers of those devices a constricted experience will go a long way to spread the word that netbooks are limited and useless toys. At least for Windows users and that is currently the majority of the market. Again, because they purchased the preloading of Windows XP and soon Windows 7.
They have a history of destroying markets to protect their desktop market share so look for a major PR campaign in this segment. My guess is that their control of some press people will also result in some major bashing of the ARM devices soon to hit the shelves. It should prove interesting to watch.
I've already heard that anti-virus software is one of the processes getting a pass on the 3 app limit. There really is way too little attention being given to the required anti-virus software this Windows OS is going to need. Both Windows 98 and Windows XP slow down noticeably after installing anti-virus and firewalling and that's on full blown desktop computers yet nothing I've seen so far regarding Windows 7 performance on netbooks discusses this issue. And for some reason, there is very little data out there on Windows 7 performance on the netbook. Way too much Microsoft PR on it but that's mostly it.
Maybe the 3 application limit and restricted process limits are their way of getting around the anti-virus software requirement? It's tougher to run a hidden botnet process when one of the users 3 applications shuts down because of the 3 app limit.
was that a typo, "I get over 2 days with the extended battery with normal use." because it looks like you said you purchased an extra large battery and with just normal use only get 2 days on a charge. Do they really sell phones which only have a 1 day usage capability on the standard battery? ouch.
This reminds me of the old Compaq iPaq running Windows CE. I saw vendors showing their apps on the thing but to be useful, they needed to snap on this huge battery and expansion pack on the back. The thing looked like the original cellphone brick it was so big and heavy.
we'll just have to see what consumers really want when ARM based hardware vendors come marching onto the scene. It's reminding me of the US auto industry and how companies like Tesla, Aptera, Fisker, etc are rising up to fill the technology void the dominant businesses have left.
There was a spark of this happening in the computer industry in the 90s with the PowerPC but with Apple dictating they didn't like the PREP design after it was in production and the 2-3 year delay til CHRP, it stalled and failed. ARM has the niche looking like it was designed for the chip with long battery life, lower than desktop performance expectations, and tiny amounts of heat dissipation.
Like the iPod pulled the Apple Mac back into the mainstream, just maybe the ARM based netbooks and MIDs will pull Linux into the mainstream. Microsoft will have its hands full nailing down every TD&H who can and will build ARM netbooks to try and derail the market like they did the OLPC. IMO
This is really pretty funny because as it was mentioned, they are spending millions on ads going after Apple on "the Apple tax". There are also millions of netbook units shipping and they were required to not only keep Windows XP alive but spend millions in marketing $$$ to get it used. And now they want OSS people to not focus on price?
They are like a spoiled child, 'I want you to buy Windows because Macs are too expensive', 'I want you to use Windows on those little notebooks and we'll pay you', and now, 'I want you free software people to stop talking about price'. I want, I want, I want but none of it is any good for consumers and businesses save one, Microsoft.
Like I said, it's a joke they are asking this and all the while, they have still not figured out how to make money on anything but Windows. It's like they are asking for more time to figure out how to tie the public into another Microsoft-only product even after 20 years of failure. And another $1 billion in R&D isn't going to help. It might buy them a few vendors to stay put but there's no future in that. IMO
I'd bet that Ballmer is pretty pissed this hit the press.
Linux required them to rush Vista out the door so Windows 7 gives them the two more years they needed to really get the upgrade for XP right.
It should make people wonder if Microsoft really is the right company to based their IT on. Before Microsoft, businesses relied on UNIX and only moved to Microsoft because of cost. So, how cost effective is Microsoft really? Considering Linux is really the cheap UNIX, isn't there something there worth jumping too considering how many attempts Microsoft has had producing an OS which was as secure and reliable as UNIX was before the 1990s?
If money moved companies in the past, money should do it again but this time, the jump is to something more reliable and it seems to have a much more consistent development cycle. And you move when you have to, not when one company signs secret NDA's requiring companies to ship one OS to customers when those customers want another OS or version.
ya, give Microsoft a chance since they haven't been at this OS release business for very long.
If you really want to go with someone who's had lots of OS release experience, go with Linux and specifically Ubuntu. They have had 10 OS releases already under their belt and their first release was just 5 years ago. Not only that, when they release, they release not only the OS and desktop but also include thousands of applications and drivers with each release. Microsoft only releases their OS and a much smaller set of drivers and applications with their releases so they're no so experienced at it. In about 5 or 10 years they might have the process down but until then, go with someone with more experience.;-)
only because printing is a large part of what the computer is used for and it is more the understanding of what it does and where it is that's important. Because printers fail, print jobs fail, and printers run out of ink. It probably was not the best example but the concept is simple, it's a core part of what the computer does for the standard user and I've seen or heard way too many pull the printer plug or just let it spit out dozens of pages when somethings gone wrong. They don't know they can stop the print job. Not even a clue that there's a control point.
most people don't know much of anything regarding the computer and the OS. It's all FM to them and they just remember what things look like to click on. Those kinds of people are just what Microsoft likes, needs and wants because they learned to click on Windows and won't like or want anything else.
And our school systems are not helping. They teach how to click on things too and that is it. Ask any highschool kid what a print spooler is. They don't even know the basic functions of the computer and are just taught how to click through a few applications. Exactly how Microsoft likes it and yes, it's bad for Linux.
I've found that after I get them used to Thunderbird instead of OutLook and Firefox instead of IE( had to change the name to Internet Browser, and the icon to "e" ) the move is much much much easier.
Throw in the fact that they don't have to steal MS Office and OpenOffice opens the docs they get sent, it's a much easy sell. They'll still ask you every week for so if the latest virus is something they need to worry about but that'll just make you laugh.
if the users use more of those MS picture things or editing software it's more difficult but the perception of comfort is really false or at very least, quite shallow.
tell them that the software for it is all on the internet and not sold in stores. Then tell/show them that much of the software is found using the "store" built right into the computer which is really the package manager.
If they think it is like Windows then they will think everything about it is like Windows and that is not the case. It is better than Windows and in a better way, different than Windows.
yes, rip that x86 board out of there and put in an ARM board. Didn't we just see a MID prototype with an ARM board in it they bought from Digikey or something like that? I don't even think this thing has a battery so why the $250 manufacturing cost.
What I'd like to see is something like this with an ARM board and with the display tech from the OLPC XO device. You know, the one where you turn off the backlight and it's sunlight readable gray scale. That would be an awesome device.
I think there are already Linux versions of the laser controlled mouse. I remember seeing something where they projected images on the sides of buildings, calibrated the laser colors and for the size of the active region and then put on cool graphic shows from afar.
that's what I said in one sentence. The fact that people can't purchase the latest greatest phones for any network is a limiting factor. We'll see if Android eventually breaks that model in the US.
and Microsoft destroys the market so the marketing droids are out of work. Why get a little laptop for $400-$500 when you can get a real one for $600. Who's going to go for a $300 'one hundred dollar laptop'? And all these low-end Windows based computers have reduced capabilities.
what you said is correct and Microsoft should have been prevented from doing this because of their illegal actions which brought on the anti-trust suit. They were allowed to continue and this practice is used to lock out other companies, other products. And it's not an illegal activity if you don't have a monopoly.
The ARM platform should eliminate this one illegal activity from Microsofts quiver. I just can't see OEMs being _that_ stupid enough to think taking money from Microsoft for installing Windows CE on ARM based netbooks is going to result in sales of the product. And there will be software vendors willing to make deals with OEMs to put their software on Linux based netbooks. For example, isn't LinDVD a result of that?
the difference here is that we are talking about the base OS and Microsoft. _The_ Microsoft found guilty of protecting their OS monopoly. With lots of players and everyone competing it's fine but when one vendor does this with the backing of a monopoly power and position, it easily destroys competition.
If this was somehow a different Microsoft and not one with 20 years of using leverage instead of value and competition to win markets. If it were a Microsoft who ported their applications to what some people wanted instead of only supporting the one system they provide. If there was competition instead of this blind ass view that nobody gets fired for picking Microsoft no matter how bad, expensive, and generally anti-competitive they are then it might not be such a bad thing. But that's not the world we've lived for over 20 years of Microsofts anti-business methods.
And Microsoft doesn't pay vendors to ship Windows with all of those systems. They only do it when there is another choice. When that choice is gone and if the market survives, Microsoft comes knocking with hand out and club over the shoulder.
It's just not the same as Nero signing a deal with an OEM to have their app preloaded. I really wish it were because Windows would be gone or it would be a far far better OS today, in 2009.
They learned from the US banking system that you can make lots of money from nothing( or maybe they learned from Microsoft ) and if you get out before it all collapses, you walk away filthy rich.
They learned they can purchase patents, pay some lawyers to write up threats, tie them up in the court system and eventually milk a steady stream of income from those they attack. Easy money while it lasts and these people have no concept of what's right or wrong. It's what they can get away with and how much they can get while doing it. IMO
run XP in a virtual machine on a 64bit Linux host with Firefox, Thunderbird, and IM client on Linux. Now you have much safer network access for most of what you do and there's Windows tucked safely in a box ready to do what must be done there. As far as MS Office goes, have you tried CrossOver? I saw that demoed over a year ago and MS Office installed and ran quite well.
And it would be nice to see the graphics market move to an open standard where real competition improves the product and not games where the technology owner tries to force customers to change or upgrade their OS to get the new graphics tech( MS DX10 and MS Vista shinanagins ).
we're forcing it on OEMs but pay us and you get to use one of our old products. Wow, such a deal. I wonder why they don't let the OEMs just load XP to begin with? Never mind, I know the answer, they want to force what they think people need onto as many computers as possible and they have the power to do that so they use it.
But it is fun to hear they are so sure of lucky #7 that they have to play the same old games. FYI, I had to touch a Windows XP SP2 system the other day and I was stunned how little multi-threading Microsoft's own system applications and tools have. So 1990s and no wonder their OS is a dog with more CPU cores, it's designed that way. One more thing, WTF is up with the reboots? I'm still amazed people continue to put up with such a pathetic excuse for an OS year after year after year.
yup, it's when Microsoft throws in all those extra marketing dollars and other kickbacks which usually define what an OEM ships preloaded. I had heard of an HP product based on Linux and Java getting canned because the HP marketing department said they'd lose money on the entire product line if the new Linux product shipped because Microsoft would cut off the payments for putting Windows on the systems.
Not every OEM is going to stand up against MS and not take the kickbacks when it means increased profits as long as the product sells. The problem for the OEM is when the user experience is diminished because Windows bloat and anti-virus requirements eats into sales. Microsoft would not care because they'd protect their market if the netbook market failed to get established as a regular device sector/market. They know they'll be losing money on this segment so its failure is good for them. Kinda how they blocked alot of uptake of the OLPC, got them to start playing with Windows, delay, delay, delay and now OLPC is floundering and still now Windows on OLPC.
ARM is a twist in this Microsoft is going to have a tough time with since there are too many advantages of that system for this market. The price goes down and Windows really has tougher time on the platform while Linux still does great and is easier for the OEM to customize for the product. I believe ARM is what is going to keep netbook growth going and prevent Microsoft from causing the market to shrink and this will eventually show up on their financials. IMO.
Slashdot Mirror
It would be tempting to try the Netbook Remix as an alternate desktop( session type ). Putting all that wasted space in the title bar to use is a great idea. Using Kubuntu, you'd gain another 40*(screen width) pixels across the bottom of the screen and twice that if you were using standard Gnome-based Ubuntu.
Anyone tried `sudo apt-get install ubuntu-netbook-remix` yet?
LoB
The existing businesses were asked to provide better service and they refused. The fact that the town could implement it from scratch and do it for less money should be a sign for all other towns to consider as a public service for their residents. And it should be used as a testament to how much those companies are ripping off the public and that's without considering the billions they got from the federal government( tax payers ) and did nothing with it.
LoB
using this guys logic, he should be saying to dump Microsoft and use another OS due to the large number of breakins on Windows boxes. Notice I didn't say attacks because attacks do not mean security failure. I'll bet he picked his words, or MS did, for legal reasons.
anyways, Microsoft and RSA have been buddy buddies for a few years now so it's no wonder MS has the RSA picking on Adobe. Adobe has almost as large a distribution channel as Microsoft and that makes Adobe a big target. Add to it Adobe's Flash and the target is as large as the one on Tux.
LoB
do you think they will ever come up with anything outside of MS Windows which makes them a profit? Please don't say Xbox because they'll need to sell that at a $1 annual profit for a number of years before that pays off the losses over the past many years. MSN has lost billions since the 1990s and their handheld OS platform itself has lost over $10 billion since it hit the market in the 90s.
They have done a great job at protecting and growing the monopoly but come on, they've been a one-hit wonder for over 20 years now. They can't even pull off a media player people like.
As far as what Bill and Steve added to this, IMO Steve was probably ruthless with the OEMs and the sales channels with killer exclusionary contracts. Bill, he made sure that the developers built software which locked ISV's into Windows and had something for Windows which was hot on the market and even if that meant taking it and dealing with the courts a few years later. It was a 2 headed hydra but not any more. Steve is still playing hardball with the OEMs but all he has for a weapon these days is cash kickbacks. Netbooks are a prime example of that seeing how quickly they were willing to increase the device price, increase the device hardware all to fit Windows on it and an old version of Windows at that. Steve still has the marketing dollars holding OEMs to restrict advertising of Linux based products but he's not been able to stop them from selling Linux products, only slow down the sales growth. That'll only last so long and they, Microsoft, have only PC based Windows to rely on for profits. They are great profits but at this point in time, those have little room to go up and lots of room to go down. IMO
So keep these kinds of historic reports coming, people need their eyes opened to what history really was and what the future holds.
LoB
What brilliance, they lock out the use of the 2nd most used browser at the same time. Those Redmond people are always coming up with good ideas. ;-)
It's really looking like Windows 7 on these little devices is really just an exercise in cramming an elephant into a VW beetle. Even if you can do it, it no longer is really good at getting you anywhere.
My guess is that like the OLPC, they are more interested in stopping the growth or interest in this market segment than they are at enabling it. Anything below the cost of a desktop PC costs them money because Linux is there for the vendors if Microsoft doesn't spend $$$ enticing them to use Windows. So now that Microsoft has purchased up a good portion of the netbook suppliers, giving customers of those devices a constricted experience will go a long way to spread the word that netbooks are limited and useless toys. At least for Windows users and that is currently the majority of the market. Again, because they purchased the preloading of Windows XP and soon Windows 7.
They have a history of destroying markets to protect their desktop market share so look for a major PR campaign in this segment. My guess is that their control of some press people will also result in some major bashing of the ARM devices soon to hit the shelves. It should prove interesting to watch.
LoB
I've already heard that anti-virus software is one of the processes getting a pass on the 3 app limit. There really is way too little attention being given to the required anti-virus software this Windows OS is going to need. Both Windows 98 and Windows XP slow down noticeably after installing anti-virus and firewalling and that's on full blown desktop computers yet nothing I've seen so far regarding Windows 7 performance on netbooks discusses this issue. And for some reason, there is very little data out there on Windows 7 performance on the netbook. Way too much Microsoft PR on it but that's mostly it.
Maybe the 3 application limit and restricted process limits are their way of getting around the anti-virus software requirement? It's tougher to run a hidden botnet process when one of the users 3 applications shuts down because of the 3 app limit.
LoB
was that a typo, "I get over 2 days with the extended battery with normal use." because it looks like you said you purchased an extra large battery and with just normal use only get 2 days on a charge. Do they really sell phones which only have a 1 day usage capability on the standard battery? ouch.
This reminds me of the old Compaq iPaq running Windows CE. I saw vendors showing their apps on the thing but to be useful, they needed to snap on this huge battery and expansion pack on the back. The thing looked like the original cellphone brick it was so big and heavy.
LoB
we'll just have to see what consumers really want when ARM based hardware vendors come marching onto the scene. It's reminding me of the US auto industry and how companies like Tesla, Aptera, Fisker, etc are rising up to fill the technology void the dominant businesses have left.
There was a spark of this happening in the computer industry in the 90s with the PowerPC but with Apple dictating they didn't like the PREP design after it was in production and the 2-3 year delay til CHRP, it stalled and failed. ARM has the niche looking like it was designed for the chip with long battery life, lower than desktop performance expectations, and tiny amounts of heat dissipation.
Like the iPod pulled the Apple Mac back into the mainstream, just maybe the ARM based netbooks and MIDs will pull Linux into the mainstream. Microsoft will have its hands full nailing down every TD&H who can and will build ARM netbooks to try and derail the market like they did the OLPC. IMO
LoB
ok, that's funny but what I want to know is HOW did you get First Post?
LoB
This is really pretty funny because as it was mentioned, they are spending millions on ads going after Apple on "the Apple tax". There are also millions of netbook units shipping and they were required to not only keep Windows XP alive but spend millions in marketing $$$ to get it used. And now they want OSS people to not focus on price?
They are like a spoiled child, 'I want you to buy Windows because Macs are too expensive', 'I want you to use Windows on those little notebooks and we'll pay you', and now, 'I want you free software people to stop talking about price'. I want, I want, I want but none of it is any good for consumers and businesses save one, Microsoft.
Like I said, it's a joke they are asking this and all the while, they have still not figured out how to make money on anything but Windows. It's like they are asking for more time to figure out how to tie the public into another Microsoft-only product even after 20 years of failure. And another $1 billion in R&D isn't going to help. It might buy them a few vendors to stay put but there's no future in that. IMO
I'd bet that Ballmer is pretty pissed this hit the press.
LoB
Linux required them to rush Vista out the door so Windows 7 gives them the two more years they needed to really get the upgrade for XP right.
It should make people wonder if Microsoft really is the right company to based their IT on. Before Microsoft, businesses relied on UNIX and only moved to Microsoft because of cost. So, how cost effective is Microsoft really? Considering Linux is really the cheap UNIX, isn't there something there worth jumping too considering how many attempts Microsoft has had producing an OS which was as secure and reliable as UNIX was before the 1990s?
If money moved companies in the past, money should do it again but this time, the jump is to something more reliable and it seems to have a much more consistent development cycle. And you move when you have to, not when one company signs secret NDA's requiring companies to ship one OS to customers when those customers want another OS or version.
LoB
ya, give Microsoft a chance since they haven't been at this OS release business for very long.
If you really want to go with someone who's had lots of OS release experience, go with Linux and specifically Ubuntu. They have had 10 OS releases already under their belt and their first release was just 5 years ago. Not only that, when they release, they release not only the OS and desktop but also include thousands of applications and drivers with each release. Microsoft only releases their OS and a much smaller set of drivers and applications with their releases so they're no so experienced at it. In about 5 or 10 years they might have the process down but until then, go with someone with more experience. ;-)
LoB
only because printing is a large part of what the computer is used for and it is more the understanding of what it does and where it is that's important. Because printers fail, print jobs fail, and printers run out of ink. It probably was not the best example but the concept is simple, it's a core part of what the computer does for the standard user and I've seen or heard way too many pull the printer plug or just let it spit out dozens of pages when somethings gone wrong. They don't know they can stop the print job. Not even a clue that there's a control point.
LoB
most people don't know much of anything regarding the computer and the OS. It's all FM to them and they just remember what things look like to click on. Those kinds of people are just what Microsoft likes, needs and wants because they learned to click on Windows and won't like or want anything else.
And our school systems are not helping. They teach how to click on things too and that is it. Ask any highschool kid what a print spooler is. They don't even know the basic functions of the computer and are just taught how to click through a few applications. Exactly how Microsoft likes it and yes, it's bad for Linux.
LoB
I've found that after I get them used to Thunderbird instead of OutLook and Firefox instead of IE( had to change the name to Internet Browser, and the icon to "e" ) the move is much much much easier.
Throw in the fact that they don't have to steal MS Office and OpenOffice opens the docs they get sent, it's a much easy sell. They'll still ask you every week for so if the latest virus is something they need to worry about but that'll just make you laugh.
if the users use more of those MS picture things or editing software it's more difficult but the perception of comfort is really false or at very least, quite shallow.
LoB
tell them that the software for it is all on the internet and not sold in stores. Then tell/show them that much of the software is found using the "store" built right into the computer which is really the package manager.
If they think it is like Windows then they will think everything about it is like Windows and that is not the case. It is better than Windows and in a better way, different than Windows.
LoB
yes, rip that x86 board out of there and put in an ARM board. Didn't we just see a MID prototype with an ARM board in it they bought from Digikey or something like that? I don't even think this thing has a battery so why the $250 manufacturing cost.
What I'd like to see is something like this with an ARM board and with the display tech from the OLPC XO device. You know, the one where you turn off the backlight and it's sunlight readable gray scale. That would be an awesome device.
LoB
I think there are already Linux versions of the laser controlled mouse. I remember seeing something where they projected images on the sides of buildings, calibrated the laser colors and for the size of the active region and then put on cool graphic shows from afar.
try searching for "projector" "laser" and "computer" and you might find it. Otherwise, http://freshmeat.net/projects/lasertraq/ is what I have found so far.
LoB
that's what I said in one sentence. The fact that people can't purchase the latest greatest phones for any network is a limiting factor. We'll see if Android eventually breaks that model in the US.
LoB
and Microsoft destroys the market so the marketing droids are out of work. Why get a little laptop for $400-$500 when you can get a real one for $600. Who's going to go for a $300 'one hundred dollar laptop'? And all these low-end Windows based computers have reduced capabilities.
what you said is correct and Microsoft should have been prevented from doing this because of their illegal actions which brought on the anti-trust suit. They were allowed to continue and this practice is used to lock out other companies, other products. And it's not an illegal activity if you don't have a monopoly.
The ARM platform should eliminate this one illegal activity from Microsofts quiver. I just can't see OEMs being _that_ stupid enough to think taking money from Microsoft for installing Windows CE on ARM based netbooks is going to result in sales of the product. And there will be software vendors willing to make deals with OEMs to put their software on Linux based netbooks. For example, isn't LinDVD a result of that?
LoB
the difference here is that we are talking about the base OS and Microsoft. _The_ Microsoft found guilty of protecting their OS monopoly. With lots of players and everyone competing it's fine but when one vendor does this with the backing of a monopoly power and position, it easily destroys competition.
If this was somehow a different Microsoft and not one with 20 years of using leverage instead of value and competition to win markets. If it were a Microsoft who ported their applications to what some people wanted instead of only supporting the one system they provide. If there was competition instead of this blind ass view that nobody gets fired for picking Microsoft no matter how bad, expensive, and generally anti-competitive they are then it might not be such a bad thing. But that's not the world we've lived for over 20 years of Microsofts anti-business methods.
And Microsoft doesn't pay vendors to ship Windows with all of those systems. They only do it when there is another choice. When that choice is gone and if the market survives, Microsoft comes knocking with hand out and club over the shoulder.
It's just not the same as Nero signing a deal with an OEM to have their app preloaded. I really wish it were because Windows would be gone or it would be a far far better OS today, in 2009.
LoB
They learned from the US banking system that you can make lots of money from nothing( or maybe they learned from Microsoft ) and if you get out before it all collapses, you walk away filthy rich.
They learned they can purchase patents, pay some lawyers to write up threats, tie them up in the court system and eventually milk a steady stream of income from those they attack. Easy money while it lasts and these people have no concept of what's right or wrong. It's what they can get away with and how much they can get while doing it. IMO
LoB
run XP in a virtual machine on a 64bit Linux host with Firefox, Thunderbird, and IM client on Linux. Now you have much safer network access for most of what you do and there's Windows tucked safely in a box ready to do what must be done there. As far as MS Office goes, have you tried CrossOver? I saw that demoed over a year ago and MS Office installed and ran quite well.
And it would be nice to see the graphics market move to an open standard where real competition improves the product and not games where the technology owner tries to force customers to change or upgrade their OS to get the new graphics tech( MS DX10 and MS Vista shinanagins ).
LoB
we're forcing it on OEMs but pay us and you get to use one of our old products. Wow, such a deal. I wonder why they don't let the OEMs just load XP to begin with? Never mind, I know the answer, they want to force what they think people need onto as many computers as possible and they have the power to do that so they use it.
But it is fun to hear they are so sure of lucky #7 that they have to play the same old games. FYI, I had to touch a Windows XP SP2 system the other day and I was stunned how little multi-threading Microsoft's own system applications and tools have. So 1990s and no wonder their OS is a dog with more CPU cores, it's designed that way. One more thing, WTF is up with the reboots? I'm still amazed people continue to put up with such a pathetic excuse for an OS year after year after year.
LoB
yup, it's when Microsoft throws in all those extra marketing dollars and other kickbacks which usually define what an OEM ships preloaded. I had heard of an HP product based on Linux and Java getting canned because the HP marketing department said they'd lose money on the entire product line if the new Linux product shipped because Microsoft would cut off the payments for putting Windows on the systems.
Not every OEM is going to stand up against MS and not take the kickbacks when it means increased profits as long as the product sells. The problem for the OEM is when the user experience is diminished because Windows bloat and anti-virus requirements eats into sales. Microsoft would not care because they'd protect their market if the netbook market failed to get established as a regular device sector/market. They know they'll be losing money on this segment so its failure is good for them. Kinda how they blocked alot of uptake of the OLPC, got them to start playing with Windows, delay, delay, delay and now OLPC is floundering and still now Windows on OLPC.
ARM is a twist in this Microsoft is going to have a tough time with since there are too many advantages of that system for this market. The price goes down and Windows really has tougher time on the platform while Linux still does great and is easier for the OEM to customize for the product. I believe ARM is what is going to keep netbook growth going and prevent Microsoft from causing the market to shrink and this will eventually show up on their financials. IMO.
LoB