[Dean's World] Scott Kirwin: Could Vista Be the End of the Windows Monopoly?

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Scott Kirwin:
Could Vista Be the End of the Windows Monopoly?
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1170452441.shtml


   John Dvorak seems to think so in [1]this post, and in [2]this one.
   From the former:

     It's possible that Microsoft ventured too far into the right-brain
     side of computing with its release of Vista. And now may be the
     perfect opportunity for Linux to seal its doom. Linux is an all-out
     left-brain OS. And it is no coincidence that the three big
     companiesâHP, IBM, and Intelâare getting together now because they
     are aware of the subtle weaknesses of Vista and they see an
     opportunity to strike a blow at Microsoft. After all, none of these
     companies has ever been happy with Microsoft and the way they've
     been treated by the software giant over the years.

   Click for a seriously geeky digression.

   ([3]show)

   I'm agnostic when it comes to Microsoft. I've never liked the Mac for
   the same reason Dvorak notes: the way it handles files. But I've just
   spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning up a mess left by a
   previous coder in which I had to find the location of some Microsoft
   Sql Server Reports that needed to be modified.

   I couldn't find them. In fact, I'm left wondering if these reports are
   "files" in any sense of the word. Either they're chipped up and spread
   out all over the server, or they are sitting on another server that
   the network admin doesn't know about.

   After reading these articles by Dvorak, maybe Microsoft is beginning
   to abandon the file structure in place of something more diffuse -
   like the way files are handled on the Mac, or the way data is
   structured in non-relational database structures like Lotus Notes
   databases.

   ([4]hide)

   In the past, whenever Windows came out with a new upgrade, I saw some
   value in it. Going from DOS to Windows 3x gave us the GUI. From Win 3x
   to Win 95 we got better performance and GUI. Win XP gave us stability.
   What does Vista give us?

   [5]Benchmarks at Tom's Hardware show that the OS slows down
   applications. Initial reports on driver issues and upgrades are bad,
   as we've learned to expect from Microsoft upgrades going back to the
   upgrade to DOS 4.0 (an upgrade that was perhaps the worst in Microsoft
   history).

   Microsoft seems to be the one that benefits the most from Vista. Vista
   has better DRM to prevent piracy which will benefit RIAA and of
   course, Microsoft. It's expensive, which will add even more piles of
   cash to the firm. While the performance lags will eventually disappear
   as hardware improves, I still don't understand why I would want to
   upgrade to Vista.

   Perhaps I'm not the market Microsoft is targeting with this product.
   In fact, given its actions, I tend to think that Microsoft doesn't
   care what the market thinks. What other choices do we have?

   And that's where Dvorak comes in. I've tried Linux, and it's not bad.
   However it needs the following before I will buy it: 1. An Office
   suite 2. An Adobe suite (Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Flash) 3. Versions of
   popular games.

   In fact, what Linux needs to do is kill the paradigm of operating
   system supremacy. The OS needs to return to the background in all
   ways, but most especially application compatibility. Linux needs to
   become a file loader once again, an easy to use one.

   And an agnostic one. Imagine the ability to run any application on
   your PC regardless of the operating system you have installed OR the
   OS the software was designed for.

   Install and run a copy of the latest version of Photoshop designed for
   the Mac. Load up a copy of the hottest new first person shooter
   designed for Windows XP. How about the ability to run an ancient DOS
   program? If Linux could do all of that, it would kill Vista.

   Instead those of you buying a PC soon will be stuck with an operating
   system what may - or may not - connect to your peripherals due to
   driver issues - and may or may not run your software due to DRM and
   compatibility issues.

   Will it get better? We can only hope and pray. But I suppose that's
   one thing computer users share with soldiers under fire in foxholes:
   there's no such thing as an atheist waiting for his code to compile or
   his computer to finish saving an important (and big) file, just like
   there's no such thing as an atheist under fire.

References

   1. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2086365,00.asp
   2. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2088475,00.asp
   3. file://localhost/var/www/powerblogs/deanesmay/posts/1170452441.html
   4. file://localhost/var/www/powerblogs/deanesmay/posts/1170452441.html
   5. http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/29/xp-vs-vista/