OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/21802/Microsoft_s_Big_Announcement_Next_Monday_What_s_Up_ Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:26:02 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com Giving up... http://osnews.com/thread?372371 http://osnews.com/thread?372371 "We give up, FOSS wins, here's our sources!" Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:19:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (umccullough) Comments Now that everyman and his dog does Linux http://osnews.com/thread?372372 http://osnews.com/thread?372372 Microsoft will probably release their already usable version of the Hurd, using a Fresco based UI instead of X11, and of course the NT microkernel. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:23:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (No it isnt) Comments Ballmer http://osnews.com/thread?372375 http://osnews.com/thread?372375 Ballmer will announce he's learned something new, and proceed to do the chicken dance. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Moredhas) Comments WAG http://osnews.com/thread?372377 http://osnews.com/thread?372377 Live Mesh (and nothing else except maybe a taskbar and a few pre-installed plugins like Silverlight, Flash, and Acrobat) running on Windows 7 embedded. All apps delivered by Live Mesh or accessed via a web browser embedded in Live Mesh online desktop thing.

Future versions would involve Gazelle and even later, Midori. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (DCMonkey) Comments RE: Ballmer http://osnews.com/thread?372379 http://osnews.com/thread?372379
Ballmer will announce he's learned something new, and proceed to do the chicken dance.


Funny, I thought he did that every time he addressed the public. ;) Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:50:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (darknexus) Comments Another "Me Too" http://osnews.com/thread?372381 http://osnews.com/thread?372381 I'm betting on another great "me too" moment from Microsoft. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Clinton) Comments Just Win 7 RTM http://osnews.com/thread?372382 http://osnews.com/thread?372382 There may be some side dishes like a new Plus Pack or a new name and release for one of their existing, but under-performing products ( see Bing & the anti virus thing). But I can almost feel the disappointment of the announcement now. But you have to cheer for your own side. If you were Microsoft, you'd talk up 7 as best as you could, describing it as "revolutionary", "Faster and more secure than ever". Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:58:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Bill Shooter of Bul) Comments Ballmer II http://osnews.com/thread?372385 http://osnews.com/thread?372385 Ballmer joined the Hair Club for Men! That will be his Chrome (dome) announcement. All that glitter isn't gold. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Accident) Comments MS Big Announcement http://osnews.com/thread?372386 http://osnews.com/thread?372386 I think it could be something related to Microsoft's Gazelle browser http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10280270-56.html?tag=newsEditorsP... Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (OSGuy) Comments let me guess http://osnews.com/thread?372392 http://osnews.com/thread?372392 Microsoft Gazelle browser running on top of the Singularity kernel? It really would have to be that big to top Google's announcement. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bullethead) Comments Cloud? http://osnews.com/thread?372399 http://osnews.com/thread?372399 Or maybe a windows cloud that they mentioned a while ago. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (RafaelRR) Comments RE: Giving up... http://osnews.com/thread?372420 http://osnews.com/thread?372420 Developers, developers, developers, developers... are sick hearing this. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:03:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (flanque) Comments Internet Explorer OS! http://osnews.com/thread?372422 http://osnews.com/thread?372422 Internet Explorer OS! Or something cloud related…Edited 2009-07-09 03:20 UTC Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:19:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (elmimmo) Comments ... http://osnews.com/thread?372424 http://osnews.com/thread?372424 The big announcement was two days ago when they cleared the patents issue of Mono. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:25:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Hiev) Comments We have ported Windows 7 to ARM! http://osnews.com/thread?372426 http://osnews.com/thread?372426 in four days! As a response to Google announcement. Well, not completely yet, but the Blue Screen of Death already works like a charm. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (gehersh) Comments *yawn* http://osnews.com/thread?372434 http://osnews.com/thread?372434 I want to hear something new and exciting in computing.

New operating system based on a browser? Boring. New browser being released? Boring. Programs to run in the browser? Boring. New netbook operating system? Boring.

Where's the cool new tech? Where's the artificial intelligence that makes my computer smart enough to run my life or anticipate my needs? What about a truly original new UI?

No. Instead, we're treated to the same announcements that we were hearing in 1997. Next you'll be embedding MIDI files on the site and putting up animated GIFs of the dancing baby. I'm not criticising OSnews, I'm criticising the IT industry - let's have some real improvements, not just farting around with web browsers and a bunch of netbooks with identical specifications! Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:18:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (3rdalbum) Comments Steve Ballmer leaving.... http://osnews.com/thread?372435 http://osnews.com/thread?372435 Steve Ballmer is temporarily stepping down, to recover from the operation in which he gave Steve Jobs part of his liver.

In exchange for the liver, Apple will make changes to MacOS X so the default install partition will always be named C:\ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:20:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Drumhellar) Comments Hurray ! http://osnews.com/thread?372444 http://osnews.com/thread?372444 They'll finally do a linux distro ;) Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:21:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Warnaud) Comments RE[2]: Giving up... http://osnews.com/thread?372455 http://osnews.com/thread?372455 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA6h3f_bfYU Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:28:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Liquidator) Comments Tmax Window http://osnews.com/thread?372456 http://osnews.com/thread?372456 They have had a sneak preview of Tmax Window (http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Tmax-1013937.html) and now realize they are completely screwed.

Ballimer will commit hari-kari live on stage. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:30:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Loki_999) Comments RE[2]: Giving up... http://osnews.com/thread?372459 http://osnews.com/thread?372459

Developers, developers, developers, developers... are sick hearing this.


But it is so true.

It is increasingly more true than ever before.

It is increasingly relevant also in the FOSS community now that the amount of developers has diminished in relation to the increased, largely non-contributing, end-user base.Edited 2009-07-09 07:41 UTC Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:39:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (strcpy) Comments Steve Ballmer to have a "cut-and-tuck"... http://osnews.com/thread?372462 http://osnews.com/thread?372462 Ballmer will be announcing that he's having a "cut-and-tuck" operation "down there" and now he wants to be known as "Stephanie"..... Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:58:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (obsidian) Comments Big? http://osnews.com/thread?372467 http://osnews.com/thread?372467 Microsoft has never had anything big! (except the windows source code!) Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Brunis) Comments RE: *yawn* http://osnews.com/thread?372468 http://osnews.com/thread?372468
I want to hear something new and exciting in computing.

New operating system based on a browser? Boring. New browser being released? Boring. Programs to run in the browser? Boring. New netbook operating system? Boring.

Where's the cool new tech? Where's the artificial intelligence that makes my computer smart enough to run my life or anticipate my needs? What about a truly original new UI?

No. Instead, we're treated to the same announcements that we were hearing in 1997. Next you'll be embedding MIDI files on the site and putting up animated GIFs of the dancing baby. I'm not criticising OSnews, I'm criticising the IT industry - let's have some real improvements, not just farting around with web browsers and a bunch of netbooks with identical specifications!


Google is always working on it. You can never expect Microsoft to lead in these matters. They have always been followers! (Yet, crying innovation from the rooftops at every chance they get!) Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Brunis) Comments RE[3]: Giving up... http://osnews.com/thread?372469 http://osnews.com/thread?372469 Wasn't that always the end goal of any desktop FOSS project? Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Cymro) Comments RE[4]: Giving up... http://osnews.com/thread?372473 http://osnews.com/thread?372473 Isn't that the goal of any software project? You create an application that you hope will be used by many other people. The more people use it the more satisfying it is (and more profitable in the case of commercial software-- either Open Source or Proprietary). Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:51:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (arpan) Comments Amiga ... http://osnews.com/thread?372475 http://osnews.com/thread?372475 Microsoft resurrecting an Amiga! Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (-pekr-) Comments RE[4]: Giving up... http://osnews.com/thread?372477 http://osnews.com/thread?372477
Wasn't that always the end goal of any desktop FOSS project?


Yes and no.

It is the explicit goal of the relatively recent "world domination" -ideology, sure.

But no. The vitality of any FOSS project essentially depends on the "health" of the development community around it. There has always been an implicit assumption that some portion of the user base will eventually become part of the development community or contribute otherwise directly in terms of code. My thesis was that this has changed; there is an increasing end-user base that will never make the step towards development. Thus, the mantra of "developers, developers, developers" is increasingly important in the new situation where we see user-consumers instead of user-contributors, so to speak.

The idea of "largest possible user base" as a primary (and only?) goal of FOSS projects is relatively recent, partially addressable to things like Ubuntu. My bet would be that other factors are (were?) more dominant (e.g. technical superiority, "scratching an itch", open source development model, ideology, and so forth).Edited 2009-07-09 10:23 UTC Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (strcpy) Comments Silverlight? http://osnews.com/thread?372479 http://osnews.com/thread?372479 Maybe a Silverlight 3 plugin for Chrome? If they want this to kill Flash, they're going to have to support more than IE/Firefox on Windows, and Mac OS X...

- chrish Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:30:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (chrish) Comments OS related http://osnews.com/thread?372483 http://osnews.com/thread?372483 If it's something big and related to Chrome OS, it could only be something related to OS. Probably, an announcement related to next Windows version. I'll let my imagination go wild:

Windows 7 will be free of charge.
Windows 7 will be free of charge and its sources released under BSD-type license.
Windows 8 will be open source.
Windows 8 will be free, but closed sourced.
Windows 8 will be based on Linux and thanks to WINE project, will have a XP/Vista/7 Legacy mode built-in.
Microsoft will develop a Linux distro.

Now, if I'm right, what prize will I receive from OSNews? ;) Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Greuceanu) Comments RE: OS related http://osnews.com/thread?372487 http://osnews.com/thread?372487 a nice new white coat! Its extra special, it even has buckles... Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Adurbe) Comments RE[5]: Giving up... http://osnews.com/thread?372522 http://osnews.com/thread?372522 I was specifically talking about 'desktop' FOSS projects and I don't think the ideology of projects like Gnome has changed recently - more like they got closer to the maturity and completeness they sought from the beginning.

A desktop project like Haiku is overwhelmingly fuelled by interest and enthusiasm of the developer base, but when the end-user community grows, you can't say the project will have changed direction or ideology.

In fact, I think some of the highest profile desktop FOSS projects do a much better job of attracting users than developers. I'm not an insider, but the Gimp is often mentioned as an example where numbers are skewed too much in favour of the user-base. OpenOffice is another, but for different reasons. We'll probably end up arguing semantics, but I think we both agree that a successful project needs a balance of both (Firefox, yet again, being the poster child) Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Cymro) Comments miam http://osnews.com/thread?372523 http://osnews.com/thread?372523 I'll follow zdnet on this one, I'd like to see the meshification (mesh.live.com)of windows, but it will most likely be office online which has been announced a while back and is most likely ready for show off. Competition in the the way we manage our computer data cloud is always welcome from google though ! Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (po134) Comments RE: Now that everyman and his dog does Linux http://osnews.com/thread?372532 http://osnews.com/thread?372532 And if the forthcoming Zune HD is anything to go by, it'll use a "heavily customized" version of IE6... Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:50:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Cymro) Comments RE[3]: Giving up... http://osnews.com/thread?372583 http://osnews.com/thread?372583
But it is so true.

It is increasingly more true than ever before.

It is increasingly relevant also in the FOSS community now that the amount of developers has diminished in relation to the increased, largely non-contributing, end-user base.


Some projects are facing this reality and are creating interfaces which intermediate level users can release their own extensions to further enhance a given project. Where as many projects core still rely on relatively low level languages - many enhancements can be accomplished using web based languages or scripting languages where a person can hack together a neat widget to address a need.

Firefox is the best example of where the focus for most end users are on the extensions which are available; a browser is a browser but what makes Firefox different than most is the ability for users to link in and propagate their own enhancements by lowering the bar to developing them. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (kaiwai) Comments RE: *yawn* http://osnews.com/thread?372597 http://osnews.com/thread?372597
I want to hear something new and exciting in computing. New operating system based on a browser? Boring. New browser being released? Boring. Programs to run in the browser? Boring. New netbook operating system? Boring. Where's the cool new tech? Where's the artificial intelligence that makes my computer smart enough to run my life or anticipate my needs? What about a truly original new UI? No. Instead, we're treated to the same announcements that we were hearing in 1997. Next you'll be embedding MIDI files on the site and putting up animated GIFs of the dancing baby. I'm not criticising OSnews, I'm criticising the IT industry - let's have some real improvements, not just farting around with web browsers and a bunch of netbooks with identical specifications!


I second that. Without this netbook hype (which will fade soon when those little kids will find that netbooks are quite useless), IT industry would be in crisis.

However, that's not fault of IT people themselves. Since end of 70s, innovations in hardware led to better softwares. Now there aren't true innovations in H/W, only upgrades to make stuff more powerful, less energy-hungry and so on.

Until we will meet some true H/W innovation (or some other technology will become affordable... think to multi-touch screens...), I don't think software will be able to bring many surprises.

Only thing that could bring some new air is faster and more-widespread Internet connections at low or no cost at all. That would make possibile to develop new kind of software. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (TBPrince) Comments With all these Browser OSes… http://osnews.com/thread?372603 http://osnews.com/thread?372603 ... how are they going to deal with "Monopoly" things? Like Chrome OS will include Chrome, but, what if I want to use ? Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Gryzor) Comments He's back! http://osnews.com/thread?372605 http://osnews.com/thread?372605 It turns out that Bing stands for Bob Is Not Gone. Our friend will be back to guide us through our searches. It will be implemented as an ActiveX plugin for IE. A Mac version will be released a few month later, "Bob for Apples". The Linux version is still in development, and will be known as Gnob.

Is it Friday yet? Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (fretinator) Comments More guessing http://osnews.com/thread?372631 http://osnews.com/thread?372631 I vote for a "cloud" version of Office.

Will you be able to use IE tab in Firefox on top of Chrome OS? Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bolomkxxviii) Comments RE: ... http://osnews.com/thread?372860 http://osnews.com/thread?372860
The big announcement was two days ago when they cleared the patents issue of Mono.

Haha, no.
Customers, Microsofts big reason for press releases, couldn’t give a crap for the tech behind applications, so no, it wasn’t that. Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:57:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Beta) Comments They're replacing the Trident engine with WebKit! http://osnews.com/thread?372871 http://osnews.com/thread?372871 ...one can dream. Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Moochman) Comments