A senior Microsoft executive says the company is concerned that uncertified third-party software loaded onto new computers by manufacturers could hurt the launch of consumer versions of its Windows Vista operating system later this month. In a discussion Tuesday night at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Microsoft official told CBC News Online, on condition of anonymity, that the world's largest software maker is frustrated by legal shackles that prevent the company from restricting what kinds of software major computer makers install on new PCs. "We can't do anything about it because it would be illegal," the executive said in reference to restrictions placed on the company following a U.S. federal anti-trust lawsuit against the company.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2005-07-06
So you're blaming Microsoft for the fact that the 3rd party software in question here doesn't comply with the new Vista API's (which were documented beyond belief well before Vista was even close to shipping)?
Why is it that some companies can ship software that works beautifully on Windows, yet another company in the same software market who probably has an office right down the street from them ships absolute crap? The analogy that comes to mind here is Norton/McAfee et al vs say, Avast or eTrust. Same core market, same intended purpose of software, radically different stabilities and effectiveness.
Why?
Some companies choose to do their homework and make apps that work fine with Windows, other companies just don't seem to care and are just in it for a nickel or two. Some compnanies have the "it works good enough" mentality, while others are willing to go the extra mile to make sure it works perfectly.
All MS can do is provide the framework...if the framework were faulty then all apps would suffer from the same problems, yet that's just not true.
Member since:
2006-11-09
"They could work fine, or they could cause huge problems," the Microsoft source said. "The problem is that we just don't know. And if someone buys a Vista PC and has a problem, they're going to blame Windows."
That a company who holds the code closely to thier chest, and try's so hard to be everything to everybody, would be experiencing this... /sarcasm off!
To be honest, I don't use windows for this very reason. I bought a computer that came with XP on it, And it was very slow and loaded up with these craplets. And when I tried to delete these programs xp couldn't delete all of the program, just parts of it, then it was realy bunged up. OK, just reinstall, right? Wrong. Two calls to India later("Why are you reinstalling, this number is taken already, etc,etc....), and still not working right. So I did the responsible thing, I installed Linux. I wanted to dual boot, but they definately made it tough.
So I think this looks good on them, as well. They need to keep thier kernel alot more protected from this,and install files should all be removed , period. It's just a minimum standard they need to enforce before you are allowed to install on oem box.
Edited 2007-01-12 02:33