The first officially-released build of Windows XP SP3 has surfaced, with 1073 patches/hotfixes and several new features. This build has been made available to testers as a part of the Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 beta program and is available in English, German, and Japanese.
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Member since:2005-11-10
Member since:2005-11-12
that is why people are not switching to Linux even though it is free.
People don't switch to Linux for many reasons. The most obvious one is they can't buy a typical Windows program like Office or TurboTax and install it by clicking next, next okay in a wizard dialog box. There are all kinds of attempts to make this functionality work but it is still not as easy as installing on Windows. You could make the argument that apt-get and yum are superior -- which they are -- for installation and updating but the average Windows user doesn't know how to use these methods. Change is tough and people don't like to do it unless they have a convincing reason. Even saving money falls flat as an argument. What is the cost of Vista $200? For the Windows user to be able to use existing software and not have to learn a new way to use the PC is a *huge* motivator. Also, if you are a diehard gamer XP is just so much more practical. Ever try and run Quake 3 virtualized? I'm not really a big Windows supporter I just am practical about why it continues to be so popular.
Member since:2005-07-06
Compatibility is *very* important hence gradual changes.
Compatibility has nothing to do with the lack of traction; the lack of traction has to do with the lack of middleware which companies need. The cause is also sitting on the shoulders of companies who refuse to look at the savings over a long term. Quarter by quarter, sure, Windows is cheaper, but when you look at Windows over a period of several years, it isn't a viably cheap solution to business.
You also have businesses who have fetishes over applications; take Sharepoint - the biggest piece of hype ever, doesn't contribute anything substantial to improve productivity and yield only to lock documents into yet another proprietary format. Companies need to stop jumping on the 'latest bandwagon' and critically look at what is being offered. Stopping falling into the hype of Microsoft and other vendors, and ask yourself; what is the purpose of IT and do I really need what they're offering - look beyond the hype and other marketing tricks.
Member since:2007-06-07
The 'backwards compatibility' argument became a red herring, the day that MS bought VirtualPC.
MS needs to properly integrate VirtualPC into their next version of Windows, and when someone clicks the 'Windows XP' compatibility checkbox on a software app, run that app in a sandbox. They own the old versions of Windows. They own VirtualPC. The hit that software takes running as a guest OS in a virtual machine is just not that big. This would bring virtually 100% backward compatibility while allowing the the new version of Windows to completely break compatibility with old APIs.
I don't expect this to happen though. Can you imagine the flack that MS would take if they wrote a new OS from scratch, and it sucked as bad as Windows? 'Backward Compatibility' is a very convenient excuse that they are not going to want to throw away by using a simple available solution.
Member since:
2005-07-06
The problem is that they're making 'gradual breakages' to the point that customers know that each release is going to break something major.
The solution; completely overhaul the operating system rather than incremental breakages; then at least people *know* that the following release will less like to introduce mini-breakages.