We already know some of the directions Windows 7 will be exploring: a system-wide multitouch user interface framework, a focus on performance, all while building on top of the groundwork Windows Vista has laid out. While off-hand remarks have been made concerning the operating system's release date, it appears Microsoft now formalised the release date of Windows 7.
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Member since:2006-12-16
Member since:2006-01-06
That's no excuse for having a poor command line. Just because you are not required to use it doesn't mean it shouldn't be there or that it shouldn't be useful.
Look at Mac OS X. No "normal" user need never touch the command line, but for those who want to there is a fully featured bash shell with useful apple-specific functionality.
Member since:2006-09-01
Member since:2007-01-27
Needing or not needing a command line doesn't have anything to do with being a good operating system or not. Free operating systems do away with the command line for general use, although I admit that its necessity for configuration purposes could be decreased even more, but work in that area is being done.
Most of what kaiwai has said consists of genuine criticism of the way Windows has been developing over the years from his point of view, although he could have uttered that more gently, but we all know that diplomacy isn't one of his strong points.
Your only reaction seems to be that he's bashing Windows, even though he had been using Vista for months before deciding enough was enough and going to Mac OS X and Solaris. Still he keeps his chances for future Windows usage open, what more do you want?
As far as I have seen from my limited exposure to pre-installed Windows Vista, it isn't that bad an operating system, but also nothing special. Considering the technical possibilities and limitations of the Windows computing paradigm, it doesn't look as bad as you can read in multiple places on the internet including OSNews.
Hardware manufacturers seem to have dropped the ball though with respect to having drivers available at or soon after its launch, a situation that is only now slightly improving. Seeing that Windows 7 builds upon this foundation, there could be some hope for its users that the problems that occurred going from Windows XP to Vista, won't happen this time.
The point about having developers issued older hardware with limited amounts of memory is particularly interesting to me and I agree completely.
I have access to multi-ghz, multicore systems with many gigabytes of memory, but have slower systems around (Pentium III 1 GHz, G4 400 MHz, UltraSPARC II 400 MHz and Loongson 2E 670 MHz) for development purposes and to test if the latest GNU/Linux operating system and associated free software run well enough on those compared to their performance on the greatest x86 hardware available to me.
Even if that is too much hassle for Microsoft in general and the Windows developers in particular, there are still projects such as the free (L)GPL'd QEMU and proprietary products that do the same thing (which are probably more palatable to the company for licensing reasons), in that they can virtualise or simulate a slower system on top of more modern hardware.
Member since:2005-09-15
That's your opinion and you're entitled to it.
I not a great lover of the command line but there are
times ( and I'm referring to using Windows here )
when I prefer to use it because the dialog boxes / property sheets are so tedious that they are more hindrance than help.
If there is no reason for the command line then do away with it rather than implementing it shittily.
PERIOD.
Member since:2005-07-06
I never said that everything should be done via command line; I implicitly stated that I wantd the UI and command line to be equal in attention which Microsoft developers give it. How you lept from what I said, an improved command line, and then claiming I said everything should be done via command line - I can work out how you made basically you did a strawman - a misrepresentation of what I said.
I don't expect a reply. Its typical around here to 'comment' and 'run' rather than enter into some sort of conversation.
Again, I never said it was perfect. You are replying to ME, address the issues *I* raised. If you want to create a whole new line of conversation, then create new thread.
And it seems fashionable for people like you to parade around claiming to be the 'impartial observer'. Who is bashing Microsoft?
I'm sorry, as soon as you use the words 'hater' and 'basher' and other pejoratives, you've lost the argument before you even have started. So please, don't even try to argue your case until you drop those immature and pathetically childish words which have the equivalence of "stop being so mean to me!"
Edited 2008-06-26 00:56 UTC
Member since:2005-07-06
Bill Gates has almost NO direct involvement in Windows/MS anymore. It seems he couldn't care less about this crap. He made his billions, now he can go off on his "flights of fancy" anytime he wants. He deserves it 
Too bad he gave the CEO position to the walking, talking, douche that is ballmer...
Member since:2006-09-01
You're pretty much on point, to borrow a phrase from another forum.
2) Attention to detail is not a strong point MS. Attention to detail really is the mark of quality. It shows the company loves their product, and has an expertise in their field. Apple excels at this, and they are rewarded with legions of fanbois and increasing market share.
The Windows command line was never updated to fit into the object oriented nature of Windows. Powershell is a rewrite of the Windows command line that solves the problem. People disparage Powershell for being more of a scripting language then command line, but that's kind of the point.
I still don't see why a user needs to see the file structure anyway. Administration and repair sure, but day to day operations, not so much. I should be able to set rules, and my files would get sorted out automatically.
3) When I hear people say that their 4 socket, 16 processor, 100 GB of RAM, quad SLi desktop will be the norm someday, it makes me want to throttle them. That's not what I have now, it's not what most people I know currently have, and I don't know anyone who is thinking about upgrading to that.
Member since:2006-02-05
I agree with almost everything you said there kaiwai. I would point you to powershell though for a modern commandline, basically bash taken to the next level.
I also disagree with the whole ancient hardware thing. Developers are currently NOT writing multithreaded code, and we are getting more and more cores in our cpus as time goes on. As it stands now, quad cores are going to be a complete waste, since devs do not take advantage of parallel processing.
Developers should all be on quad core NUMA machines 
Edited 2008-06-25 17:51 UTC
Member since:2006-05-13
This is a symptom of a bigger problem, and Microsoft's unwillingness to throw things out. They seem to be like a compulsive hoarder who claims that 'one day I might need it' but reality is, that 'one day' never actually comes.
Wrong. Not everyone wants to buy all new software when the old software works, and quite well at that.
If MSFT "throws" stuff out, Like EAX and Direct Sound 3d/2d, everyone just gets pissed.
They used to put a gun to developers head to use these APIs, and now they deprecate them. Lame, untenable, expensive and wrong.
Why should WINE be more compatible with legacy stuff than microsoft's new OS?
Member since:2005-07-06
If MSFT "throws" stuff out, Like EAX and Direct Sound 3d/2d, everyone just gets pissed.
Ah yes typical hyperbole of 'everyone just ges pissed' - who is this 'everyone'? when I look through the complaints; sure, people are pissed off about an application not working, but the number one complain *I* have seen from people is the crap performance then followed by crap hardware support and the lack of delivery of all the promises that were hyped up for 5 years!
There is a fine line between supporting software that is 3 years old (from 2005) and expecting Microsoft so support applications from Windows 3.1 as some people expect.
Oh, and I always love when people ćompare' Windows with wine - it exposes the individuals complete lack of understanding of software development - it truly does. Unless you have a clue in that area, please, don't voice your opinion - its frustrating having to read such nonsense.
Member since:2005-07-06
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently.
"In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies.
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing."The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run."There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
Member since:
2005-07-06
1) Windows Vista was released with a mountain of new api's, and yet, not a single bundled application takes advantage of these new apis. Why are components within Windows still using widget kits from circa win 3.1 for instance - anyone notice that Windows 3.1 dialogue in the font add/remove?
This is a symptom of a bigger problem, and Microsoft's unwillingness to throw things out. They seem to be like a compulsive hoarder who claims that 'one day I might need it' but reality is, that 'one day' never actually comes.
This then rolls onto Microsoft complaining that software and hardware drivers aren't coming out faster enough; again, the role of the operating system vendor is that of leadership - how can one take the operating system company seriously when it refuses to use the new API's itself for its own applications.
2) Its the small things that count. Bill Gates seems to be off on flights of fancy whilst ignoring it is the little things that make a desktop pleasant. Take Mac OS X and KDE, for example - spell checking everywhere. A decent command line and file system structure for the 21st century rather than the hobbled together DOS paradigm Microsoft is still hugging onto like a life raft.
3) Issue every programmer with a Pentium III with 512MB RAM; their objective should be to get it running smoothly on that. Stop showering your programmers with luxury. Maybe if they saw their application on a woefully under powered machine, and had to use those machines on a daily basis - it would give them a greater appreciation for optimising code.
** Side note, in all honesty, I would give Windows a second chance, but it would require a major overhaul for me to do so. I have nothing against Microsoft, but what I don't like is Windows, and the constricted nature of it when it comes to using the command line, or really bone head stupid ideas such as, in the case of Windows Messenger Live, not possible to change preferences unless logged in.
Edited 2008-06-25 10:12 UTC