Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 25th Jul 2008 22:55 UTC, submitted by Chavez
While Microsoft has only just begun fighting the perception problems surrounding Windows Vista, the company is already thinking and planning way beyond its latest operating system. We all know that Windows 7 will build on top of the foundations laid by Vista, and that it will include a fancy multitouch framework (and a mysterious new taskbar). According to Microsoft, Windows 7 is still on track for January 2010, and in a memo to his employees, CEO Steve Ballmer outlined some interesting new approaches the company might try with Windows 7 - including being just a little more like Apple.
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Member since:2005-07-06
anyone else getting flashbacks to stories about unix fragmenting into 1001 slightly incompatible variants?
sure, the gpl licence should stop most of that, but if so, why the hell even bother...
and on the topic of ACPI:
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/25/1150218
Member since:2005-07-06
anyone else getting flashbacks to stories about unix fragmenting into 1001 slightly incompatible variants?
sure, the gpl licence should stop most of that, but if so, why the hell even bother...
and on the topic of ACPI:
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/25/1150218
sure, the gpl licence should stop most of that, but if so, why the hell even bother...
and on the topic of ACPI:
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/25/1150218
Yeap, I saw that on news.zdnet.com - I can't believe that motherboard vendors are that crappy; then again, an HP laptop I used to own had a pathetic ACPI implementation, meaning no other operating system besides Windows actually supported the power management. Imagine sitting there in a lecture with Solaris loaded on the damn thing, only to find that it is barely able to get through a 2 hour lecture (infact, alot of the time, on a full battery, I'd be lucky to get 1 1/2 hours out of the damn thing, same situation with Ubuntu/Fedora/etc).
Basically it has come down to in the computer world, if you want decent power management you either get a PC laptop and put up with only running Windows or you get a Mac. When there are gaps of of up to 1-2 hours difference between running Ubuntu/Fedora/etc versus running Windows - can you blame people with wanting to stick with Windows?
Member since:2005-11-18
Quite frankly, I'd sooner see each distribution owned by an OEM, and seeing the OEM customising their hardware and distribution so that they work together seamlessly.
Yes, let's go back to the eighties and make incompatible variations for feature differentiation! How does that help anyone? (Arguably, the eee has already gone this path,and this is why many people eventually replace the severely limited customized Xandros distribution.)
Edited 2008-07-26 10:19 UTC
Member since:2005-07-06
Yes, let's go back to the eighties and make incompatible variations for feature differentiation! How does that help anyone?
The eighties was full of companies creating totally incompatible proprietary software, and hardware as well. It will probably take the next ten years, but open source software creates an environment where OEMs can drive down the cost of software and create a market where players are small enough to have to worry about interoperability - and where they have the source code that gives them it for free.
(Arguably, the eee has already gone this path,and this is why many people eventually replace the severely limited customized Xandros distribution.)
In what way? The eee is a somewhat different device to a normal computer or laptop you would buy from an OEM, and has a pretty simply mobile phone type tabbed interface with all the software and links to web sites and services people generally need when they're out and about. The Open Office that is on there will still be able to open and save documents others can read. I'm afraid only geeks that want to install an operating system so they can sit for a couple of hours installing the software and links they need will go through with that. It may be limited for you, but not for what it was intended.
In the future, and over the next few years, we will see more such devices that will diverge from a normal PC bought from an OEM. At the moment, Microsoft seems to have been able to head Asus and the eee off by doing some discounting and subsidising, but I'm afraid they're not going to be able to do that with every manufacturer who brings a device out over the next ten years who is not a traditional PC OEM. The economies of scale of using open source software are just too great and undeniable.
Member since:2006-03-03
Member since:
2005-07-06
Last time I heard, the Microsoft DSDT compiler was also very good at generating DSDTs that could only be interpreted properly by Microsoft operating systems (unlike the Intel one).
Also, if I remember correctly, the DSDTs can specify that certain things should only work on certain operating systems. Since many manufacturers seem to have the idea that Windows is the only OS that supports modern computers, they mark all the ACPI features as requring the OS name to be Windows.
Really, the ACPI spec should be simple and OS independent.
True, which is the great thing with Apple - they do their own firmware, and they seem to get the stuff working correctly without too many problems - which the benefit of controlling the whole widget.
Quite frankly, I'd sooner see each distribution owned by an OEM, and seeing the OEM customising their hardware and distribution so that they work together seamlessly. A single focus on their hardware alone so that no compromises are made for the 'greater compatibility' outside their own hardware line.