There is no escape from defective codebase

Vista 7

Following yesterday's review of Vista 7, there is also this second part.

There are additional notes here and here.

Congratulations Microsoft!

Microsoft has reached a new level of incompetence with Windows 7. The first time I’ve seen a driver included with an OS that actually corrupts the OS BEYOND REPAIR.

 

I’m typing this up on Windows 7:

Occasionally I go nuts and decide to see if the people at Microsoft have aped anything good from OS X or Linux, or gotten it right if they did. With all the hubbub about Windows 7, I decided to give it a try, and I was less than amused.

We are hearing that Microsoft has already contacted this reviewer (who is a regular in our IRC channel). The company is very serious about controlling the perception of Vista 7. It's just so typical.

Vista

Looking at the news on a regular basis, it turns out that Microsoft no longer talks about Vista, so neither do journalists. Articles about "Windows" 7" outnumber those about "Vista" by a factor of 5 or so, despite the fact that the former is just vapourware and the latter an existing product. The Washington Times has just published the following.

KELLNER: Microsoft's Vista ought to die soon

[...]

Problem is, however, that the 64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate was a dog that wouldn't hunt, as they say down South.

It is important to remember why Microsoft now ignores Vista like the McCain campaign tried to distance itself from George Bush.

"In the face of strong competition, Evangelism's focus may shift immediately to the next version of the same technology, however. Indeed, Phase 1 (Evangelism Starts) for version x+1 may start as soon as this Final Release of version X."

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]

Windows Mobile

That product too has its share of issues.

Windows Mobile Users Complain About Upgrade Policy

[...]

While the answers a Windows Mobile executive provided to questions posted to a Facebook discussion provided very little information, the questions posed by 55 fans hint at what users want in the mobile platform.

Aaron Woodman, director for consumer experiences for Windows Mobile, invited anyone to submit questions about Windows Mobile on a Facebook page. When he began posting answers more than two weeks later, his most common response was along the lines of "nothing to announce."

In general, Windows Mobile is in serious trouble because it technically fell behind the competition and it's also a losing division. ⬆

"If you can’t make it good, at least make it look good."

--Bill Gates, Microsoft