Bonum Certa Men Certa

Today's Vista 7 Links

Longhorn reborn



Summary: News about Microsoft's next incarnation of Vista

Windows 7 crippleware!' scream outraged netbook owners

Microsoft has once again upset many in the netbook user community with news of artificially imposed limitations on the entry level version of its upcoming new operating system Windows 7. All over the web netbook users are accusing Microsoft of crippling Windows 7 Starter edition for no other reason than to extort extra dollars from them.


Opinion: Microsoft may shoot itself in the foot with Win 7 pricing

But as desktop Linux becomes a significant challenger, Microsoft is losing its price advantage. Microsoft managed to snatch the netbook market away from Linux by reviving XP Home and offering it to OEMs for next to nothing. It's foolish of Microsoft to think it can hold on to that market with restricted hardware and bottom-end versions of Windows 7.


Why Windows 7 Will Fail on Netbooks

When consumers have a choice and know it, they’re not going to blindly embrace whichever pricing schemes Microsoft decides to impose on the market. Rather than paying for Windows 7 Home Premium–which is likely to cost as much as a netbook itself–costumers will simply opt for Linux.

Neither will hardware manufacturers obediently acquiesce to Microsoft’s demands as they did in the past. If they find it difficult to sell netbooks whose price is doubled by being bundled with Windows, OEMs are likely to market Linux-based computers more vigorously–which will, in turn, increase public awareness of alternatives to Windows, fueling a cycle that ends with the collapse of Microsoft’s monopoly.

If Microsoft continues to operate under the delusion that consumers will choose Windows simply because they don’t know there’s an alternative that’s been embraced by mainstream users and hardware manufacturers, it’s in for a painful shock.


Ballmer Cannes Lions media person of the year 2009

Sure, the award reflects the great public attention Microsoft received with its viral marketing star Ballmer and the Seinfeld-Gates advertisement campaign. The Seinfeld-Gates advertisement series used the trick of confusion to let customers speak up with their appreciation of the Microsoft products and services. What came out of it was the “I’m a PC” campaign which takes on the operating system competitor Apple and it seeks to improve brand profile by a focus on core messages.


Recent Techrights' Posts

Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
Links for the day
Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
Links for the day
Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025