Windows eclipse has begun
Summary: Windows Vista continues to disappoint, its successor predicted to be a disappointment; Microsoft partners in Iceland already turn to Free software
THE
Fiasco of the Year may add fire to the
DNS problem it has already created. According to
this, Vista Windows is 'breaking the Internet' so to speak.
Warning: the following is excessively technical, and is intended more for the sake of the next poor sod who types "vista dns round robin resolution" into Google than it is for my actual friends list. (Except for a few of you. And you know who you are.) Also, since I want this to be searchable on Google, I can't friends-lock it, so I'm not going to mention who I work for; please don't do so in comments, which are screened for that reason.
[...]
And Microsoft have broken the Internet. Again. Although, to be fair, they did have some help this time from the IETF.
An ongoing debate places some of the blame on Microsoft. Sympathisers of the company from Redmond spin it differently however.
Windows Vista is
already facing 2 lawsuits (potentially class actions) and one of them
is turning up the heat.
The California woman suing Microsoft Corp. over Windows Vista's downgrade rights revised her lawsuit Thursday to focus her charges on the requirement that users buy the most expensive versions of Vista if they want to replace that OS with Windows XP.
This is known as double- or triple-dipping. People who purchase a computer with Windows XP might actually count as
several buyers of Windows Vista, as least in Microsoft's books (and corresponding vanity numbers).
A writer from IDG recommends that Microsoft
turns its back on Windows Vista as though it's already estranged. He also seems to speculate that Vista 7 remains far from its release date. This coincides with CNN, which
predicts a release will come no sooner than 2010.
I refuse to print hype from Microsoft about how wonderful their Windows 7 operating system will be when it ships in a year or two.
The
Fiasco of the Year may soon have a
similar successor based on this
Vista 7 cartoon.
Bloomberg has this report predicting failure for Microsoft/Windows on sub-notebooks as well (despite Vista 7).
This time, as Microsoft readies Windows 7, the company is planning a basic version, as well as more expensive editions that are also targeted at netbooks. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said last week that he will make sure consumers can “trade up.”
‘Pessimistic’
Many netbook buyers won’t go for it, because they want the cheapest option possible, said John DiFucci, the JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst who asked the question that prompted Ballmer’s comment. That means investors shouldn’t expect Microsoft to make much more money on netbook software, the New York-based analyst said in a note to clients. Microsoft hasn’t released specific prices for the different versions of Windows 7.
“I don’t know that there’s much room to charge more than what’s been charged currently,” said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft in Kirkland, Washington. “I’m pessimistic about this.”
With only 3 processes allowed, Microsoft is
simply hobbling fine computers and the customer will not be foolish enough to bite. Microsoft's main concern here is the margins, which it is unable to elevate back to old tariffs. It's
all the 'fault' of GNU/Linux, so
pressure on OEMs may be the only thing that keeps Windows afloat at this stage. Based on
this new informal report, Microsoft is being abandoned even by its own partners right now. They already move to Free software in Iceland.
And what would you do? Well. My sources tell me a lot is afoot. Several MCP’s are bailing out, switching over to Free Software and restructuring their business model. Keep the revenue inside Iceland, sell better technical services for less money and yet double their revenue. “Why didn’t we do this earlier?”
[...]
...those who survive will switch to Free Software, and those who don’t will go bankrupt.
"I'd have thought that Iceland would have learned the lesson a decade ago," tells us a reader, further arguing that "
Microsoft denied an Icelandic version of Windows, even when the country offered to pay for the localization work. Only when the country started to move to FOSS, did the get Windows. Too bad, they fell for it like a bunch of chumps. They could have saved billions by now if they had gone FOSS in 1999.
"Keep in mind that the MCP's are largely the ones responsible for the mess in the first place. These are not faceless corporations but real people, who have gone out of their way to fuck over their fellow countrymen. Any remediation must take into account these individuals.
"What we have seen has been fraud and collusion on an unprecedented and nearly unimaginable scale. Getting hold of those who have betrayed positions of trust and moving them to positions where they can do no further harm will be very difficult."
Nobody is patient enough to wait for Vista 7, which will be both expensive and disappointing. Wonderful and comprehensive
distributions of GNU/Linux are already here, readily available for free-of-charge download.
⬆
The Microsoft ecosystem in Iceland is imploding
Comments
twitter
2009-03-08 19:18:10
M$ is failing.
Roy Schestowitz
2009-03-08 19:58:23
ZiggyFish
2009-03-08 23:21:14
Let's just hope these trends continue, and hope that software patients get band. Not only for us, but for IBM, AMD and other chip manufactures because without an OS, or at least an updated OS these companies will not exist.
Yfrwlf
2009-03-09 12:53:05
Well, that and the software selection problems still facing Linux. Windows still has the better software for it in many areas, so consumers will be paying to have that extra bit of choice if they buy Windows. Not to mention the software packaging fragmentation which distros refuse to put effort behind to resolve so that consumers have even the same choice of *Linux* software no matter what distro they choose.
Yfrwlf
2009-03-09 12:56:14
Roy Schestowitz
2009-03-09 12:58:01
This may be true, but let's also consider the fact that OEMs could deliver multi-boot systems (or fast boot, or VMs) without additional charges. Consider the BeOS story for details.
Fortunately, that's already changing.
Yfrwlf
2009-03-09 14:39:30
That is, if they are given the choice. Unfortunately, and ironically, real competition isn't given a chance very much here in the U.S.. Microsoft doesn't want to compete and play fair, but everyone already knew that.
Roy Schestowitz
2009-03-09 14:43:30
Yfrwlf
2009-03-09 15:21:31
Roy Schestowitz
2009-03-09 15:23:44
Roy Bixler
2009-03-09 17:02:26
Yfrwlf
2009-03-09 17:40:57
If that card, nay, that entire deck was taken away from Microsoft, they would be nothing in comparison to Linux. As it is, "free markets" favour monopolies pulling stunts like these so they can stay monopolies. The only salvation comes from the fact Linux costs $0, otherwise sadly I don't think Linux would have a chance. You have to perform some AMAZING acts in order for an unfair monopolistic market to give you room to breath, and $0 is pretty amazing.
Only reason why Apple is alive is because it used BSD, and it selected a small amount of hardware to focus on. In uncharted open hardware waters if Apple consumers actually had open choice in their hardware like Linux and Windows users get, Apple would sink unless BSD drivers could save it's sorry butt.
Roy Schestowitz
2009-03-09 18:10:37
I have copies of confidential memos and contracts between Microsoft and large OEMs (e.g. Acer, Dell, Compaq/HP). I intend to analyse these and highlight favouritism in the future. We need them translated to plain text.
Special deals were based on all sorts of reciprocal agreements (e.g. promotion of MSIE). There's also volume that affects pricing and Intel used the same illegal tactics against AMD.
@Roy B:
Yes, Dell was afraid of retaliation.
David Gerard
2009-03-09 21:48:24
The most annoying parallel is the Edsel's successor, the Comet, which was a huge hit ... despite starting life as the Edsel Comet before the cursed brand name was hastily removed. Presumably Microsoft hopes for a similar effect.
Roy Schestowitz
2009-03-09 21:54:57
Development effort went into Longhorn, which was "rebooted" (Microsoft's word) or suffered a "development collapse".
Can't beat modular code!
Roy Schestowitz
2009-03-09 21:57:44
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7932149.stm
A little incestuous, no? Both people are notorious for their relationship with Microsoft.
David Gerard
2009-03-09 22:00:31
Roy Schestowitz
2009-03-09 22:05:34
David Gerard
2009-03-09 22:48:07
Roy Schestowitz
2009-03-09 23:09:21
David Gerard
2009-03-10 00:01:04
There's a paper, "Windows NT from a Unix Point of View", written around the time of NT 3.51, which is heartbreaking in describing what they were trying to do. It no longer appears to be on microsoft.com; I'd love to find a copy again.