Bonum Certa Men Certa

Vista 7 is Still Trying to Catch up With GNU/Linux

Archos 605 with WiFi



Summary: Vista 7 proves to be too heavy for devices and it adds features that Linux has had for a very long time

Archos makes some fine gadgets that I've had the pleasure of trying. Archos has always been a great example of Linux being put to good use and recently Archos moved to Android and even liberated (made Free software) its customised, self-tailored platform. In more recent months (maybe about a year ago), Archos began 'experimenting' with Windows for whatever reason. But based on the following new review from the Canadian press, Archos should stick with Linux/Android. Vista 7 is just too bloated [1, 2, 3] to handle simple tasks on a mobile device*. Here are portions of this review:



Review: Sluggish Archos 9 demonstrates pitfalls of tablet PCs, need for new tack by Microsoft



[..]

Windows just doesn't seem at home when squeezed into this 1.8-pound (0.8 kilogram) slab, with a touch-sensitive screen that is 8.9 inches (22 centimeters) on the diagonal. It's sluggish, and the controls aren't adapted to the size of the screen or the fact that there's no real keyboard or mouse.

[...]

It's a little disconcerting that the Windows tablet experience is so poor, nine years after Microsoft made a big push for its Tablet PC version of Windows XP. Clearly, Microsoft hasn't really adapted Windows properly for this type of device.


On the Android side, the Archos 5 has just gotten a firmware update:

Recently, I turned on my Archos 5 tablet for my nightly reading and found notification for the firmware update (1.7.77). Alas it's still Android 1.6. The update went without a glitch but if you are wondering what was includes here's rundown from the Archos support site:

* Extended Bluetooth™ support for cellphone tethering (DUN and PAN)

[...]


Features are being added on the fly. Can Windows do that? Does it ever do that? And if not, then why not? Let's face it, the development model of Free software is simply superior as it allows larger disparate groups of developers to handle larger projects.

According to another new article, Vista 7 has a 'dangerous' 'new' feature:

Microsoft Windows 7, for example, contains software that allows a user's laptop to do double-duty as a rogue Wi-Fi access point that masks the entry of unauthorized users onto the corporate network.


GNU/Linux has been able to do that for ages, as Slashdot correctly points out:

While this means a bit more policing for networks meant to be locked down, it sounds like a good thing overall. Linux users, meanwhile, have had kernel support (since 2.6.26) for 802.11s mesh networking, as well as Host AP support for certain chipsets.


GNU/Linux is about control by the user, Windows is about taking control away from the user. Microsoft is still catching up with Linux (technically) and drifting further away when it comes to respecting the user. ____ * One of these sources suggests that Vista 7 is sometimes slower than Vista. Our reader Ryan, a former MVP of Microsoft, says that Vista 7 has more bugs than Vista, which is why he prefers the latter and he is not alone based on the news. But marketing lies from Microsoft made a real "Mojave" out of Vista. They called it "Windows 7".

"Well the initial impression is how much it [Windows 7] looks like Vista. Which I think is…uh…the thing I’m not supposed to say."

--Microsoft Jack Schofield

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Linux Journal Might Have Become the Latest Slopfarm Targeting "Linux", the Trends Are Concerning for Dying News Sites
They tarnish the Web with junk and then die
On "Learning to Code"
quality may suffer, plus things get bloated
Quick Points Regarding This Week's Court Hearing
it paves the way for us to squash all the SLAPPs from Microsofters
 
"Six years of Gemini!"
From gemini://geminiprotocol.net
Gemini Links 20/06/2025: Summer Updates and Hardware Failures
Links for the day
Links 20/06/2025: Google Shareholder Sues Google and Google Sued for Defamatory Slop ('Hey Hi') Word Salads ('Summaries')
Links for the day
Common Mistake: Believing Social Control Media Will Document Your Writings/Thoughts and Search Engines Like Google Will Help You Find These
Many news sites wrongly assumed that posting directly to Twitter would be acceptable
The Manchester Bees and This Hot Summer
We have had a fantastic week so far this week
Gemini Protocol Enters Its Seventh Year, Growth Has Accelerated!
Maybe in June 20 2026 there will be over 3,500 active capsules?
Mastodon and the Fediverse Have an Issue: Liability for Content (Even in Other Instances) and Costs
self-hosting is the only logical path forward
Why Microsoft and Its 'Hey Hi' (Slop) Frenzy Fail While Sinking in Deep, Growing Debt
Right now, like Twitter around the time it was sold to MElon, "open" "hey hi" is a big pile of debt with a lot to pay for that debt (interest payments)
Europe is Leaving Microsoft, the Press Coverage Isn't Sufficiently Helpful
The news is generally positive, but the press coverage leaves so much to be desired
Slopwatch: Linuxsecurity, BetaNews, and Linux Journal
slippery slope
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 19, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/06/2025: Gemini Protocol Turns 6!
Links for the day
Links 19/06/2025: Ghostwriting Scam and Fentanylware (TikTok) Buying Time
Links for the day
Microsoft's Windows is a Niche Operating System in Africa
African nations aren't a large contributor to Microsoft's income, but if many African nations move away from Windows, then the monopoly is at risk
Gemini Links 19/06/2025: Unix Primitivism, Zine Club, and Gemini Protocol Turns 6 at Midnight
Links for the day
Links 19/06/2025: WhatsApp Identified as Assassination 'Crosshairs', Patreon Now Rips Off People Even More
Links for the day
"Told You So": Another Very Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs Now Confirmed in Mainstream Media
So we were right to believe the rumours, based on the credibility of prior such rumours
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 18, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Gemini Links 18/06/2025: Magit and Farming
Links for the day
Slopwatch: BetaNews is Now a Slopfarm (Like Linuxsecurity) and Google News is Overwhelmed by Slopfarms
The Web is bad
Links 18/06/2025: SCOTUS Decision on Fentanylware (TikTok) Still Ignored, 4.5-Day Work Weeks
Links for the day
Links 17/06/2025: Windows TCO and G7 Rifts
Links for the day
The Right to Know and the Freedom to Report on Crime (at the Higher Echelons)
I'd like to do the same thing for the next 20 years
BetaNews Appears to Have Fired All Of Its Staff
Even serial sloppers
After the Web Becomes Slopped to Death
A lot of people are rightly fed up with the "modern" Web
Gemini Protocol Turns 6 on Friday
Active (online) Gemini capsules are estimated by Lupa at over 3,000
Like Most Social Control Media, Microsoft LinkedIn is Collapsing
One reason for Microsoft acquisitions is debt-loading, i.e. offloading and burying its debt
Microsoft is Losing Its Richest Clients
Unlike some very poor countries, Germany and the EU are a considerable source of income to Microsoft
Proprietary Means Not Secure
Proprietary software tends to rely on secrecy, not good design
Slop in 'AI' Clothing is a Passing Fad, We'll Get Past It (Like Blockchain Before That)
Many people cheat in exams using slop and there are professionals that try using slop as a "shortcut"
GNOME Does Not Campaign Against Microsoft, KDE Does
It's good to see that KDE is still active in promotion of Free software - a term that it uses
Slopwatch: BetaNews, Linuxsecurity, and Other Prolific Slopfarms
name and shame the sites that establish such proliferation of slop
Gemini Links 18/06/2025: Birch Lake and Loon Pond
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 17, 2025