Text 19000, 134 rader
Skriven 2006-06-27 01:05:52 av TOM WALKER (1:123/140)
Ärende: An Opinion about Microsoft
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Back to Basics
"The Trouble With Vista: Why Microsoft's New Operating System Will Probably
Suck"
by Kirk Kirksey

When it comes to ironic phenomenon, it looks like Vista, Microsoft's
much-postponed operating system, takes the cake. To me, the whole Vista
episode is a mind-boggler of epic proportion. Here you have a company that
is, for all practical purposes, a global monopoly. Gates and his minions
have more liquid cash than most nations. They easily have the means to hire
the best minds, outfit the most advanced labs, buy the best equipment, stay
in contact with zillions of global users, perform the most extensive tests. 

In short, Microsoft has the resources to produce the best products on
earth. Yet, it doesn't, and its users know it.

As Peter Coffee points out in his eWeek column, Microsoft just can't seem
to deliver. The trail of broken promises started in earnest with Cairo.
Cairo, according to Microsoft's media machine, was to have been the most
advanced operating system of the century. Touted as NT on steroids, Cairo
in its final form was never delivered. The product morphed into Wimpy
Windows 2000, then upgraded to XP. XP never reached the technical prowess
(remember the much-touted "next-generation" storage system?) promised by
Cairo. Wow. 

My own personal disappointment centers around Microsoft's failure to
develop a viable product in the area of "thought tools." While Tinderbox
and DEVON technologies are building awesome Apple technologies to help
users organize and search massive amounts of multimedia information,
Microsoft's OneNote remains surprisingly under-whelming.

Obscure tech writers are not the only creatures who have noticed
Microsoft's failure to deliver. Microsoft finished "dead last" in a 2005
survey carried out by Forrester Research to study customer trust. When
Forrester's numbers were published, Microsoft finished 20 out of 22. Bose,
Dell, and Apple Computer led the pack. 

To summarize my major points so far: Microsoft is one of the richest
companies in history. The company rarely innovates, choosing to copy (or
loosely copy) features developed by the likes of the Linux community.
Microsoft consistently fails to deliver promised advanced technologies, and
as a result is universally distrusted by its customers.

This begs an obvious question: What does Microsoft do with all its money? I
don't know for sure. After seeing a couple of early versions of Vista, my
knee-jerk reaction is simple: "How could a gorilla like Microsoft produce
and promote a product with so many obvious holes?" 

Here are the major things I don't like about Vista, so far.

Basic, Aero, and Ultimate

Vista will come in three flavors: Basic, Aero, and Ultimate. We'll talk
about Ultimate at the end of this diatribe. 

Basic is pretty much what you would expect. Aero (is this a word?) delivers
advanced and admittedly stunning graphics. Before you buy, read the fine
print. Aero requires an advanced (read "expensive") video card and a
machine crammed full of video memory, 128MB to be exact. Apple, on the
other hand, required only 32MB of the stuff and produced some stunning
visual effects. 

If history repeats itself, very few applications will be able to use Aero
when the product is released. Despite Aero's bloated requirements and
skinny product catalog, it looks like all of Microsoft's marketing material
will use, you guessed it, Aero machines. Caveat emptor, baby.

Battery Boo-boo

Several independent testers, including Robert Vamosi of CNET Blog, report
that Vista appears to suck the juice from a laptop battery faster than a
velvet-handed milkmaid drains a heifer. It is hard to tell if this is some
sort of bug, or if this is just the way Vista works.

Security Over-Paranoia

I admit, security is a primary concern these days. When it comes to
security, Microsoft products have been a laughingstock, unless, of course,
it was your system that got toasted. It is easy to see Microsoft's strategy
with Vista: remove the "laughingstock" moniker. 

Trouble is, the resulting system may be secure (only time will tell), but
in the process has become clumsy and difficult to use and maintain. I could
cite many examples here. My anti-favorites are a very cryptic process to
maintain a secure desktop, painful authentication for User Account
Controls, and obscure methods for accessing Administrator account options.

Too Clicky

I don't mind change if it is for a good reason. On the other hand, change
for no good reason really gets my goat. This seems to be the case with
accessing Network settings, Display settings, File/Edit/View menus (an
interface used for more than 20 years by millions of customers seems to
have vanished), and more. They are gone or changed, and I don't know why.

Looooong Install Time

Installing Windows has always been a hit-the-button-and-wait game. Baby,
you ain't seen nothing yet. 

On the bright side, Vista gathers user input in the early phases of the
process. This means you don't have to sit through the installation ordeal
waiting for the next question. Once installation begins, kiss your evening
goodbye.

Expect Big Bucks

Remember we mentioned Vista Ultimate earlier? In addition to Aero's visual
spiffiness, Ultimate offers digital media features and advanced
remote-hosting capabilities. This will probably be a must for small
businesses. If you manage multiple PCs at home, you'll probably need Vista,
too. 

Using history as our teacher, we can surmise that Microsoft will charge
more than it does for its current offerings. So, expect something in the
$320 to $350 price range.

* * *

The free market is a strange animal. Companies mired in mediocrity aren't
long for this world. Then, there is the little company from Redmond and
Vista. Like the cymbal-clanging bunny, Microsoft just keeps going, and
going, and going.

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Kirk Kirksey has been an information technology professional for over 25
years. After receiving a Master's degree, he worked as a computer
programmer, technical manager, and executive in both the United States and
abroad. Today he serves as the Vice President for Information Resources for
the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, and Chief
Information Officer for St. Paul Hospital at Southwestern and Zale Lipshy
University Hospital. 
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