Not Surprised

I predicted Vista would ruin Windows and it looks like my prediction is coming true. People are rejecting it in droves.

Upgrading to Windows Vista has been banned by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), technology giant Texas Instruments and other corporations and government agencies (V1, V10, V11). These organizations are evaluating their options, but overseas it’s turning into a stampede to get out of Microsoft software (V15).

School districts in the U.S. are starting to move entirely to Linux rather suffer the cost of upgrading Windows. Examples are the Windsor Unified School District in Northern California and the Bexley, Ohio high school district. Schools making this move have been surprised how easy it is and how much money is saved. (V6, V8)

Leading computer maker HP is reporting “massive deals for Linux desktops” with corporate clients (V4). Runner-up computer maker and long time faithful Microsoft ally Dell has been overwhelmed by demand and has started developing Linux desktop preloads for their notebook and desktop computers (V9).

Even that great bastion of the status quo, the Wall Street Journal, has published an article under the title Linux Starts to Find Home on Desktops (Business Technology, 13 Mar 2007).

Small business and consumer demand for computers with Windows XP is very high, but Microsoft has moved swiftly to make sure they can’t get it. No sane person wants Vista, so Microsoft is making sure they have no choice.

If you ask me, this is a good thing. Microsoft has had too much power in the business and it’s time for some change. By going in such a DRM heavy, cumbersome route, they are insuring that Apple and Linux do well in the near future. Linux based OS like Ubutu is really coming into its own. And it’s free, unlike Vista which can cost as much as $350. The more people switch to Linux, the better the Linux based platforms and software will be, as more money is poured in that direction.

I saw the same thing happen to IBM in the early 80s. Back then IBM was unassailable as the leader of the computer market (and PCs). But like Microsoft they made some major blunders taking themselves and their power too seriously. All Microsoft does nowadays is copy whatever other companies like Apple comes up with.  And they do it years later.

Microsoft will probably be a big player for the next decade, but I think we’ll start seeing it’s decline soon. Watch.

As for me, I plan on building a new computer this year with a dual core pentium and I do not plan to install Vista. I’ll probably use XP Pro, but I may give Linux another try since it’s been a few years and they have made a lot of progress.

UBUNTU and Red Hat are excellent choices.  I found Red Hatto be more reliable, albeit slightly more techie to install. 

Most important is that every tool you could ever need is available with these distributions.  I changed over 18 months ago and have not had a single problem communicating with my customers and my management.  They do not see any difference in documents they get from me.  I use .pdf for document transmittal (so easy to do with open office). I use all non-microsoft browsers, accounting, drawing, web page programs, page layout, etc.  The applications are well supported, easy to use and high quality.

btw. I have an office network setup with three machines and a OKI data color laser printer all connected.  One laptop uses Windows XP, a whimsical decision that has turned out to be a good test. All machines talk to each other without trouble.  Also have Konica PagePro printer, HP scanner/scanne, and Brother fax/printer/scanner connected.  Any console can use any printer quite transparently.  The XP machine is the most likely to crash just because.  Th Linux machines seem solid as a rock.

Don’t hesitate to try it out.  There is some learning needed to get acquainted with the file system and with the user security measures that are intrinsic in Linux design.  But hey, the user security is what makes Linux essentially virus free.  When you understand the system it prove itself elegant.  When you know both sides of the street, you will quickly figure out where the sun shines strongest.  Then you can choose which side to walk on.

Regards
Paul Thomas

Posted by  on  03/20  at  10:07 PM

Ha ha!

I really, REALLY love my Mac!

OS X is really, really good now, Hud.  It’s stayed SO Mac-LIKE, yet at the same time I don’t think it’s ever been as good to be a Mac fanboy either, Hud.

Switching to a Unix-base has been nothing but good for Apple.  The system has never been as stable, and, bang-for-buck, I don’t think the system has performed better.  It’s opened up the system to massive influxes of really good Linux ports meaning much, much more freeware and shareware than ever before.

It’s good to be a Mac-user!

Nope, I’m not missing Windows instability, resource-hogging, and the intrusiveness of Bill Gates’ Big Brother-like personality at all…

Posted by  on  03/21  at  02:32 AM

What George said!

Posted by Macker  on  03/21  at  02:38 AM

I remember when people had the big freak-out after windows moved to XP. The biggest gripe being that it was a system hog.  As you know, computers got cheaper and more powerful and now it is the norm.  As for bugs, first generation systems always have bugs.  Even Linux, and even Macs.

Which brings me to my rant, the whole…“Macs just work, I am so cool” marketing campaign drives me nuts.

If everything on a Mac just works, then why does a website called “Mac fix it” exist? Here are a few choice topics on macfixitforums.com:
-Login window stuck!
-lower caSe “S” key not working!!
-Menu bar keeps flashing
-I can’t drag and drop!

(Now wait for the Mac users backlash. Like all cults, they are very defensive.)

Apple is not just selling computers, they’re selling a way of life, and I’m not ready to be that heavily invested in a product. I do not want to be in a “Mac Community” of new age hipsters with fat pocketbooks. Cool is nothing more than a marketing tool. Not to mention that Itunes is the greatest system hog ever invented, Realtime just plain sucks, and Ipods break after a year.)

Linux is no better. http://www.linuxselfhelp.com/forum/ has the worst help forum I have ever seen.  Seriously, I am speechless. It 90% spam!!!!  Yay, Linux security, you really instill confidence in me. (I will say that Linux users, in general, are far and away the most competent computer users of the three systems.  That’s why I don’t like it, I am scarred of it and I don’t want to spend the time worrying about compatibility. Or, I just dont care enough)

As for vista users leaving in droves…well I bet it is easy to find people leaving in droves when your consumer base is hovering in the hundreds of millions.  And is it a surprise that some of the largest government organizations in the US aren’t switching platforms when they don’t need to? Have you ever been to the D.O.T., it’s a dump, it was built in the 60’s and they haven’t replaced the carpets yet.  These kinds of things take years and millions of dollars that our government doesn’t have because of incompetent money management. In the end,  I think that it will happen because the grass simply is not greener on the other side. witching to Linux, although cheaper, will simply create a whole new set of problems for people to deal with.  At least with PC’s, IT folks are already trained to fix them. 

I think that I should mention that I am no PC enthusiast.  They suck just as bad as the rest.  But I don’t like this idea that everything else is soooo much better. They are not, there is not silver bullet.  After two years, all our computers will start to break down. 

I just hope my X-box 360 will last as long as my PS2 did. (7 long hard years)

Posted by  on  03/21  at  05:57 AM

Yep, does Mac ads drive me nuts too.  Say what you want about the PC, but it is still the best gaming platform IMO.  I mean is’nt it funny how we have a hip cool slacker guy as the macintosh but for some reason he seems to do everything but play games?

And, yet, I myself am not upgrading to Vista despite the fact that I have the lastest dual core intel chip and a dual core video card.  I just figured, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  Even the guy who created DOOM thinks it’s not necessary to upgrade to Vista nor does he feel his upcoming Quake Wars game should take advantage of Vista features.

Posted by  on  03/21  at  06:48 AM

Andrew Grygus is an ass.

This is from an IWETHEY forum he participates in.

“What have we been telling you all this time? Servers have DIFFERENT RULES. Just how damned thick is your skull - bone to the center? Do you actually comprehend anything you read?

Show me a desktop SKU offering those choices.

AAx [*]”

Posted by  on  03/21  at  07:11 AM

I don’t like the Mac propaganda, or the absurd, gouging prices. ($2400 starting price for a Mac Pro. And no monitor included!)

Yes, Windows is teh best gaming platform, but I suspect Linux will be in the not so distant future. Many games, are written on Linux machines.

There is no perfect system. But I for one am really getting sick of MS and their business tactics. I will stick with XP for the time being, but I will probably set up a second computer with Linux, and I am supposed to be getting a Mac Book from work.

Posted by James Hudnall  on  03/21  at  08:54 AM

Bannod,

I understood nothing from your post.  You might need to enlighten us as to who Grygus is, what an SKU is, and what we are to learn from your quote.

I am too dumb to understand. (Hud’ll admit that i can be pretty slow sometimes.

Posted by  on  03/21  at  10:39 AM

I use a PC at work running a network version of Windows XP 2002.  At home, the wife and I both have Macs.  I wouldn’t want to try using a Mac at work—and at the same time wouldn’t think of using a PC at home—the Macs are just too easy to use.  Having said that, though, I must admit I hate the way Apple makes it harder and harder to keep your legacy Mac up and running.  Microsoft is far worse, of course, but still, considering how loyal the Mac user base is, it’s pretty rude to make it so damn difficult to keep a computer over six years old compatible with current web browsers and other software.

I’m at the point where I can’t afford to upgrade to the new Mac platform, so I have to FrankenMac my G4 a bit, add a lot more RAM, replace an old hard drive with one that has MUCH more capacity, and THEN upgrade to a specific version of OX (Tiger won’t work for me ol’ G4, I have to locate a copy of Panther w/all the trimmings).  I just DREAD starting the process, ‘cause I’m NOT a computer nerd, and am deathly afraid I’ll screw something up permanantly when I attempt to install the additional RAM and new hard drive…

I used to have a friend who worked for Apple, and he was always our go-to guy for anything we needed to do with our Macs; but he’s dropped off the face of the earth, and now we’re looking ad maybe joining BMUG just so we can get some tech support.

Posted by  on  03/21  at  10:46 AM

Andrew Grygus is the person who wrote the article James provided the link to. 

An SKU is a stock keeping unit.


I’m a skeptic.  Just because someone posts something (like Grygus did), I’m not inclined to believe it.  There may be just as many people rushing TO Vista.  Lawd knows I was one of them - I ordered a new computer the first day Vista was available!

Posted by  on  03/22  at  04:47 AM
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