Sorry for the late reply. I've been cutting down my time in COLA, and am
now dealing with the backlog. =)
"[H]omer" <spam@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:v4q9u3-s93.ln1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Oliver Wong wrote:
>> "[H]omer" <spam@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:a5ivt3-659.ln1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>>> I find it amusing that any Windows advocate can criticise the
>>> development of visual enhancements in an OS, when the only thing
>>> generating *any* interest in the forthcoming update to Windows, is
>>> eye-candy.
>>
>> I wish you would not make factually false statement like these.
>
> Stop the average man on the street and ask him what interests *him* in
> the forthcoming release of Vista. Is he going to say "The NUMA
> architecture"? How about "Support of UNIX-style symbolic links", or
> "Windows Workflow Foundation"? I doubt if he'd even know what you were
> talking about, let alone be "interested". And you could probably extend
> that from "average man" to IT management, and hell, even engineers. Who
> exactly outside of Geekdom knows FA about the technical intricacies of
> OS development?
I suspect that if you stop the average person on the street and ask them
what interests them in Vista, they'll reply "What's Vista?" And when you
tell them it's the next version of Windows, they'll probably say "Oh... I
dunno."
That said, if there exists one person interested in one feature other
than eye candy, then the statement "the only thing generating *any* interest
in the forthcoming update to Windows, is eye-candy" is factually false,
especially by virtue of the emphasis on "any". Here's what I think Roy is
trying to say: "The only thing that mildly interests *me* and *my* circle of
friends in Vista is the eye-candy."
>
> And yes, I've read (what's left of) the full feature list.
>
> AFAICT the changes fall into one of the following categories:
>
> . Eye-candy
> . Things that should have been fixed in XP
> . Marketing gobbledygook for new workflow methods
> . Version bumps
> . Ideas stolen from Apple
> . Ideas stolen from Linux
> . Even harsher DRM "protection"
> . Substandard implementations of things already better implemented by
> third-party developers, for the sake of being able to use the word
> "integrated".
>
> So tell me this, what exactly is it about Vista that has *you* creaming
> your jeans?
I haven't "creamed my jeans" for any OS yet. I'm just not that
passionate about operating systems. However, the stuff in "Things that
should have been fixed in XP", "Ideas stolen from Apple" and "Ideas stolen
from Linux" look pretty good. Of course, I'd probably use less words less
emotionally charged than "stealing" (if RMS is to be believe, nobody *owns*
an idea). I'd phrase "Things that should have been fixed in XP" for example,
as "Improvements over XP", thus avoiding the keyword "should" and the whole
philosophical is-ought problem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is-ought_problem
> It's not like we haven't all been through this before. The transition
> from 98 to XP just left me slamming the desk, cursing at not being able
> to play any of my old games. To this day, I still cannot play "Blood 2:
> The Chosen"; one of my favourites, unless I dual boot into 98.
I think I have that game. Is it with the 4 undead characters, and you
need a minimum strength to dual wield assault rifles? I'll try to remember
to give it a shot on XP. Personally, I like XP (though the transition for me
was 95 -> 98 -> 98SE -> 2000 -> XP). The OS just kept getting better and
better, and I hope this trend continues.
>
> I have a voice messaging modem from Pace (old but excellent ... and
> without equal) that serves as my FAX and answering service, but if I
> need to access the advanced functions then I need 98 to do it, since
> apparently the COM API changed with the new XP HAL, and the old
> abandonware software from Pace won't work under XP.
>
> The list goes on; the DVD playback that worked flawlessly under 98, no
> longer worked under XP, since apparently nVidia and Macrovision
> conspired to *disable* that function of that graphics card for
> *political* reasons:
>
> http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=8425
>
> Of course, I have upgraded that graphics card since then ... and I
> upgraded the OS at the same time ... from XP to Linux.
>
> Now as much as I'd love to completely replace my entire software
> collection, and throw away thousands of pounds/dollars worth of
> hardware, every time Microsoft snaps their fingers; if you don't mind
> I'll just stick with Linux, that works on hardware old and new ...
> without restriction.
>
> So you'll forgive me if I seem rather less than enthusiastic about the
> latest hype.
Okay, so you've had a lot of problems with XP, and you like Linux
better. So stick with Linux. In case it needs to be said explicitly: I am
not advocating Windows (Vista, or any other version) to anybody on this
forum. Choose whatever OS you like the most; I really don't care. I'm not
asking you to be enthusiastic about Vista. I'm not asking you to replace
your entire collection. I'm not asking you to send Microsoft a single cent.
All I'm asking is that you not automatically assume that just because *YOU*
don't like Vista, that means *NOBODY* will.
Personally, I am looking forward to Vista with cautious optimism. From
my perspective, Microsoft has had a good track record (every OS was better
from the last, and XP is already pretty darn good), however they've had some
development problems with Vista (long delays, features scrapped, etc.) If
it's better than XP, then I'll use it. If it's not better than XP, then I'll
stick with XP (or perhaps switch to Linux). Again, this is just what *I*
will personally do. I am not recommending anybody else here to do the same
as me. Use your own brains and decide what's best for yourselves.
Again: I am not saying you (or anybody else) has to like Vista. I'm just
saying don't spread lies about Vista.
> Despite the marketing-speak, Vista is going to be exactly
> what XP was, one step forward and two steps back.
>
> I *will* save a snapshot of my shiny new Vista (Beta) desktop for
> posterity, however. I'll print it out, frame it, and hang it on the
> wall, with a sign underneath that reads "Windows XP SP3: Eye-Candy
> Edition".
That's fine. In that context (somewhere in your house or office), it's
clearly satirical, so I have no problem with that. I can laugh at myself,
nevermind the OS I use (which is very far from being a fundamental part of
my identity). However, I object to Roy making posts with the flag "[News]"
and calling Vista "SP3". I also object to serious advocacy discussions in
which products are not referred to by their proper names. It has the same
maturity as referring to Linux as "Linsux" for example, and just adds
useless noise, instead of interesting information, to the discussion.
- Oliver
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