____/ Kier on Wednesday 29 August 2007 10:53 : \____
> On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:46:09 -0700, John Locke wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:05:37 +0100, Roy Schestowitz
>> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>>Still no word on cause of WGA outage or Microsoft’s future prevention plans
>>
>> You'd think by now that Microsoft would have the brains to realize that
>> WGA is a failed project and it should be dumped as soon as possible.
>> Why continue with this crap ? It just alienates customers and serves
>> absolutely no useful purpose.
>
> Can they just dump it, though? It may be too intertwined in their product
> to do so easily.
I was thinking the same thing as Kier earlier. You would think that such
components can be removed using a system update at one point or another. I can
imagine this working with XP, but Vista probably has it too deeply integrated,
just liked DRM which descends to kernel level (frame buffer, pipes, etc). As
far as XP goes, it was added as though it was a missing component, not an 'out
of the box' feature. Vista is still not modular though, based on the statement
that 60% of the code still requires rewriting.
Speaking of rewriting, see my post about the Vista scheduler (sent about an
hour ago). They replaced what was an 'ugly hack' scheduler (think CFS versus
SD from Con Kolivas), so they ended up with an immature scheduler and a new
and insecure network stack (Symantec warned about this last year). In general,
Vista contains a lot of new and unproven code that replaces hacks which helped
meet deadlines (consumers and investors are to blame here). This might explain
why Vista is a slow and buggy release.
Nobody but Microsoft can access Windows source code (Novell developers get to
see parts of it because of the deal), but it seems to be messy, based on
reports. Server 2008 has not had the mess cleaned yet (they dropped many of
the major features).
More than half of Microsoft Vista needs re-writing
,----[ Quote ]
| "Up to 60% of the code in the new consumer version of Microsoft new Vista
| operating system is set to be rewritten..."
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=30516
,----[ Quote ]
| "In the long years since XP was launched, Apple have come out with five
| major upgrades to OS X, upgrades which (dare I say it?) install with about
| as much effort as it takes to brush your teeth in the morning. No nightmare
| calls to tech-support, no sudden hardware incompatibilities, no hassle. Why
| hasn't Microsoft kept up? Unmaintainable"
|
| "Right now, Microsoft has nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. After all
| the hype surrounding Vista, the Emperor has finally been revealed in all
| his naked glory. Some folks have been predicting the demise of Microsoft. I
| wouldn't go that far, but I am wondering how we?re ever going to take
| Microsoft seriously again?"
`----
http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2007/04/29/vista_end_dream/
A history of Microsoft Windows - the inside story exposed
,----[ Quote ]
| 2004: (...)
| THE MANAGEMENT: "What do you mean it still doesn't work? Try
| harder!"
|
| 2005: (...)
| "MAKE IT WORK! FOR GOD'S SAKE, MAKE IT WORK! Well, throw it away
| and use the server version then, that seems all right. Look, they
| won't know the difference, drop the database stuff, nobody remembers
| what we said in 1995 now! That was ten years ago! "Apple has what?
| 3D acceleration? So, we have DirectX. What, in the desktop? Really?
| What, even Stallman's beardie-weirdies have it? Oh hell. Right, you
| lot, make it look like this!"
|
| 2006: Windows Vista
| THE MANAGEMENT: "Look, if we trickle it out to those mugs, I mean,
| valued customers who've already paid, we can say we released it this
| year and it'll buy us some more time..."
|
| 2007: No, really Windows Vista, honest
| MARKETING DEPT: "Never mind the features, look at it! Isn't it shiny?
| Yes! Pretty!"
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37962
Microsoft admits Vista screwed - report
,----[ Quote ]
| Vista SP1 is code named "Fiji", presumably after a pretty looking
| island which is paralysed by coups.
|
| In a statement regarding the service pack Microsoft admits that
| Vista has "high impact" problems.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37125
MS Insider: The Office Crew Isn't Smart Enough to Supplant Real Windows
Developers
,----[ Quote ]
| "With Alchin retiring, MarkL and MarkZ, two of the most talented
| architects in MS already having left, the picture gets really
| ugly for the Windows division," my friend claimed, and the BV's
| core team members, Ian McDonald, Jack Mayo, Todd Wanke, Clyde
| Rodriguez and others are starting to connect the dots.
|
| [...]
|
| He concluded ominously. "A trainwreck of biblical proportions looms.
| Pick a good seat on the sidelines, trainwrecks this large take
| awhile to complete. Vista may be the last MS OS for some time to
| come, especially if Cutler decides to play hardball."
`----
http://www.emailbattles.com/2006/09/11/ms-insider-the-office-crew-isnt-smart-enough-to-supplant-real-windows-developers/
http://tinyurl.com/35eqrt
Microsoft cuts Windows virtualization features
,----[ Quote ]
| The company is changing three key features of the hypervisor
| technology to try to stick to its schedule of releasing the
| technology within 180 days of completing its Windows Server
| "Longhorn" operating system, due to be finalized before the
| end of the year.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6182852.html
--
~~ Best of wishes
For governments that eavesdrop, here is a quick list of tags: Communism,
Hawaiian shirts, China, Suitcase, Martha Stewart, Encryption, Prison, Stalin.
Thanks for tuning in.
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