Vista's 11 Pillars of Failure
,----[ Quote ]
| 1) Market confusion. From the beginning, everyone moaned about the fact that
| there were simply too many versions of the OS for sale. Who needs all the
| variations? It's stupid—plain and simple. What you want is the one best
| version, not a slew of namby-pamby ones. This happened because the folks at
| Microsoft know only how to merchandise and, seemingly, not how to market.
|
| 2) Code size. I've got two words for you: TOO BIG. Enough said.
|
| 3) Missing components. Yes, WinFS, the promised file system and a core pillar
| of Vista, isn't there. The promises regarding the development of this file
| system go back to 1991. And Microsoft cannot make it a reality? Why?
|
| 4) Laptop battery-life drain. This was supposed to be fixed with special code
| and hybrid hard disks (HHD). Still, users have to resort to expensive silicon
| drives.
|
| [...]
`----
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2286065,00.asp
Would you pay for a "Work in progress"?
,----[ Quote ]
| Sorry windows people. You have been gypped. You have been ripped off and had
| your coffers emptied into the microsoft pockets. You have paid for the
| privilege of using a final product but have been handed a work in progress.
| In other words an unfinished product. Something that is not good enough to be
| called final. Something with many problems and missing features (where is
| that wonderful new file system?) If you were to buy anything, whether it is
| hardware or software, especially if you are going to rely on it for a living.
| Wouldn't you want it to be something other than "A work in progress"?
`----
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/linux/locutus/archives/would-you-pay-for-a-work-in-progress-23910
Yesterday:
How We Pay for Microsoft's Mistakes
,----[ Quote ]
| We're sort of turned off, though, by a company that takes five years to roll
| out a product, charges around $100 to $400 for it (depending on the version)
| and then admits it made billions of dollars on a faulty operating system.
|
| An admission of guilt --while endearing in a politician -- is likely to
| attract lawsuits, too. There's no better way to burn customers than with
| products that aren't ready for the market.
`----
http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/04/how-we-pay-for.html
Column on Microsoft's Vista attitude strikes nerve
,----[ Quote ]
| Today's column on Microsoft's attitude toward Windows Vista apparently tapped
| a rich vein of frustration with the operating system.
|
| Feedback ranges from the usual dismissive rants about Microsoft to long,
| thoughtful notes from people who seem almost sad about the problems they've
| had.
`----
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/2008/04/column_on_microsofts_vista_att.html
Days ago:
Ninth Circuit declines to hear Microsoft appeal in 'Vista Capable' suit
,----[ Quote ]
| That's the early word from lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the suit.
| Remember, Microsoft was seeking to appeal the judge's class certification in
| the suit. With the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declining to take up the
| case, it should proceed in U.S. District Court.
`----
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2008/04/ninth_circuit_declines_to_hear_microsoft_appeal_in.html
Recent:
Vista Capable plaintiffs subpoena PC titans
,----[ Quote ]
| Other notable names on the list include Intel and former Windows chief Jim
| Allchin.
`----
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/135018.asp
Microsoft tries to stop more ‘Vista-capable’ e-mails from going public
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is trying to put the kibosh on more of its internal (and
| embarassing) e-mail messages around its Vista marketing plans going public.
|
| [...]
|
| With every version of Windows, Microsoft has worked with hardware partners to
| find new ways to try to convince users they need more and more powerful
| machines to take advantage of more feature-rich software. If Microsoft and
| its partners were/are successful, it means more money in the PC makers’ and
| Microsoft’s coffers. With Vista, this pact really back-fired, as the already
| published e-mails around Vista-capable — and more, as-yet-unpublicized
| messages — will make evident.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1254
Microsoft challenges 'Vista Capable' class action
,----[ Quote ]
| If granted, the motion would also postpone any new disclosures of potentially
| embarrassing company e-mails.
`----
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9067400
They Criticized Vista. And They Should Know.
,----[ Quote ]
| Act 1: In 2005, Microsoft plans to say that only PCs that are properly
| equipped to handle the heavy graphics demands of Vista are “Vista Ready.”
|
| Act 2: In early 2006, Microsoft decides to drop the graphics-related hardware
| requirement in order to avoid hurting Windows XP sales on low-end machines
| while Vista is readied. (A customer could reasonably conclude that Microsoft
| is saying, Buy Now, Upgrade Later.) A semantic adjustment is made: Instead of
| saying that a PC is “Vista Ready,” which might convey the idea that, well, it
| is ready to run Vista, a PC will be described as “Vista Capable,” which
| supposedly signals that no promises are made about which version of Vista
| will actually work.
|
| The decision to drop the original hardware requirements is accompanied by
| considerable internal protest. The minimum hardware configuration was set so
| low that “even a piece of junk will qualify,” Anantha Kancherla, a Microsoft
| program manager, said in an internal e-mail message among those recently
| unsealed, adding, “It will be a complete tragedy if we allowed it.”
|
| Act 3: In 2007, Vista is released in multiple versions, including “Home
| Basic,” which lacks Vista’s distinctive graphics. This placed Microsoft’s
| partners in an embarrassing position. Dell, which gave Microsoft a postmortem
| report that was also included among court documents, dryly
| remarked: “Customers did not understand what ‘Capable’ meant and expected
| more than could/would be delivered.”
`----
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/business/09digi.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&oref=slogin
Microsoft knew of Vista shortcoming prior to release
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/microsoft-knew-vista-shortcoming-prior/story.aspx?guid=%7B75BE59C7%2DEFA1%2D48B5%2DB4A4%2D90F5E01A52A0%7D&siteid=yhoof
Microsoft dropped Vista hardware spec to raise Intel profits
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/03/01/microsoft_intel_vista_capable_emails/
Microsoft 'Caves' To Intel
http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/28/microsoft-vista-intel-tech-ebiz-cx_wt_0228vista.html?partner=yahootix
Has Vista lost all credibility?
http://apcmag.com/8344/has_vista_lost_all_credibility
E-mail: Microsoft 'botched' dealings with Intel, HP
,----[ Quote ]
| Internal Microsoft e-mails revealed through a federal class-action lawsuit
| arising from the troubled launch last year of the Windows Vista operating
| system have provided a provocative inside look at the software giant's
| machinations with Intel, HP and Dell.
|
| The e-mails include an exchange in which one senior Microsoft executive
| described dealings with computer makers as "really botched." Another manager
| complained Microsoft was "caving to Intel" and "really burning HP."
|
| The e-mails are included in 145 pages of documents unsealed by U.S. District
| Judge Marsha Pechman in Seattle late Wednesday. They include internal
| reports and some handwritten notes that offer a rare look inside at the
| famed "Wintel" partnership, and touch upon the alliance's dealings with
| Hewlett-Packard, Dell and other computer makers.
`----
http://origin.mercurynews.com/businessheadlines/ci_8417811?nclick_check=1
|
|