Forbes - Microsoft Vista: Not 'People Ready'

|Zach| · 03-24-2006, 10:44 PM

http://www.forbes.com/technology/200...microsoft.html

Boston -

The new version of Microsoft Windows, called Vista, has slipped again. It was originally going to ship in 2003. Then 2005. Then 2006. Now in early 2007. I'm not surprised, having seen a demo of Microsoft's new programs at an "event" for tech buyers in New York last week.

The new programs are phenomenally complex, with scores of buttons and pull-down menus and myriad connections among various applications. A Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) VP zipped through a demo, moving information from Outlook to Powerpoint to Groove to some kind of social networking program that lets you see how your colleagues and your colleagues' colleagues rate various Web sites.

Meanwhile, 500 tech buyers sat there in the dark, their eyes glazing over from the sheer mind-numbing pointlessness of most of this stuff. The audience laughed out loud when the Microsoft guy showed off a kludgey system that lets you fetch Outlook e-mail messages using voice commands from a cell phone.

The system has all the charm of those automated phone systems you encounter when you call customer service: Your call is very important to us. And while it is cool and futuristic to have a computer "read" your e-mail to you, uh, dude--we all have BlackBerrys anyway. In fact, many in the audience weren't even watching the voice-activated e-mail demo--they were checking mail on their BlackBerrys.

Even more ironic is that Microsoft has ginned up a new slogan, "People Ready," which apparently is meant to describe its software, or maybe it describes companies that use its software, or whatever. Who knows? It's one of those phrases that means anything, and so means nothing. Who makes this stuff up? Do they actually pay this person? And is Microsoft just figuring out now that its programs are used by--gasp--people?

Microsoft execs also talked about "Impacting People," then they dragged out fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, who seemed very "impacted" as he sang praise for Microsoft programs. Actually, he was reading meaningless statements from a TelePrompTer. Here is one of his quotes, verbatim: "When you combine people and technology, you have a very powerful combination." Think about that. Just let it sink in for a minute.

And then there were the hacks. The press folks. Corralled down in back. Some were just talking out loud during Steve Ballmer's keynote speech, not even bothering to keep their voices down. Yeah. It was that kind of show.

Worse yet was the grumbling afterward in the press room. Why the hell did they drag us here? we wondered. We'd been promised big news and some earth-shattering announcements by Microsoft flacks who insisted this was something we shouldn't miss. Instead, we got a demo that was about as compelling as a root canal followed by a 15-minute press conference with Ballmer, the Microsoft chief executive who seems incapable of speaking at any level softer than a bellow. Ballmer took a few potshots at IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ), claiming the computer giant doesn't innovate anymore.

No one mentioned the fact that in 1997, Microsoft held a similar event in New York City to declare that IBM's "big iron" was dead, because Windows NT--remember Windows NT?--was going to "scale up" and replace the mainframe. I wonder if Ballmer ever feels like the guy in Groundhog Day, reliving the same press conference, over and over. I know I do.

Oddly enough, some of the language of the Microsoft event was eerily similar to language about innovation in the new huge advertisements that IBM started running a few days later in newspapers. Did Microsoft somehow get wind of the ads? Who knows. But the event seemed thrown together to blunt the new ad campaign from IBM.

Worst of all, I can't believe Microsoft actually held this big nonevent "event" only a few days before announcing another screw-up in Vista. If Ballmer knew he was about to announce a delay and still had this event, he's crazy. If he didn't know Vista was about to slip again, then Microsoft is in worse shape than anyone realizes.

Microsoft can't afford to screw up like this. There are free alternatives to everything Microsoft sells, like the Linux operating system and the Open Office application suite. Rivals like Novell (nasdaq: NOVL - news - people ), Red Hat (nasdaq: RHAT - news - people ), Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: SUNW - news - people ) and, yes, IBM are pushing those programs big time.

Given Microsoft's delays I can't believe open-source stuff still hasn't caught on for desktop computers. It's amazing, but people will wait months and months for products that are so complicated that no ordinary person can figure out how to use them.

Why not at least switch to an Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) Mac? Apple's new operating system is stable, reliable and easy to use. The applications are simple, gorgeous and work well together. And they're here. Today. Steve Jobs must be waking up a happy man this morning.

**007** · 03-24-2006, 10:58 PM

More reason to hate Microsoft.

Psyko Tek · 03-24-2006, 11:15 PM

when games come out that are compatable with more thatn MS
they are sooo gone

**007** · 03-24-2006, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psyko Tek

when games come out that are compatable with more thatn MS
they are sooo gone

The sooner the better. I would dump MS in a heartbeat if someone could create an OS that would run all the same programs.

StcChief · 03-24-2006, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcchiefsguru

The sooner the better. I would dump MS in a heartbeat if someone could create an OS that would run all the same programs.

Don't think same programs, think same functionality.

sourceforge has alot of opensource projects and you can run Linux desktop.

Pitt Gorilla · 03-24-2006, 11:32 PM

OSX >>> Windows

Simplex3 · 03-25-2006, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcchiefsguru

The sooner the better. I would dump MS in a heartbeat if someone could create an OS that would run all the same programs.

You've bought the MS hype that you need Word, Excel, Outlook, etc. The truth is there are free applications out there that perform all the same functions. I haven't relied on a Windows server or desktop for anything in years, yet I still communicate with lots of Windows users and they have no idea I'm NOT on Windows. Today's Linux is no harder to install than Windows, can be made to look just like Windows, and will run better on much, much, MUCH cheaper hardware.

It's not a bold step. The Unix variants have all the tools, the only thing they're missing is you installing it.

Simplex3 · 03-25-2006, 12:15 AM

The part I find funniest about Vista continually slipping like this is that they've even taken out the major reason for moving off of XP, the WinFS filesystem. They flat dropped it from the spec years ago and STILL can't get the f**ker launched. Without that it's nothing more than an eye-candy release.

**007** · 03-25-2006, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simplex3

You've bought the MS hype that you need Word, Excel, Outlook, etc. The truth is there are free applications out there that perform all the same functions. I haven't relied on a Windows server or desktop for anything in years, yet I still communicate with lots of Windows users and they have no idea I'm NOT on Windows. Today's Linux is no harder to install than Windows, can be made to look just like Windows, and will run better on much, much, MUCH cheaper hardware.

It's not a bold step. The Unix variants have all the tools, the only thing they're missing is you installing it.

What version of Linix are you using?

greg63 · 03-25-2006, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simplex3

You've bought the MS hype that you need Word, Excel, Outlook, etc. The truth is there are free applications out there that perform all the same functions. I haven't relied on a Windows server or desktop for anything in years, yet I still communicate with lots of Windows users and they have no idea I'm NOT on Windows. Today's Linux is no harder to install than Windows, can be made to look just like Windows, and will run better on much, much, MUCH cheaper hardware.

It's not a bold step. The Unix variants have all the tools, the only thing they're missing is you installing it.

I might have to give Linux a shot; I've not had the best of luck with MS.

**Saulbadguy** · 03-25-2006, 12:21 AM

It is so cool to hate Microsoft.

Simplex3 · 03-25-2006, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcchiefsguru

What version of Linix are you using?

I use Suse 10.

http://www.opensuse.org/

It's easy as pie to install, and when you're done you'll have a fully functional desktop machine with an office suite, email client(s), web browser(s), media player(s), CD/DVD burning and authoring apps, Gimp (a Photoshop-type app), Acrobat Reader, Flash player, etc. Best part? It's all free and if the cops show up you don't have to hide it.

From the install CD set you can install a Project clone, games, Visio type apps, you name it.

Now, you're going to take one look at the download and see that it's 5 CDs. You're going to crap your pants. It will NOT install 5 CDs worth of stuff on your machine. There are half a dozen database servers, tons of utilities, a few gigs of stuff you probably won't ever use and it won't be installed on your machine.

Check out some screenshots of the default desktop:

http://www.kde.org/screenshots/kde340shots.php

Oh, and did I mention that if you don't like that desktop (KDE) you can install Gnome:

http://art.gnome.org/screenshots/

Neither of those really meet your needs? Like things a little more utilitarian? Try blackbox, fluxbox, IceWM, XFCE....

Want lots of eyecandy? Try Enlightenment:

http://enlightenment.sourceforge.net...ots/index.html

The point is choice. The distro gives you a canned Linux that will work for you, but as you become more familiar you can CHOOSE different things that make more sense for you and work better for you. You can make your choices based on what's best, not what you can afford.

I'll happily help where I can for anyone that wants to switch. However, if you need support the IRC is a great place. For Suse you can head over to Freenode's #suse where there are, on average, 280 Suse users hanging out helping eachother. I've never once had a question go unanswered for more than a couple of hours.

Simplex3 · 03-25-2006, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

It is so cool to hate Microsoft.

I don't hate them. That's like saying you hated the reeruned kid in school who drooled on himself and rode around in a motorized wheelchair. What would be the point of hating someone like that? I just see them for what they are: a company living off people's abhorrence of change.

|Zach| · 03-25-2006, 12:49 AM

I am sitting with a machine with Windows XP with a lot of crap on it. How messy or risky will it be to try one of these Linux OS's.

I have been pretty intrigued.

Will it play nice with things like Photoshop and most programs?

Simplex3 · 03-25-2006, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachKC

I am sitting with a machine with Windows XP with a lot of crap on it. How messy or risky will it be to try one of these Linux OS's.

I have been pretty intrigued.

Linux will install alongside Windows if you have an extra drive or free space on your current drive. All the major Linux distro's will configure a boot loader so that you can choose Linux or Windows when you boot up. Most will even mount your Windows partition (read only) so you can get to your Windows files from Linux.

You may need a Partition Magic-type utility to resize your Windows partition down if you don't have a spare drive and your disk is fully partitioned for Windows.

Mandrake Linux used to include a partition resizer in their installer, but there are other free partition resizing tools.

03-24-2006, 10:44 PM
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $2976768	Forbes - Microsoft Vista: Not 'People Ready' http://www.forbes.com/technology/200...microsoft.html Boston - The new version of Microsoft Windows, called Vista, has slipped again. It was originally going to ship in 2003. Then 2005. Then 2006. Now in early 2007. I'm not surprised, having seen a demo of Microsoft's new programs at an "event" for tech buyers in New York last week. The new programs are phenomenally complex, with scores of buttons and pull-down menus and myriad connections among various applications. A Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) VP zipped through a demo, moving information from Outlook to Powerpoint to Groove to some kind of social networking program that lets you see how your colleagues and your colleagues' colleagues rate various Web sites. Meanwhile, 500 tech buyers sat there in the dark, their eyes glazing over from the sheer mind-numbing pointlessness of most of this stuff. The audience laughed out loud when the Microsoft guy showed off a kludgey system that lets you fetch Outlook e-mail messages using voice commands from a cell phone. The system has all the charm of those automated phone systems you encounter when you call customer service: Your call is very important to us. And while it is cool and futuristic to have a computer "read" your e-mail to you, uh, dude--we all have BlackBerrys anyway. In fact, many in the audience weren't even watching the voice-activated e-mail demo--they were checking mail on their BlackBerrys. Even more ironic is that Microsoft has ginned up a new slogan, "People Ready," which apparently is meant to describe its software, or maybe it describes companies that use its software, or whatever. Who knows? It's one of those phrases that means anything, and so means nothing. Who makes this stuff up? Do they actually pay this person? And is Microsoft just figuring out now that its programs are used by--gasp--people? Microsoft execs also talked about "Impacting People," then they dragged out fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, who seemed very "impacted" as he sang praise for Microsoft programs. Actually, he was reading meaningless statements from a TelePrompTer. Here is one of his quotes, verbatim: "When you combine people and technology, you have a very powerful combination." Think about that. Just let it sink in for a minute. And then there were the hacks. The press folks. Corralled down in back. Some were just talking out loud during Steve Ballmer's keynote speech, not even bothering to keep their voices down. Yeah. It was that kind of show. Worse yet was the grumbling afterward in the press room. Why the hell did they drag us here? we wondered. We'd been promised big news and some earth-shattering announcements by Microsoft flacks who insisted this was something we shouldn't miss. Instead, we got a demo that was about as compelling as a root canal followed by a 15-minute press conference with Ballmer, the Microsoft chief executive who seems incapable of speaking at any level softer than a bellow. Ballmer took a few potshots at IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ), claiming the computer giant doesn't innovate anymore. No one mentioned the fact that in 1997, Microsoft held a similar event in New York City to declare that IBM's "big iron" was dead, because Windows NT--remember Windows NT?--was going to "scale up" and replace the mainframe. I wonder if Ballmer ever feels like the guy in Groundhog Day, reliving the same press conference, over and over. I know I do. Oddly enough, some of the language of the Microsoft event was eerily similar to language about innovation in the new huge advertisements that IBM started running a few days later in newspapers. Did Microsoft somehow get wind of the ads? Who knows. But the event seemed thrown together to blunt the new ad campaign from IBM. Worst of all, I can't believe Microsoft actually held this big nonevent "event" only a few days before announcing another screw-up in Vista. If Ballmer knew he was about to announce a delay and still had this event, he's crazy. If he didn't know Vista was about to slip again, then Microsoft is in worse shape than anyone realizes. Microsoft can't afford to screw up like this. There are free alternatives to everything Microsoft sells, like the Linux operating system and the Open Office application suite. Rivals like Novell (nasdaq: NOVL - news - people ), Red Hat (nasdaq: RHAT - news - people ), Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: SUNW - news - people ) and, yes, IBM are pushing those programs big time. Given Microsoft's delays I can't believe open-source stuff still hasn't caught on for desktop computers. It's amazing, but people will wait months and months for products that are so complicated that no ordinary person can figure out how to use them. Why not at least switch to an Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) Mac? Apple's new operating system is stable, reliable and easy to use. The applications are simple, gorgeous and work well together. And they're here. Today. Steve Jobs must be waking up a happy man this morning.
Posts: 54,757

03-24-2006, 10:58 PM	#2
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $12100126 VARSITY	More reason to hate Microsoft. __________________ My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.
Posts: 65,741

03-24-2006, 11:15 PM	#3
Psyko Tek special teams Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Mesa AZ Casino cash: $10015665	when games come out that are compatable with more thatn MS they are sooo gone __________________ Psyko Tek The keyboard has been drinking,
Posts: 12,018

03-24-2006, 11:32 PM	#6
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $-189806	OSX >>> Windows __________________ Your son is a bench warmer because of your weak genetics not because of the coach Norlin Mommsen is disgusting.
Posts: 47,391

03-25-2006, 12:15 AM	#8
Simplex3 MVP Join Date: Sep 2003 Casino cash: $10004900	The part I find funniest about Vista continually slipping like this is that they've even taken out the major reason for moving off of XP, the WinFS filesystem. They flat dropped it from the spec years ago and STILL can't get the f**ker launched. Without that it's nothing more than an eye-candy release.
Posts: 28,527

03-25-2006, 12:21 AM	#11
Saulbadguy When a nightmare becomes real Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $736966	It is so cool to hate Microsoft. __________________ http://www.goemaw.com
Posts: 47,020

03-25-2006, 12:49 AM	#14
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $2976768	I am sitting with a machine with Windows XP with a lot of crap on it. How messy or risky will it be to try one of these Linux OS's. I have been pretty intrigued. Will it play nice with things like Photoshop and most programs?
Posts: 54,757