Posted on 04/11/2008 6:50:11 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The researchers damn Windows in current form, urge radical changes
Calling the situation "untenable" and describing Windows as "collapsing," a pair of Gartner analysts yesterday said Microsoft Corp. must make radical changes to its operating system or risk becoming a has-been.
In a presentation at a Gartner-sponsored conference in Las Vegas, analysts Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald said Microsoft has not responded to the market, is overburdened by nearly two decades of legacy code and decisions, and faces serious competition on a whole host of fronts that will make Windows moot unless the software developer acts.
"For Microsoft, its ecosystem and its customers, the situation is untenable," said Silver and MacDonald in their prepared presentation, titled "Windows Is Collapsing: How What Comes Next Will Improve."
Among Microsoft's problems, the pair said, is Windows' rapidly-expanding code base, which makes it virtually impossible to quickly craft a new version with meaningful changes. That was proved by Vista, they said, when Microsoft -- frustrated by lack of progress during the five-year development effort on the new operating -- hit the "reset" button and dropped back to the more stable code of Windows Server 2003 as the foundation of Vista.
"This is a large part of the reason [why] Windows Vista delivered primarily incremental improvements," they said. In turn, that became one of the reasons why businesses pushed back Vista deployment plans. "Most users do not understand the benefits of Windows Vista or do not see Vista as being better enough than Windows XP to make incurring the cost and pain of migration worthwhile."
Other analysts, including those at Gartner rival Forrester Research Inc., have highlighted the slow move toward Vista. Last month, Forrester said that by the end of 2007 only 6.3% of 50,000 enterprise computer users it surveyed were working with Vista. What gains Vista made during its first year, added Forrester, appeared to be at the expense of Windows 2000; Windows XP's share hardly budged.
The monolithic nature of Windows -- although Microsoft talks about Vista's modularity, Silver and MacDonald said it doesn't go nearly far enough -- not only makes it tough to deliver a worthwhile upgrade, but threatens Microsoft in the mid- and long-term.
Users want a smaller Windows that can run on low-priced -- and low-powered -- hardware. And increasingly, users work with "OS-agnostic applications," the two analysts said in their presentation. It takes too long for Microsoft to build the next version, the company is being beaten by others in the innovation arena, and in the future -- perhaps as soon as the next three years -- it's going to have trouble competing with Web applications and small, specialized devices.
"Apple introduced its iPhone running OS X, but Microsoft requires a different product on handhelds because Windows Vista is too large, which makes application development, support and the user experience all more difficult," according to Silver and MacDonald.
"Windows as we know it must be replaced," they said in their presentation.
Their advice to Microsoft took several forms, but one road they urged the software giant to take was virtualization. "We envision a very modular and virtualized world," said the researchers, who spelled out a future where virtualization -- specifically a hypervisor -- is standard on client as well as server versions of Windows.
"An OS, in this case Windows, will ride atop the hypervisor, but it will be much thinner, smaller and modular than it is today. Even the Win32 API set should be a module that can be deployed to maintain support for traditional Windows applications on some devices, but other[s] may not have that module installed."
Backward compatibility with older applications should also be supported via virtualization. "Backward compatibility is a losing proposition for Microsoft; while it keeps people locked into Windows, it also often keeps them from upgrading," said the analysts. "[But] using built-in virtualization, compatibility modules could be layered atop Win32, or not, as needed."
Silver and MacDonald also called on Microsoft to make it easier to move to newer versions of Windows, re-think how it licenses Windows and come up with a truly modular operating system that can grow or shrink as needed.
Microsoft has taken some new steps with Windows, although they don't necessarily match what the Gartner analysts recommended. For instance, the company recently granted Windows XP Home a reprieve from its June 30 OEM cut-off, saying it would let computer makers install the older, smaller operating system on ultra-cheap laptops through the middle of 2010.
It will also add a hypervisor to Windows -- albeit the server version -- in August, and there are signs that it will launch Windows 7, the follow-on to Vista, late next year rather than early 2010.
Thanks, will try that when I get home! (I have to figure out hotmail too.....)
You can try installing the Microsoft Outlook connecter:
Set it up with your hotmail acct & I think you can then just move the messages to your regular inbox. Good luck!
I don't think that price differential exists any more. The prices are pretty equivalent for comparable specs. Plus, with Macs you get the great ILife suite. But even if Macs do cost more I submit it's worth it. I just retired my Powerbook after 5 years (it still works fine, I just wanted something new). I don't know many Windows laptop users with five year old machines. I got my money's worth and then some.
Geez, rightsmart - don't you understand that your PC is Microsoft's b*tch? Just suck it up and get a 10 terabyte drive with a 40 GHz processor and 2 terabytes of RAM, so their bloatware can limp along until the next update...
Use Thunderbird to access Hotmail and Yahoo Mail
http://email.about.com/od/mozillathunderbirdtips/qt/et_free_hotmail.htm
Yeah. That's what I'm talking about. It's too frequent and too complicated. I recommend newbies marry or date a techie.
No, the cost difference is still there.
You have to compare apples to apples (no pun intended).
A Windows machine with the exact same specs as the Mac can be had at far less, I’m talking $600 range.
So I’m not going to pay an extra large premium because it has a plastic Apple on the front.
There’s a difference between price and cost.
The purchase price of a PC is a down payment.
:)
The cheapest MacBook is $1,100 according to Apple’s website...for 1 gig RAM, 120GB HD, running 2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo.
If you spec out a Dell, for example, I can get an Inspiron model with same processor, 2 gig RAM and 250 GB HD for $900.
While Macs and PC prices are getting closer, there is still a fairly significant premium on Macs.
Oh and my wife has a Gateway Notebook for going on 6 years now, never had a problem....so now you know one who’s had one for longer than 5 years. ;)
If you spec out identical components, the Mac is cheaper. It’s been done many times. And the higher-end the system the more you save.
Only if you do stupid things to break it...
Like I said, I paid $1400 for a laptop with identical to a Mac Book that cost over $2100 and I’ve never had issues.
Plus, you also forget that hardware wise the Mac is identical to a PC now, it’s just the OS that’s different.
So you’re paying that premium for the privilege of using St. Steve’s OS.
“If you spec out identical components, the Mac is cheaper.”
Actually if I spec out and build the machine myself, I come out way ahead of the Mac and better than Dell. ;)
The Windows box I just replaced was almost 6 years old, and it’s going to be my wife’s and replace her 10 year old machine (which used to be my machine). Unless you’re addicted to the latest and greatest PCs last a good long time, really if I wasn’t a gamer I wouldn’t have replaced the machine, that’s why it’s becoming my wife’s.
I agree completely.
PC’s are a less expensive, more open, and far more scalable platform.
Mac is none of those and you pay a premium for being unable to make changes to your system.
Excellent....will try both...thank you.
I don't think I have the guts or ability to build my own laptop. I admit I splurged and got the Macbook Air. What a great machine. Plus, I do lots of lecturing and am repeatedly surrounded afterwards by cute medical students ogling my laptop (and me?). And when I fly by cute flight attendants. That never happened when I had a Dell!
Whenever I get email with pictures from my friend who uses a MAC...they never come out. That’s the only reason I hesisate to get one....most people can’t see the stuff you send them...and alot of programs don’t work on them.
LOL!
Oh I’m not saying the Mac isn’t a good machine, it really is. But for me, at least, I can’t justify the premium over a PC, plus I’m into PC gaming for which there is obviously a much larger market.
To each his/her own!
That’s mostly because Apple has always used it’s own graphics format for it’s internal apps, I believe it’s a *.pic format.
Windows uses *.bmp or *.jpg as it’s default witch are universal file types that any graphics app or web browser can open.
Linux uses *.png since it’s an open source format, and most browsers or apps can also use this extension since it’s free to use.
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