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MSFT VISTA-A Bridge too Far?

Here is a great column about MSFT’s VISTA . It has taken five years to produce this product, and Ballmer swears that won’t happen again.  Frankly I agree with the author.  It would have been far better to make small changes in XP, but was a change really needed?  I have yet to sit down and go thru the whole on line tutor for XP. I have read Walt Mossberg’s review of VISTA in the WSJ, it does away with icons and replaces the toolbar with a ribbon,  Heck I can’t figure out my new cell phone.  I vote no thanks, I don’t need to struggle with learning new software.  Indeed the article quotes one MSFT staffer saying he would buy a MAC, egads.  It may be this is the last big MSFT product. Jim Rogers has predicted the Chinese will come up with another Linus based product as everyone is tired or paying MSFT often in fact for what should have been a fix on their last half baked effort.

What say you, anyone buying VISTA, and I understand there is not complete compatibility and yes you may need more computer.

DLE

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6 responses to “MSFT VISTA-A Bridge too Far?”

  1. Jason Raper Avatar
    Jason Raper

    I think that everytime Microsoft comes out with new software the world awaits because there is no other viable alternative. There is no REAL competition that people can go to and say…I no longer want to use Windows. Well let me rephrase that…there are alternatives, but unless you have a Computer Science degree….you may not want to attempt the strain.
    Microsoft has always marketed their OS on the value that it is more user friendly than other systems. That strategy may have worked in the 80’s and early 90’s because the vast majority of us did not know what a computer hard drive even was at the time. That has obviously changed: My own 8-year old nephew can surf the internet and pirate software better than most of my work colleagues.
    Bottom line: Maybe people are finally realizing that we are so dependent on Microsoft to run our daily lives. Maybe that needs to change, but who is going to step up? As most intelligent people have been saying for many years…why is there a monopoly being created and ignored by the federal government? Are we really resisting change or are we just ignoring complications? Where is the competion to drive the tailored needs of consumers. Its hard not to complain when there are no alternatives for comparison.

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  2. Dennis Elam Avatar
    Dennis Elam

    Actually Bill Clinton’s government, at the behest of MSFT competitors who moved to Utah and Nevada and contributed to folks like Orrin Hatch, did sue MSFT. The result was to hasten the collapse of the NASD index from 5,000 to 1,200.It has now recovered to 2,300, less than half its 200 high, and MSFT cannot get much past 30 bucks even with a 30% NOI. Gee thanks Bill and Janet Reno, that really helped. MSFT is still beating back lawsuits in Europe.
    To appreciate MSFT you have to go back to 1980 when there was no common anything and all computers had different languages. What a mess. I do not appreciate MSFT constant fiddling with their software.

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  3. Jeffrey Burkholder Avatar
    Jeffrey Burkholder

    I know for sure that I won’t be rushing out anytime soon to purchase the new Vista operating system from Microsoft.I have the most recent version of Windows and am happy with the way it performs and functions right now. Learning a whole new system and its capabilities and how to do everything can be overwhelming if your not a computer science graduate. I do like some of the Apple products, but they too require you to learn a new system. The Ipods are pretty cool, but can break or stop working pretty easily. It will be interesting to see the response to the Vista product and how it performs.

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  4. Michelle W. Avatar
    Michelle W.

    Quite honestly, I do not believe Vista will be as successful as MSFTOffice 2003. THe segment market may consist of people (baby boomers, for example)who are, for the most part, not very media forward (adaptive to new software). THe younger generations are more adaptive to technology developments and could be more receptive…yet Macintosh is working on recruiting these youngsters. The cost for businesses to adapt this new software may be quite significant…some employees as well may need additional training to operate the updated software (another cost). Files that have been saved in formats of Office 2003 will have to be converted to Vista format…the list goes on. Why could not have MSFT been more efficient in making Vista more feasible on user friendliness and not “remake” the OS.

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  5. Wacey P. Avatar
    Wacey P.

    I disagree that you need a C.S. degree to use any OS besides Windows. The Mac OS X was definitely created with ease of use in mind for the end user. Easier so than Windows in my opinion (read the reviews on how many “new” features look eerily like the Mac). Even free Linux packages have come a long way to allow people with basic computer knowledge easily set them up (Ubuntu for instance). The only problem with Mac is the outrageous hardware costs.
    The fact remains, if you want to stick with Windows you’ll eventually be driven to Vista so why avoid it? Vista is now officially Microsoft’s direction so you can bet your life Bill will herd the masses there like the mindless cow’s they have become.

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  6. Dennis Elam Avatar
    Dennis Elam

    Yes as someone noted to me, how long till MSFT stops supporting XP? Still they are near putting all my excel boooks into obsolescence, and I understand files won’t transfer easily and it may require an even more powereful computer, see my post about the TRS 80, gee, simplest is bestest.

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