Ballmer talks 'post-PC' Microsoft with Windows 7 beta Steve Ballmer has stressed the relevance of both Windows and the PC in an increasingly fragmented world of computing devices and web access, while introducing the next version of Windows. Opening the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, Microsoft's chief executive announced the Windows 7 beta's availability in …
Hello. Remember us - Microsoft?
Anyone?
Please don't buy a Mac.
We're still the same Microsoft, er, I mean, we're different now, we've learned.
Look, mmmmm Windows 7 - now even faster and more secure.
Why is everyone laughing?
Please don't buy a Mac.
Look we've sold 20 million phones with WIndows on. OK, we haven't sold them and we know there's precious little alternative for the mobile manufacturers. But still, please don't buy a Mac.
Hello?
Anyone?
Why?
The screen is only 1.5" tall unless you buy a touchscreen WinMobile device (obviously what they're pining for), but not many consumer mobile phones have the screen real estate to afford any of it being taken up by rubbish you don't want to see.
Fail.
Compred to Mac OS X and the majority of Linux disto updates, Windows 7 is a valid upgrade in that is contains lots of new stuff.
However, there is an awul lot of stuff on blogs and comments stating how much better is already is than Vista and "it's what Vista should have been"....WTF?!
It's like the transition from Windows 95 to 98, or Win2k to XP - it's the fucking same! Features like the UAC config tool aren't new, it's just that in Vista you needed to edit the registry or a group policy to do it.
Other stuff are to be honest cosmetic. It's Vista with a new SP and a few new features!!! Now I like Vista personally, always ran it on new hardware (rather than a desktop from 2004!) and I understand the point. Never had a problem with it.
Yet El Reg, most of it's commenters and a shit load of press slate Vista - but are singing the praises of Windows 7. It's madness, as very little has changed in terms of architecture, security, permissons, UAC, driver support etc.
"Ballmer announced some of Microsoft's me-too Web 2.0 services are now no longer in beta"
Microsoft may not be first out of the gate with every service or piece of software, but in many cases they do lead by example. Where is Google's GDrive for example? Microsoft have had Skydrive for ages. Where is the alternative to Windows Live Mesh? There is none. What is the best of breed blogging client? Windows Live Writer.
Just because it's cool to bash Microsoft, doesn't mean The Register needs to be a sheep and join in.
Now I need to go take a shower, because as an IBMer I feel dirty for supporting Microsoft.
;)
It really does look like the possibility of buying a PC with a decent operating system that isn't bundled with a tonne of rubbish you don't want seems to be fleeting away. I checked out the bankrupcy sales for some new base units, the other day, but it was just full of Vista machines.
Somewhat unfortunate you choose to single out Live essentials seeing as
a. They're solid products, vast improvements over the products they replace
b. They're the bloat that microsoft has REMOVED from Windows 7, now making them optional
c. It's exactly the same thing that happens on every platform, they're just honest and have given it a name.
Ever tried to use them?
Steve wrote: "Yet El Reg, most of it's commenters and a shit load of press slate Vista - but are singing the praises of Windows 7. It's madness, as very little has changed in terms of architecture, security, permissons, UAC, driver support etc."
Ummm. So it's still shit? I thought it was going to be the "best version of windows ever".
...errr, wait a minute. I've just realised that's not going to stop it being shit, is it?
Considering there are a LARGE number of users who want to do nothing more than browse the net and read their email, why would they want or need windows 7 anyway? Oh yes, to cover over the security holes in previous versions (which they haven't done anyway). If I was in that situation, I'd be feeling pretty pissed off and I would expect a VERY VERY good OS. Windows 7 doesn't sound too much like one so far. Hell, even IE8, the new browser for Win7 doesn't work.
If I was M$, I''d seriously consider scrapping the pile-of-cards that is Windows and creating a new OS with a "Windows emulator" built in for anyone who really needs it.
I want a single computing environment that can be accessed on any suitably specced device. It should be able to tell whether I'm accessing it via my phone, my car or my PC, and it should be possible to run it either locally on top of a hardware layer or as hosted either on a server or in a virtual machine. I don't want to turn a DVD into a coaster because I lose my network connection half way through the burning process, and I need to be able to listen to music on my phone even when I have no signal, but I still want to be able to access it on a net cafe or at work.
With storage costs being so low and with processing power now high even in small, cheap devices, I see no reason why I should need a live net connection to be able to work with my centralised, net hosted environment. What I suggest would be a central net based service that downloads your computer environment onto your device when you buy it. The environment then runs locally, with any changes being uploaded to the image held on the server. When I turn on my PC, updates to the image made on one device will be applied to the cached image on my hard drive, thus minimising the data transfer. However, it should be possible to access this environment without having to download it at all.
This way I get the best of both worlds - the convenience of cloud computing combined with the stability and computing power associated with PC computing.
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