where is it going 8

[georgebitar]

Microsoft's technical guru Nathan Myhrvold has predicted that its Windows operating system will almost be consigned to history within five years.



Nathan Myhrvold talking on Radio 4's In Business
Windows is installed on more than 90% of the world's personal computers. Its dominant position has led to the US Justice Department's anti-monopoly case, accusing Microsoft of using the operating system to gain a similar stranglehold on the Internet.

But the company's chief technology officer told BBC Radio 4's In Business programme that every five years there is a major revolution in the computer business.

"It's virtually certain Windows will be superseded by something else within the next five years," he said.

"In fact, something may already exist, so today the seeds of the next contender to Windows - maybe its Linux, maybe it's Netscape Navigator, they've had a plan to turn that into an operating system, maybe it's the Java operating system. The seeds of the next revolution may be there now.

"Historically we know that many more seeds are planted than sprout into a successor but sometime in the next five years the successor to Windows will come about. We, of course, at Microsoft, hope that we're behind that. But if we don't work very hard, someone else will be."



Thanks,
George Bitar

 

[pmonett]

Sometimes I think we'll have to wait for interstellar visitors before we move out of this rut

Could somebody send them a mail ?

;-)


I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.

 

[Welshbird]

I do have to accept that almost everytime I post something on this forum I'm going to get shot down in flames for happening to mention that I use a Mac, by choice, and would not even consider moving back to Windows of any variety for my own machine.

One thing I would really like to know though - of all other posters who instantly poo-poo the idea (or my non-existent typing skills) - have any of you ever used a Mac? And if so has it been in realistic living memory? Or is it just an arrogant techie assumption that it won't be any good?

I, at least, am making an informed decision - I use XP all day at work and use OS X 10.4.9 at home.

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[dilettante]

Well I was including Mac OS X in my "Real" Unix category, due to its origins stemming in some part from BSD. A little reading shows that Mac folk don't like OS X to be considered a FreeBSD dialect though.

 

[pmonett]

Willif, I don't actually care what kind of computer you use. If it suits your needs, good for you.

I'm part of the vast herd of Windows users myself, but it is not by choice. As I have said before, if I could play the games I like on Linux, or on a Mac for that matter, I would.

I think every single debate about which OS is better is not only useless but totally flawed. There is no absolute best OS for everyone. Besides, if Apple had 90% of the market, we'd all be knocking on Jobs and ridiculing his turtlenecks instead of ranting about Windows and making jokes about flying chairs.

Pascal.


I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.

 

[Opieo]

I will second everything pmonett just said.
It all rings true.
From games to never suiting everybody.

~
Give a man some fire, he will be warm for a day, Set a man on fire, he will be warm for the rest of his life.

 

[tfg13]

willif, the only time I've used a Mac, I got a GSOD (Gray screen of death, much like Microsofts BSOD, blue screen of death). I cough it up to the perl script I ran against it (obtained from a Mac user), but none the less, kind of turned me off right away....

 

[gbaughma]

OK. Fine.

I'll take the Mac.

What choices of operating system do I get with *IT*?

Oh... only one?

Will my kids be able to play games on it?

Hmm? Oh, I think they're a bit beyond "Snood".....

;-)


Just my 2¢
-There once was a man from Peru
Who wanted to write a Haiku
but...

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[Welshbird]

Ok chaps - calm down! I only wanted to know if any of you had used a Mac recently, or whether you were doing the same thing they do in other forum and ignoring it on the grounds that if you didn't need X courses and Y years of experience to acheive anything it couldn't be any good.

I'm perfectly happy for you all to carry on with your WIN machines for ever if it makes you happy. No skin off me at all. I just hate the intolerance I seem to get from anyone techie when you mention a Mac. And I always seem to find that when I question people they either haven't used one at all, or haven't used one since OS 8. In which case, I'm not sure that a comparative opinion is valid. That's all. Not casting aspersions at anyone in any other way.

Sheesh.

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[tfg13]

One thing I would really like to know though - of all other posters who instantly poo-poo the idea (or my non-existent typing skills) - have any of you ever used a Mac? And if so has it been in realistic living memory? Or is it just an arrogant techie assumption that it won't be any good?

I, at least, am making an informed decision - I use XP all day at work and use OS X 10.4.9 at home.

and then your last comments? Sounded to me like you wanted to know our thoughts, and then you react with "Sheesh"....Sounds like someone is actually being very defensive. You must have gotten a GSOD in the last couple days (mine happened about 2 weeks ago).

 

[gbaughma]

Oh, Fee....

I was just having some fun. I'm sorry. I'm actually pretty good on a Mac as well. I don't own one, but I have been asked to help out with them regularly.

It's kind of funny... because I was just thinking to myself the other day "If macs are now running Linux (which they are) how come there's not a mac GUI for my linux box yet? It would certainly beat KDE....."

I *know* better than to poke fun at what is essentially a "religous discussion" when it comes to PC/Mac. Please accept my sincerest apologies if I upset you.



Just my 2¢
-There once was a man from Peru
Who wanted to write a Haiku
but...

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[Grenage]

Oh, Greg; how could you rate KDE so poorly. *cries*

On a side-note, and pertinent to the earlier Linux discussion on limited games access, I've have a lot of luck with wine this week. Managed to get Halflife 2 and CS:Source running within 5 minutes (excluding steam download time). Runs like a dream. Wine has much improved!

Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[pmonett]

Wine has improved ? Now that is music to my ears !

Must try it myself. If I can BF2142 to run, I think Windows is a lot closer to the door (ahem).

Pascal.


I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.

 

[Grenage]

What's BF2142 like? I used to play BF42 and BF2 semi-pro, back in the day. Not looked at the third release yet.

Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[Opieo]

Does Wine also support only the more main stream games?
Would it support Sword of the Stars?
I would assume that by now it supports Titan Quest.
Then again, with my current computer,
I could always set up and run Linux, and just have vmware or some such equivalent running windoze. I am sure my computer could handle it just fine ....

~
Give a man some fire, he will be warm for a day, Set a man on fire, he will be warm for the rest of his life.

 

[Welshbird]

[not having a winge]
I've never had a GSOD. In um... let me see.... 6 years.
[/not having a winge]

I hope you got it sorted. Not good in any operating system. I'd surely be less found if it had ever happened to me.

Sorry if I got a little heated. Not intentional, and mostly related to a *****up at work.

Which is due to a mainframe issue, so we're all farily safe there!



Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[Sympology]

Which is due to a mainframe issue, so we're all farily safe there!

Darn those unreliable mainframes, you want to get yourself a good old NT4 box!

A lot of unstabilty on any system is a simple case of poor apps and drivers.

I've had XP pro at home since pretty much day one. I've rebuilt it once and can't recall the last time it crashed and I don't think I've EVER had a BSOD.

At work, my lappy consantly crashes due so called "Enterprise" software, which often seems far more buggy then shareware and freeware!



Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[Opieo]

I have gotten a couple BSOD's with WinXP Pro.
Although, it was due to a failing stick of RAM.
Since it has been replaced, have not had another =P

~
Give a man some fire, he will be warm for a day, Set a man on fire, he will be warm for the rest of his life.

 

[Grenage]

Oh aye, I don't think anyone could refute the reliability of Windows XP onwards. Then again, you can't really refute the reliability of Macs or Linux, either.

It's always what you put on top.

Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[gbaughma]

It's always what you put on top.

And that's what it really boils down to.

If it was just the OS running by itself, then generally, all systems are stable.

However, a poorly written application that does something unexpected... BSOD/GSOD/Kernel Panic - and do we think to blame the software? No... it must be the OS.

I'm not saying that every OS is perfect. Far from it. But, Bob knows I've forgotten to close files in the past when I've written software... or jumped to the wrong memory address (in assembler), or assorted other things that have crashed a system. Even in Linux, which is a very stable OS. But recompile the kernel wrong....

I have an AS/400 at home as well. It's rock-solid. But I would imagine it wouldn't be if I were to start installing shareware on it (not that there *is* any for it).

It's a balancing game, really. Apple has kept tight reigns on the hardware and software that they run on their Macs. The result? A fairly stable system with standardized hardware. Now, take a PC... which can be cobbled together out of spare parts in my basement, then pull out my XP Pro disc... and I get frustrated that something isn't recognized. If you think about it, there are BILLIONS of potential hardware combinations for PC's out there. And, overall, Microsoft has done a pretty good job at making sure that the majority of them are covered; even legacy products like 16-bit SoundBlaster cards and whatnot. It's a little easier for Apple because they, historically, haven't allowed just anything to be plugged into their boxes.

The frustration really comes into play (for me anyway) knowing that Microsoft spends all this R&D time on "look and feel", and not seemingly as much time stabilizing the operating system and making it secure. I don't *CARE* if I can "see through" my windows, or "flip through" my screens. What I *DO* care about is that I can get my work done. I'm perfectly happy with the XP user interface. It's functional. In fact, every time that Microsoft makes changes to the UI (including their rollout of IE7, and now Vista), it doubles my work because now I have to ask customers "Are you running IE6 or IE7" (half the time they don't know), and "Are you running 2000, 2003, XP, or Vista?"



Just my 2¢
-There once was a man from Peru
Who wanted to write a Haiku
but...

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[tfg13]

Great points gbaughma! As you pointed out, the only time I got the GSOD (Apple's screen of death) was when I ran a perl script against it. That most likely caused the GSOD, not the actual OS. Man, I've got a case against Apple, and you blow it up on me!