Microsoft and Novell these days are better friends than Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza. Redmond recently reached a
new détente
with VMware owner EMC, and just this week Microsoft
made nice with Red Hat
.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 18, 20090 comments
One reader sees those
six planned versions of Windows 7
and raises you a dozen more:
Why so few? They should give you choices as follows: For the Home versions, Home Real Light (no Internet), Home Light (with Internet), Home Medium (no Internet but peer-to-peer), Home Premium (with Internet and peer-to-peer) and Home Ultra (has everything but costs more).
For the Professional versions, there should be Professional Real Light (more bells and whistles than Home but no Internet); Professional Light (same as Real Light but with Internet); Professional Medium (no Internet but sharing); Professional Featured (Internet and sharing); Professional Premium I, II and III (Internet, sharing, can interface with Enterprise and costs more); and Professional Premium Ultra (Internet, sharing, can interface with Enterprise, costs more and crashes less).
For the Enterprise versions: Enterprise Entry (more bells and whistles than Premium Ultra, somewhat unstable), Enterprise Medium (more bells and whistles than Enterprise Entry but only crashes occasionally) and Enterprise Ultra (rarely crashes, but when it does...).
And then, Ultra Ultimate Windows 7, which would have all the bells and whistles, is better than Enterprise Ultra and, like Mac OS X, what's a reboot? And what's a crash? Because it's a licensed copy of Mac OS X, and what you should've purchased in the first place for much less money.
-Anonymous
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 18, 20090 comments
If you're old like me, you've heard stories about how IBM once sold and upgraded mainframes. The stories go that customers would ask for a $100,000-plus upgrade for new functions and an IBM tech would connect an unconnected cable.
Microsoft is looking at the same approach for Windows 7. Its upcoming Windows 7 starter pack runs three apps. Once you're sick of that, you give Redmond a few more bucks and Microsoft upgrades you over the Internet.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 11, 20090 comments
When it comes to business judgment and economic acumen, I'll trust Steve Ballmer any time. And so, perhaps, should the Obama administration.
You see, Mr. Ballmer is a realist. His advice and analyses are simple and apolitical. Ballmer gave his view at the recent Democratic Party retreat, where he explained that borrowing our way to prosperity is no longer viable, and the only way forward is innovation.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 11, 20090 comments
One reader takes the Indian government's plan to make a
$10 laptop
to the next level:
Why pay even $10 for a laptop? Seems to me that if Radio Shack can offer a netbook for $99 with a two-year wireless service plan, why not just subsidize the whole thing and charge $0 for the netbook with a two-year plan? Granted, the $0 netbook at sign-up becomes a $1,440 netbook (assuming $60/month for service), but the computer itself would be free. Then perhaps you could negotiate your plan to one of these online companies that sublet your contract to another for a small fee. Not that I'm suggesting this scheme or anything...
-Anonymous
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 11, 20090 comments
Microsoft and its customers have one thing in common: Both are anxious to move on to Windows 7. Customers are doing their part by thoroughly testing the software and reporting bugs. And Microsoft is doing its share by fixing bugs and building tools to make the migration smoother.
That's where the
Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) toolkit
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 09, 20090 comments
If you haven't read
Virtualization Review
magazine or its Web site
VirtualizationReview.com
, it's pretty good stuff. The print and Web versions are driven by Keith Ward, editor in chief. And Mr. Ward has a knack for calling 'em as he sees 'em.
I've been looking for some good research on hypervisor market share, but the most recent figures were from last fall -- not real current given that that's about when Hyper-V first shipped. Keith has a similar passion for real data, and was excited by a new survey by Virtualization.com that purported to detail which vendor has what share.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 09, 20090 comments
Readers continue the
debate
over whether six versions of Windows 7 is too many:
No, I don't believe it's too many. There are only three real options for the general public: Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. Basic is only for emerging markets. Enterprise, like in Vista, is only for software assurance (VL) customers. And Starter...well, it's only able to run three apps at once and no Aero, so it's really not an option for most people.
-Anonymous
Well, of course seven versions are too many. I think that was a bit of the show-stopper for Vista, as well. Why would I want to pay MS $400 for an operating system when I can get it for free from *Nix?
It seems reminiscent of the '90s when Novell was championed as never losing market share. It was charging outlandish prices and MS was offering desktops for $100. That's the way Microsoft worked into the server market, as well. Offer the same services or capitalize on a problem with your competitor, then bury them in wholesale pricing. It's the MS way...or at least it used to be.
-Paul
You do realize, don't you, that it is really only FIVE versions since Ultimate and Enterprise are identical, except that individuals cannot buy Enterprise?
Since consumers cannot buy the shrink-wrapped Starter Edition and won't be able to buy Home Basic (shrink-wrapped or on OEM hardware) any longer either, it really reduces to THREE that people in the developed world can buy shrink-wrapped and on OEM hardware: Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. This sounds a lot more reasonable.
-Marc
If Windows 7 is based on the Vista codebase and if it retains Vista's intrusive functionality, then even one version is too many. I suspect that XP will continue to run for many years to come, as long as MS is not successful in strong-arming hardware vendors into not providing new equipment with XP drivers. MS will continue to support XP (as if I care) as long as there is considerable revenue in doing so. As long as the market does not buy into Vista and 7, third-party vendors will continue to develop and support software for XP; they will not stop doing so while XP has 90 percent of the market.
It is only an operating system, people. All it has to do is interface with your applications. What makes you think that you need to replace it as often as last year's hemline? In a tight economy, this continuing two-year-plus rant about the need to upgrade Windows is beyond frivolous. Until MS develops a truly new product based on user needs and demands, I would recommend the Nancy Reagan approach and just say no.
-Anonymous
My guess is that Microsoft makes more money out of products with multiple nonsense versions -- like Home, which is a crippled version of Standard. Who would buy a crippled version of Windows 7? I wouldn't spend a dime for it. I blame uneducated consumers. I urge everybody to stop that craziness. For the majority of consumers, one version would be adequate.
-Brian
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 09, 20090 comments
EMC and Microsoft have a tricky but generally positive relationship, one that has been formalized through long-standing interoperability and cooperative agreements.
The rub in all this was VMware, a company owned by EMC and which competes 100 percent with Microsoft. EMC played it smart and ignored VMware as if there was no connection at all. In the past, you could search through EMC.com all day long and not find a reference to VMware. But today, if you mosey over to EMC.com, you'll see that VMware has come out of its shell; it only takes an hour or so find detailed VMware product information.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 09, 20090 comments
Twenty years, ago I first met Alex Eckelberry. At the time, I was the editor in chief of
Amiga World
magazine and Alex worked for Aegis Development, which sold high-end 3-D modeling and animation software. After launching
Redmond
magazine, I became reacquainted with Alex, who is now CEO of Sunbelt Software. Alex is a smart guy, a successful businessman -- and now an American hero.
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 06, 20090 comments
Security pundits crave attention the same way Rod Blagojevich loves the camera. Latest case in point: Security experts are publicly complaining that User Account Control (UAC) in the Windows 7 beta can be taken over by hackers who can then gain elevated privileges. Microsoft counters that Windows 7 is perfectly safe, but it's
making a couple of tweaks
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Posted by Doug Barney on February 06, 20090 comments