Microsoft unveils Windows Vista

[Swift]

money.cnn.com (http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/22/technology/microsoft_vista/index.htm?cnn=yes)
Microsoft announced Friday that it will call its next-generation operating system "Windows Vista."

The much-anticipated operating system had formerly been code-named "Longhorn."
Let the puns and the MS bashing begin! :D

[The Supreme Canuck]

Meh. I like Windows.

[logicboy]

I wouldn't have a job without it

[GDwarf]

I may dislike Microsoft and their office programs, but I honestly don't mind Windows. Mainly because a surprising number of the games I play don't seem to work with wine or any other program like that. What scares me about this is the fact that, last I heard, it has a fully 3D desktop (Now you to can lose your icons...) and animated windows... I've always wanted to have my web browser ripple as I try to read a webpage.

[Celestial Mechanic]

Well, if they continue to throw away features as they have been doing, they may be able to slap a new theme onto XP, saddle it with a bunch of Digital Restriction Management and (un)Trustworthy Computing impediments and maybe release it sometime in 2007. :lol:

I recently had this mental image of a bewildered-looking Bill Gates being told by the Devil (who had come to collect his soul), "What do you mean you didn't read the End User License Agreement???"

#-o :evil:

If I could draw it as a cartoon, I would. Maybe someone has done so by now.

[Argos]

I like Windows. Despite all the fuzz about Open Source, the Linux implementations I see around are still very poor and cumbersome in comparison.

[Kristophe]

I love Windows. Computing is really more of a hobby for me than anythign else, so I find Windows to be rather fun. I just can't do Linux. I find the learning curve to be atrocious, and downloading software to be a most tiresome chore.

"What do you mean I have to compile it? YOU'RE supposed to do that, Mr. Programmypants."

[Darasen]

Windows, speaking strictly of the actual operating system does well enough. I prefer Mac OS X though. I detest everything else that is windows. the "integrated" browser, media player, cd writing dancing paperclips and such simply make the OS far too cumbersome and system draining IMHO.
Vista seems to be more of the same and worse. It does not seem like it will make the PC run any better (probally worse) but, it will use more sytem resources. Spec I have seen are a bare minumum of 800 Mhz proc. 512 mb ram and 32mb video card (with a GPU) the minimum to run the 3D desktop is a 64 MB video card (with a GPU) this comes from MS.

By minimum system requirements MS means will the system boot (eventuly)

[MrClean]

So basically any system that has been sold in the last 3-4 years. Dang Windows, not developing any operating systems for the 286 anymore!!!!

I'll run XP till this system pukes, then buy a new one with the new operating system on it, if I can get this one to last a couple more years.

[Gillianren]

I dislike Microsoft's business practices (my best friend, who works for them--I haven't seen him in years--says it's "the standard of the industry" that he works 80-hour weeks, but whose fault is that?), but what I like about Windows is that you don't have to understand much about computers to use it. I'm not sure this will still be true with the new version.

[GDwarf]

Windows, speaking strictly of the actual operating system does well enough. I prefer Mac OS X though. I detest everything else that is windows. the "integrated" browser, media player, cd writing dancing paperclips and such simply make the OS far too cumbersome and system draining IMHO.

Agreed, what I also dislike is the huge number of things that are becoming integrated, by that I mean you cannot uninstall them, yes, that's right, if you've bought Windows XP SP2 you cannot uninstall IE, or WMP, or almost any other Microsoft program. But as an OS I do like it, I just tweak the heck out of it so that it's faster then a frozen snail.

[Gullible Jones]

It's time for Macintosh to stop limiting the hardware that their OS runs on... Because Windows looks to be going downhill fast. Seriously, with 3D desktop stuff like Vista has enabled by default, it won't even run on a computer with, say, VIA ProSavage or Unichrome graphics... And Vista will probably stretch Intel onboard graphics hardware to the limit.

(As for Mac: yes I know they're switching to Intel chips, but they never said "x86", and they're keeping their whole stupid arrangement with only their hardware running MacOS. This is really dumb - if they're going to switch to Intel chips, they should try to take the x86 market.)


"What do you mean I have to compile it? YOU'RE supposed to do that, Mr. Programmypants."

Most software for most distros is available as binary (i.e. precompiled) packages. Harder-to-find software may only be available as source and in certain package formats. It's a matter of being able to run on multiple platforms (apps can be compiled from the same source code on different hardware platforms) and of dealing with the dozen or so package management systems used by different distros. If you don't want to have to compile *anything*, then use Fedora core, since almost all Linux/UNIX software is available in RPM form.

BTW, if you tried Gentoo Linux, you had it coming.

[sarongsong]

...I've always wanted to have my web browser ripple as I try to read a webpage...Here's (http://www.gtdesktop.com/?page=gtdesktop_website/gtripple) a desktop/photo rippler; haven't found one that ripples print, tho.

[Maksutov]

...I've always wanted to have my web browser ripple as I try to read a webpage...Here's (http://www.gtdesktop.com/?page=gtdesktop_website/gtripple) a desktop/photo rippler; haven't found one that ripples print, tho.
Heck, my actual desktop looks like that if I'm sipping coffee while reading one of CiDAAC's humorous posts. Then of course I immediately make use of this service. (http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=506776#506776)

[Maksutov]

One of my contacts inside Microsoft tells me that when the bugs are finally 50% eliminated from the first release (ETA c. 2009), the new edition won't be called something mundane like SE.

Instead it will have a new name:

Buena Vista

Users who don't upgrade will be covered until 2009.2 by a support program code-named Mala Vista.

Users who don't upgrade after 2009.2 will then be provided an unsupported OS called Hasta la Vista, bebé 3.1 and removed from the MS customer database.

[mickal555]

Finally- I'm sick of XP...

[Champion_Munch]

Longhorn's most usefull feature 'leaked' as an XP tweak (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=24749)

Microsoft over the next 25 years (http://www.bbspot.com/Features/2000/9/ms_years.html) :P

with regards

[Argos]

Finally- I'm sick of XP...

I still use win98. :-? :oops:

[hippietrekx]

I like 98! I have XP now, but 98 is still my favorite...

wait a minute... with the release of Vista...

Oh! I'm outdated!

:(

--hippie

[Gullible Jones]

I used 98 for several years... It was hell. :o

[Hale_Bopp]

Boy, this could get as bad as a religion/politics discussion real quick :)

Rob

[Van Rijn]

Boy, this could get as bad as a religion/politics discussion real quick :)

Rob

And thus it has always been. I remember C versus everything else battles. And the "Forth will take over" fights. Amiga versus PC versus Macintosh. "Real computers" (S100 bus/Z80/8080) versus Apple II. CPU wars (Intel versus Motorola, RISC versus CISC, x86 versus PowerPC). "Only Vax" wars. Mainframes versus PCs. PCs versus minis. Windows versus OS/2. And many more, some obvious (anything Microsoft) and some few probably remember (like Warnier-Orr diagramming or full screen versus line-oriented editors). When it comes to OSs I'm something of an agnostic. While I have complaints about the actions of the Microsoft Church I don't hate their tools. I'm thrilled Linux exists and hope it takes a bigger market share.