Author Topic: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?  (Read 3714 times)

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Offline Newby

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Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
« on: March 26, 2006, 10:36:33 pm »
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/26/business/soft.php

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So what's wrong with Microsoft? There is, after all, no shortage of smart software engineers working at the corporate campus in Redmond, Washington. The problem, it seems, is that Microsoft's past success and its bundling strategy have become weaknesses.
..
A key reason Microsoft holds more than 90 percent of the PC operating- system market is that the company strains to ensure software and hardware that ran on earlier versions of Windows will work on the new one. As a result of this quest for backward compatibility, each new version of Windows carries the baggage of its past.
- Newby
http://www.x86labs.org

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[17:32:45] * xar sets mode: -oooooooooo algorithm ban chris cipher newby stdio TehUser tnarongi|away vursed warz
[17:32:54] * xar sets mode: +o newby
[17:32:58] <xar> new rule
[17:33:02] <xar> me and newby rule all

I'd bet that you're currently bloated like a water ballon on a hot summer's day.

That analogy doesn't even make sense.  Why would a water balloon be especially bloated on a hot summer's day? For your sake, I hope there wasn't too much logic testing on your LSAT. 

Offline Warrior

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Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2006, 10:44:06 pm »
Not necessarily, what are they talking about in specific? Take the Longhorn Driver model, a lot of XP drivers only work in XP compat mode on Vista and that's a maybe. They only keep backwards support for maybe 1-2 previous versions of it's OS at the most which isn't that bad.
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Offline iago

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Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2006, 10:58:02 pm »
That's barely a problem, if you ask me.  Sure, it sucks, but eh?

Offline Sidoh

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Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2006, 12:03:24 am »
I agree with iago.  I don't see how this is much of a problem.  As technology progresses, providing backwards compatibility is a pretty negligible issue.

Offline rabbit

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Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2006, 06:58:40 am »
Go Playstation!

Offline MyndFyre

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Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2006, 10:15:48 am »
I agree with iago.  I don't see how this is much of a problem.  As technology progresses, providing backwards compatibility is a pretty negligible issue.

I don't think that was what iago was saying.  I mean, I could be wrong.
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Offline Warrior

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Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2006, 10:28:59 am »
I don't see a problem with this, it WOULD be a problem if they broke compatability with the older applications/drivers and FORCED people to update to even be able to use them..
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Offline iago

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Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2006, 10:36:00 am »
I was in a hurry when I wrote the first post.

What I was going to go on to say is that the thread's title is right: the biggest weakness in Windows is its ease of use and its friendliness with other Windows systems on the networks.  But that same ease of use is what causes all the security problems.  In the usability/security balance, they leaned towards usability. 

Offline Sidoh

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Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
« Reply #8 on: March 27, 2006, 01:19:44 pm »
I don't think that was what iago was saying.  I mean, I could be wrong.

I was giving additional evidence supporting his point.