Clan x86

General Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: Newby on March 26, 2006, 10:36:33 PM

Title: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
Post by: Newby on March 26, 2006, 10:36:33 PM
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/26/business/soft.php

QuoteSo 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.
Title: Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
Post by: Warrior 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.
Title: Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
Post by: iago on March 26, 2006, 10:58:02 PM
That's barely a problem, if you ask me.  Sure, it sucks, but eh?
Title: Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
Post by: Sidoh 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.
Title: Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
Post by: rabbit on March 27, 2006, 06:58:40 AM
Go Playstation!
Title: Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
Post by: MyndFyre on March 27, 2006, 10:15:48 AM
Quote from: Sidoh 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.

I don't think that was what iago was saying.  I mean, I could be wrong.
Title: Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
Post by: Warrior 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..
Title: Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
Post by: iago 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. 
Title: Re: Windows' primary strength also its weakness?
Post by: Sidoh on March 27, 2006, 01:19:44 PM
Quote from: MyndFyrex86] link=topic=5343.msg62127#msg62127 date=1143472548]
I don't think that was what iago was saying.  I mean, I could be wrong.

I was giving additional evidence supporting his point.