In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
<newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote
on Thu, 04 May 2006 04:59:24 +0100
<1251119.X0eo51K0zq@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> The 8 signs and the bottom line:
>
> 1. Vista OS (...it appears to be little more than a gussied-up version of
> Windows XP. It appears as if it is going to be a great disappointment.)
gussy -- to dress or decorate elaborately; adorn or embellish.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=gussy
Hmm...never had to look that one up before. :-) I quite agree, since
all of the Good Stuff(tm) seem to have been eviscerated. (FSVO: how
"good" WinFS and WinFX were to be remains to be seen...if ever.)
>
> 2. Office 2007 (...If it is anything like Notes it will create a lot of
> anguish with users.)
You'll need to explain that one, at least for non-Notes users like
me. :-)
>
> 3. MSN (...Why people keep encouraging Microsoft to go in this direction is
> baffling.)
s/people/Microsoft egos/ :-) After all, it must grate on them that
they're not a monopoly in the Information Search/Retrieval Department.
(Hmm...what was the name of that character in Orwell's work _1984_?)
Google has a reasonably simple interface, although it does tend to open
up like a flower. :-)
>
> 4. MSN Search Engine (...Again more of the same and pointless. Selling ads.)
If it's selling ads it's not totally pointless -- to Microsoft.
For the rest of us, well...
>
> 5. Xbox360 (...This was an exhibition of poor planning and bad business
> intelligence gathering.)
But great success, as far as I can tell from a quickie look.
>
> 6. Pad-based computing (...According to Gates just a few years back this was
> to become the dominant form of computing by now. What happened?)
Darned good question, that. Of course Microsoft is not
the only one apparently to meet failure in this space:
Momenta, GridPad, Go, Io, and maybe the Newton (though it's
possible the Newton lives on as it was famously lambasted
in Doonesbury, and in an odd twist, a Doonesbury phrasing
-- "egg freckles" -- became an Easter Egg in the Newton
OS itself):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton
>
> 7. Dot Net initiative (...soft has been unable to cope with Open Source
> except to complain about it.)
Given Microsoft's track record in software and
specifications, a natural amount of healthy skepticism
might be attached thereto. Also, COOL looked conceptually
a lot like Java, and C# confirmed it.
>
> 8. Preoccupation with Google (...Now Microsoft is about to do a deal with
> Yahoo to flank Google. This old-lady-like skittishness is unbecoming for a
> company this size.)
Google is a very strong midget to Microsoft's Goliath.
Market Cap Yearly Sales Profit Margin
GOOG $117.69B $7.14B 23.66%
MSFT $242.73B $42.64B 31.59%
Google also has the unfair advantage of being woven into the
lexicon, ala Xerox, Kleenex, and Frisbee. (Xerox is a trademark
of Xerox Corporation. Kleenex is a trademark of Scott Tissues.
Frisbee is a trademark of Wham-O!. Google, presumably, is a
trademark of Google.)
When was the last time one was "Microsofted", "Officed", "Vistaed",
"XPed", "PowerPointed", "Worded", or "Visioed"?
Maybe they should hire Robert Bork as a corporate attorney... :-)
>
> http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B629B28CD-9E0E-48CA-8E8B-243AA6E2CB92%7D&dist=lycos&siteid=lycos
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Windows Vista. Because it's time to refresh your hardware. Trust us.
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