[GLLUG] Semi-OT: Another BIG WinVista misstep

[Thomas Hruska]

Charles Ulrich wrote:
> On Thursday 10 May 2007 08:39, Michael Rudas wrote:
>> Another big hole for the hackers to drive through...
>>
>> "Driver signing is a failure for Vista"
>> <http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070510/#story1>
>>
>> ...yet I continue to hear "WinVista is the greatest thing since
>> sliced bread!" from people that SHOULD know better.  I hope Linux is
>> "ready for the masses" soon, or our entire computing infrastructure
>> may collapse.
> 
> Unless they shift into a different direction and/or abandon some of 
> their old ways, I think Microsoft have seen their peak of dominance 
> with XP. Without major changes to both the company _and_ the codebase, 
> they can't sustain Vista in the long term and the only thing that's 
> around to replace it is Linux. (If you're wondering why Apple isn't a 
> contender, ESR and Landy's essay explains why.)

 From the article:

"Microsoft can do better than this

Microsoft cannot expect widespread adoption of its new operating system 
if users cannot depend on the availability of drivers to support the 
most popular hardware configurations. Nor will customers feel safe with 
Vista when experts continue to report how easy it is to poke holes in 
Microsoft's new defenses. Users need to demand that Microsoft simply do 
its job better before releasing a new operating system, providing a 
stronger defense against hackers without placing undue burdens on 
developers."


Microsoft is, today, the 400-lb. gorilla IBM used to be.  I'm an ASP 
member and it was recently mentioned in the private newsgroups that IBM 
managed to figure out how to make itself irrelevant over the years. 
I've also heard plenty of statements that Microsoft is "going to die". 
By the time it takes to finish this e-mail, Microsoft will have made 
$100 million dollars...in profit.  And as Joel Spolsky stated, Microsoft 
could reinvent itself a couple dozen times - even as a shaved ice 
company - and still have money to spare.  In other words, Microsoft 
could release a half-dozen really horrible versions of Windows and 
_still_ easily be the market leader.

XP (the original) was really bad.  And SP1 fixed a ton of problems.  And 
SP2 made XP fairly solid - such that even hardcore Linux users 
considered it viable.  Vista SP1 - slated for fourth quarter this year - 
should be something like XP's SP1.

Still, the article makes a point:  Microsoft CAN do better.  I have a 
book that every employee at Microsoft needs to have called "Safe C++ 
Design Principles".  I have NEVER had to refund anyone's money for the 
book.  People who have been writing software for 25+ years who have read 
the book have a few lightbulbs go on and change how they write code. 
For the better.  I have a ratio of one crash bug every 6 months as a 
direct result of the principles in that book.  Compare that to the 
industry average of a crash bug every day or two.  The book is THAT good.

If users demand anything, they should be demanding that Microsoft obtain 
copies of that book for everyone in the company.

-- 
Thomas Hruska
CubicleSoft President
Ph: 517-803-4197

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