windows is doing fine shooting itself - leave linux alone

was going to make an image about shooting mafia style, but this is gangsta enough for me... congrats, cobra commander. [ image courtesy of gizmodo.com ]

Microsoft blames netbook appeal, marketing costs for Windows drop
January 22nd, 2009
"Many netbooks cannot run Vista, due to its higher resource requirements.
It is more about the growing percentage of netbooks, for which Microsoft is collecting some amount less-per-copy for Windows than it does with full-fledged notebooks and PCs."

clear, concise and to the point. a smart article. then there's this one:

Windows kicks Linux to the curb
January 25th, 2009

my first thoughts about this guy was that he just wanted to get the linux fan boys enthusiast all revved up. because, if you cut the first paragraph of this smart-@$$ article puff piece it would have seem a bit more sensible like the first one. but noooooo, he had to be a f#ck tard unprofessional about it.

so i would like to challenge that guy to answer if microsoft's FUD machine and sharks didn't have anything to do to derail the efforts for selling a simple and competitive product that just happens to not have windows installed. (here's a hint:)

Microsoft Antitrust: “The Linux Threat on the Desktop” (2006) and Predatory Response
01.22.09 (a few days before his article... dumb @$$ guess he wasn't keeping an eye on the interweb)

how about noting that vista's successor will be released in less than half the shelf live of its predecessor. or about things like this is still happening:

People Buying Used PCs for Salvage Copies of Windows XP
Dec 1 2008

let's put that aside and look at some more microsoft goodies.

Microsoft files pay-per-use PC patent
Dec 29, 2008

and a few days later:

Microsoft pay-as-you-go patent application rejected
Jan 2nd 2009

good thing this isn't a patent. (the patent office was open over new years day?) yet, there are posts that are actually in support of it. wtf wow.

Microsoft's Metered PC Idea Is Not Greedy. In Fact, It's Almost Brilliant
December 30, 2008

i don't know where you buy PC's for $1300 now a days. or why, when that's nearing Apple's territory... MS will sell it at $450? you can get that now at nearly any electronic box stores! and Dell always has fantastic laptop on sales with tricked out specs at rock bottom deals. here's a sale MicroCenter just had: $1299 Core 2 Duo, 2GB, 160GB, superdrive, 13.3" MacBook. yup. a MAC.

oh!!! i get it now. that guy was writing, "it's brilliant for Microsoft to convince people to not buy MACs and instead buy a PC with windows on it which will cost you $50 a month. and in 4-6 years time, you've just paid $2400-$3600 for that $450 PC." (btw, those are his numbers too.)

watta bargain. stupid @$$. not very cost effective if you ask me.


i guess you can't fault microsoft looking for new revenue sources. so how about one more for the road:

Microsoft's new vision: a computer in every... coffee maker?
January 12, 2009

yup, they are doing fine. windows is only good enough to power your coffee maker. you'll need to pay a yearly license to use it now. unless they forget to update their own certificate.

via joystiq.com

microsoft, the dying patient

a few months ago i wrote why Microsoft needed to kill OLPC and touched on how add-on perks gave the perception of what's a better value. it seems now, that they have succumbed to the near unlimited developer resources in the open source communities and have begun to accept them.

Microsoft: We're all 'mixed source' companies
cnet.com - October 17, 2008

Microsoft starts distributing open-source Drupal
cnet.com - October 16, 2008

i guess the nerds at redmond figured out how easy it is to become a package distributer, repository pointer or what ever you want to call it; even though there already was one for the windows platform. cygwin is one of the most important must haves on a windows box. it basically gives me all of the tools, utilities, apps -- everything including the kitchen sink that i have always had on my *nix box.

and really, providing any of the many wonderful projects out there is probably one of the most easiest thing they could have done to enhance their existing product line. the kids on the mac platform already does this too. fink seems to be the favor of choice. (dunno what happen to the whole open darwin project though.)

but it is interesting to see how long microsoft has come since their first tirade when the whole open source software movement became a huge thorn on their side. at first:

Microsoft denies Linux threat
original denial: 03.11.98

followed by a long line of dissemination of FUD statements and money funneling scheme to take ownership of the *nix kernel via patent suits through their SCO cronies.

Halloween_Documents - wiki
December 1998 - June 2004

but they will acknowledge linux during 1999 when the DOJ started looking into their monopoly in the software market and then go right back to attacking the viability of these alternative OS with the virtual limitless amount of add-on software packages.

Microsoft rooting for Linux?
12 Mar 1999

next, the interoperability initiative is launched to lure developers back to the windows platform. as well as deals made in lieu of disclosing what patents were supposedly violated.

Microsoft makes Linux pact with Novell
November 2, 2006

and now, it seems they went and skipped the depression stage and right into acceptance by freely distributing software that was once shunned

and called too complex not but a few months earlier:

Microsoft: Open source is too complex
August 07, 2006

anyways, these behaviors show nearly all five stages in the psychology of a dying patient to the tee:

• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

does this mean they are dying? well, if another one of my past article, never gonna buy Microsoft hardware again, is any indication, far from it. they have a gazillion dollars to ride this out.

when i say i the command line interface, i really mean all of the tools, utilities, applications, scripts and executables that many, if not all, had their start from the important initiatives of the GNU project.

OLPC - a lesson in product development

a couple of months ago i wrote why microsoft needed to kill the OLPC. this time, i felt like writing why the OLPC project nearly failed from a product development view point.

they had a near feature-complete product that was ready to be manufactured and then shipped. the product should have been in design lock down after the first prototype was spec'd out. the sales agreements should have been put down in writing. and then followed through (i.e. make, boxed and then shipped).

so what happened. a big pile of $$ was dangled in front of their noses - allowed intel to smeared Negroponte with the "you can't sell the classmate" PR disaster. and then they let microsoft in to the party. again, loosing sight of the road map. this should have been version 2.0 for a brand spankin new OS implementation, feature locked and signed off on the hardware platform.


there is something to be said about being ahead of your time.
OLPC Founder Negroponte Wanted to Make Multitouch XO-2 Laptop 20 Years Ago [Olpc]
june 2 2008

but you should not compromise your release cycle by being distracted with the bells and whistles of what could be. i mean, there was all of these dual touchscreen articles popping up all over the place like this one:
V12 Design Delivering Dual Touchscreen Laptop Within Two Years [Laptops]
july 9 2008

again, they lost focus on releasing their first product out the door. with all of these add ons, did they honestly thought they were going to keep the costs down by adding two full touch screens?


when all of this was happening, a whole heap of cheap "netbooks" started to pop up from all kinds of manufacturers. the ASUS eeePC is an excellent example of them. they've manage to release different versions upon different versions all aiming at the same market the OLPC was in. the eeePC 700 was the linux book, 701 had XP, 900A a faster processor, 1000 a larger screen. there is a giant table of all the different models they did that it's mind boggling trying to keep track of it. and since there are so many of these eeePC out there, people have started to mod them with things like touchscreen capabilities.



finally, an interesting read on how the OLPC journey was taken:

How the OLPC Changed Laptops Forever: The Untold Story [Origins]
aug 14, 2008

and what's also curious is that this article link used to be found through gizmodo's pages:

• gizmodo.com/5037044/
• gizmodo.com.au

even their twitter feed has it:

• twitter.com/Gizmodo

don't they normally mark the article as inaccurate or strike the lines in the article to "update" their findings? i have never seen them pull down a post like this. and now it's:

• stay tuned

maybe it wasn't popular enough for people to take interest in this, it seems to only have 18 diggs so -- no one will miss it...

update: it seems that a new article has been posted on gizmodo:
Secret Origin of the OLPC: Genius, Hubris and the Birth of the Netbook
aug 26, 2008

update: here's another fancy article that bears a similar headline to my original article:
Why Microsoft and Intel tried to kill the XO $100 laptop
aug 10, 2008

Microsoft needed to kill OLPC

the story that made everyone scratch their head:
Microsoft to Limit Capabilities of Cheap Laptops
pcworld.com May 9 2008

some good speculations:
Why is Microsoft underpowering One Laptop Per Child?
cnet.com May 13 2008

and then the final solution - use the sledge hammer to stamp out the competition:
Windows XP on the XO Laptop - Microsoft Buys Out OLPC
olpcnews.com May 15 2008
so i thought to myself and wondered about the whole low-end requirements. you should already know about where i stand in microsoft dictating the direction of any hardware design -- and they need to stay out of the way from what the PC manufacturers want to do.

at first, i thought the low-end PC requirements was to create such an unwanted experience that it would kill itself. but linux can run on very slim resources. i still run two ancient 300MHz sony vaio laptops who are notorious for not following using alternative port values on some common IO devices.

but i really think, IMHO, it's basically down to these two points:

1) when the ASUS eeepc (3E PC) laptops were coming out with larger hard drives on linux (20GB) versus the window (12GB) version (eee 900 series), the add-on perks gave the perception of what's a better value with a hard tangible product on a system that provided basically the same functionalities. this made the choice of what OS running on it a secondary thought.

2) and i believe this is ultimately the main reason why microsoft want XP or what ever else they can put on a computer, on any computer; to get a person familiar with an OS where they will learn usability habits. this is one major sticking point i run into all the time when trying to teach/help people on how to use/fix computers. after someone learns a pretty complex behavior, they tend to stick to it and refuse to change in fear of learning more complex routines. that is, until they find something else that's easier to use.

i can't tell you how many people i know who switched to MACs and completely forget how to use a windows box in less than 4 months (shortcut, hot keys, where things are located, etc. -- usability).

but if you ask me, microsoft has also done a fine job doing this themselves by moving all of the configuration panels to who-knows-where-it-didn't-make-sense on their latest vista product. this basically required any one who knew anything from NT up to XP in a production house to re-learn all the little nuance again. not to mention the fact that it was also a huge problem integrating shared networks with vista and XP without upgrading all kinds of servers to make it vista aware.

you might as well get a MAC if you're going to re-learn some new system. that platform is by far the most user friendly, graphical eye pleasing and the most intuitive computer to use. i've been recommending that to everyone i know. disclaimer: i don't own any MACs, i've just used a lot of them. and i only build linux and bsd boxes.

i command line tools.

never gonna buy Microsoft hardware again

before you accuse me of jumping on the microsoft bashing bandwagon, the following are actually $#!t that's broken on microsoft released products.

first, there was the xbox power cord fire hazard:
Xbox.com | Press: Microsoft Announces Power Cord Replacement for Xbox

next, xbox 360 Red Ring of Death:
Xbox 360: Three red lights flash on the Ring of Light

and my microsoft branded optical mouse died.

it wasn't until when the mouse died on me (a fricken optical mouse, mind you) that really made me question why did microsoft go into all of this hardware business, get kicked in the left nutt with major manufacturing defects, survived it, get kicked in the other nutt with another defect and is still able to go on. to which i guess, if you have more money than god, then you can pay off any debt you have with the devil.

fast foward to these recent weeks, and you'll see these headlines:

• DRM sucks redux: Microsoft to nuke MSN Music DRM keys
• Interview: Microsoft's Rob Bennett defends DRM decision
• Microsoft turns the DRM screw on MSN Music owners

The reason for shutting down the DRM-licensing servers was "every time there is an OS upgrade, the DRM equation gets complex very quickly,"

ok, these are technically software and not hardware failures -- but if you follow the music content to your PC and then to your zune or any of your other PlayForSure device, garbage. who else even had a "playforsure" device for that matter... so what if you paid for all of that content. when you get a new computer you need to pay for it again?

the "DRM equation gets complex very quickly" ?!? what a total cop out admission.

which finally, brings us to the icing on the cake:

• NBC-Vista copy-protection snafu reminds us why DRM stinks
• Update: Why is NBC Flagging Digital TV Programs - and Why is Microsoft Obeying It?
• Microsoft's Masters: Whose Rules Does Your Media Center Play By?

now, they will actually go out of their way to break your viewing experience. usually, you would want to cater to your audience. present your product that provides and delivers value and entertainment, not frustration and anger.

yes, this is another software "problem". but this isn't like a bug or a security hole. this is planned "let's ruin the viewer experience". and to tie this to the whole "i'm not gonna buy microsoft hardware ever again" mantra, if i have a remote control in my hand, and i press "record this show" - like how i can do this on my TiVO, cable DVR, VHS VCR, MythTV, etc. - i expect it to record it. now, i will never pick up (nor recommend to anybody) a media center PC. too bad for the PC manufacturers, who is not to be blamed, but who suckered into using the crippled OS.

to the fans of DRM, go ahead, lock your content out. you will loose your audience in droves when they basically "can't" watch your shows. people will find something else to watch. or on something else that will allow them to continue to watch their must see tv.