AlexF (User):

I guess Linux, as a consumer OS is dead (or just greatly exaggerated)?

apt.pupil (Advanced member):

weren't we expecting a profit gain after how well done Windows 7 was- from production announcement to beta to Release Candidate, and then to retail outlets?

Microsoft needed the PR disaster of Vista to wake them up to the fact that the time to change strategies is now.
I was even more excited to grab Offic mobile 2010 beta. i wont use the pc version, since i am still happily using office mobile 2007, and i know one of the REAL reasons office mobile 2010 is coming at all- messing about with patents without properly crediting the people who develoepd the technology really can nip you in the bud later on

AlexF (User):

Quoting apt.pupil:
Microsoft needed the PR disaster of Vista to wake them up to the fact that the time to change strategies is now

What was that, renaming "Vista SP3" to "Windows 7"?

apt.pupil (Advanced member):

Quoting AlexF:
What was that, renaming "Vista SP3" to "Windows 7"?

well i see windows 7 as being both its own OS and Vista done right
The active taskbar, windows snap, modified UAC, and customisability of the annoying start menu are just some features that should have been with Vista from the start.

However with that being said- i am preferential to the tidier looking taskbar that Vista users have, but i know that you can't always have everything in this world go your own way.

AlexF (User):

Those things that you listed are changes to the shell (ie. explorer.exe), not to the OS.

apt.pupil (Advanced member):

UAC is NOT part of the explorer.exe shell.

there are other features behind the scenes that make windows 7 more comfortable to use.

one example of that for me would be the stability in 64 bit systems to run the 13 keystring shortcuts windows has hidden(yes, there is more than just "GodMode" in windows vista 32, 7 32&64, and overall windows 7 needed a name, since the mere mention of "vista" puts fear into even some of the hardest, inbreakable computer technicians i know.

Vista has come a looong way since its release, and it is much more stable an OS than XP SP3 is, but the PR disaster and broken promises that was the release of Vista was going to ruin any other OS that came after that even shared the hint of the vista name

AlexF (User):

Quoting apt.pupil:
UAC is NOT part of the explorer.exe shell.

The reduced notification facility is.

todd_h86 (Cornerstone member):

Quoting apt.pupil:
messing about with patents without properly crediting the people who develoepd the technology really can nip you in the bud later on

Hi, this is Microsoft, have you met Microsoft before? Microsoft likes long walks on the beach, sunsets while drinking a nice rose' and infringing on other peoples patents and fighting it in court until they decide they have wasted enough money of the patent owner and pays them out with miniscule amounts of money!


It still astonds me that Microsoft dont just release a small patch via Windows Update to remove the unused code, instead of re-leasing new versions.... But again I should read my own comment...

petert (Senior member):

And with all those profits, MS still has not kept its promise to Vista Ultimate users to provide extras and specials! Every time I do a Windows update and see the message, "There are no Windows Ultimate Extras available" I get more any more annoyed! Why won't MS be honest and changed the message to, "You've been ripped-off! There will never be any Windows Ultimate Extras or specials".

AlexF (User):

I agree.. However, there's one thing that Vista Ultimate has that other don't, but I've never seen this emphasised in any comparison.
On Ultimate, Windows Media Player can act as both, a DLNA or UPnP client as well as server, where as on non-Ultimate editions, it can only be a server.
Does this make you a little happier?

apt.pupil (Advanced member):

Quoting AlexF:
On Ultimate, Windows Media Player can act as both, a DLNA client as well as server, where as on non-Ultimate editions, it can only be a server.

meh. ill just grab windows 7 home premium for that feature

AlexF (User):

Quoting apt.pupil:
meh. ill just grab windows 7 home premium for that feature

Have you tested it? I don't believe it does.

apt.pupil (Advanced member):

well when i went to a windows 7 retailers preview back in the first week of October last year, they said it did.
i am currently using windows 7 RC1, and i know ultimate certainly has that feature- but if i was to cough up for windows i would cough up for the completed product, not something missing a few phalanges

petert (Senior member):

Quoting AlexF:
Does this make you a little happier?


I like your glass-half-full approach to VU :-) However, my answer is "No". I hate being lied-to and deceived!

apt.pupil (Advanced member):

i dunno.
lied to is a far- fetched way to put it.
stabbed in the back is better.

Microsoft has moments when they are worse than EA for support

AlexF (User):

Quoting petert:
I hate being lied-to and deceived!

I can't imagined who lied to you. Microsoft publish SKU comparison table (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/default.aspx) and you made your choice. Where's the lie?

petert (Senior member):

AlexF, thankyou for the URL. I am aware of it, but it is not actually relevant. MS made a huge deal of promising VU users that they would be entitled to free extras and specials BEYOND what was included in the original package. MS even created a special site for VU users on which to obtain the free extras and specials - www.ultimatepc.com. None of the supposed specials were available in Australia and the extras amounted to one childish game, a couple of supposedly different sound schemes (that all sounded the same), a couple of extra DreamScenes (which most users found nigh-on impossible to get working correctly) and not much else. The reality is that MS promised very, very high and delivered nothing! You really need to reflect back on the hype MS generated about VU at the time to appreciate just how "big" they promised in terms of extras and specials for VU users to appreciate the lies and deceit involved.

AlexF (User):

IMO, no prudent purchaser should be buying based on what's promised but rather on what's delivered at time of purchase and I apply this rule-of-thumb to everything (from breakfast cereal to real-estate). I am pleasantly surprised if I get a freebie or a bonus, but I don't expect it.

I myself bought Ultimate, but I did for only one reason - I wanted BitLocker. I got it and was pleased.

BTW, I believe only 7 Ultimate is capable of BitLock'ing _external_ drives.

petert (Senior member):

AlexF, the simple fact is that MS made the promises and MS failed to keep its promises. No ifs, buts or maybes! I was not buying from an unknown, one-sale-only seller from a dubious country who was advertising on eBay. I was purchasing from MS - a very large, international company that purports to be ethical. What's more, MS had the opportunity to make-up for its lack of ethics to VU users when it released W7. If could have, for example, made the price of W7U cheaper for VU users. MS failed to do so and MS continues to do nothing to keep its promises to VU users. Sure, it is easy to reflect with hindsight, but that is hardly the point! We all like getting an unexpected extra - but that is part of EXCEEDING customer expectations. MS has done the very opposite and it has done so unethically. Don't misunderstand, I've no problems with Vista as an OS and I had it installed on 3 of our 4 computers (one laptop has now been upgraded to W7). But again, that is irrelevant. MS made huge promises. MS deceived people into buying its product on the basis of those promises. MS failed to keep those promises. THAT is singularly the issue!