Bill & XP’s Windows Closed

This week marked two developments for Microsoft, and both of them were monumental : Bill Gates called it quits (apparently), and XP was forced to call it quits…

The former World’s Richest Man will still be the associated with MS, but would divert his energy to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He, who inspite of being on top of the world has pledged all but 1% of his wealth to humanity, was a great man indeed. Though many would call him a pilferer for ‘stealing’ Apple’s ideas, but he was the man who made all the difference to our worlds… Imagine going 100 miles to a University or Lab to gain access to Internet!! He brought the PCs within our reach, and made the software industry what it is.

And now to the second one :

Microsoft won’t be marketing any new XPs in the main market after they took it off the shelves on 30th June, and so forcing new buyers to go with Vista. Many people see this as a bad thing, giving ‘lame’ reasons like Slower OS, new interface, and even AERO!! Isn’t it ridiculous how people go on cursing Microsoft for all of their curses, but still not move on to Linux so quickly?

I myself have used Vista for a month now, and it is very stable… Not crashed on me once… And about hardware problems : They have largely been resolved by SP1… And Vista is not a very BIG memory hog… 1 GB is sufficient, but 2-3 gigs would be great. About the rearrangement of items like in Start Menu and Menu Bar (in folders), I can say that it has been made much cleaner and easier, add to that the excellent readability and usability, here is a very good OS.. Just marred by bad publicity…

Take my word : If you hate it, Give Vista a try and you’ll feel different.

Create 'Vista' Wallpapers

A great Tutorial based upon how to recreate, using photoshop, Vista-Looking Wallpaper.And if you are refraining from this task due to fear of complexity, then, take my advice : It is one of the easiest jobs... Give it a try... (And give Microsoft a run for their bucks)


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Windows 7 Next Year?

With falling on its face, and the phenomena seeming to overwhelm even , Microsoft need a very strong and reliable successor to Vista. And what I have gathered from the Web, Windows 7 may turn out to be a LUCKY ONE for MS.

".....Vista is the most compatible version of Windows that Microsoft has ever shipped....."

Though Vista's Service Pack 1 is launched, the real impact wil take some time in manifesting itself. I think Vista faced much 'bad' publicity and overblown compatibility issues, the MAIN problem which I think was its complexity... (I had read somewhere that Vista's kernel was about 5000 files or so).
But things have stared turning out a bit better of late
Paul Thurrott (http://www.winsupersite.com) had concluded that

"...Vista is the most compatible version of Windows that Microsoft has ever shipped..."

See : http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_100days.asp

Also, I got Mandriva (A Linux Distro), and guess what the magazine said as an introduction??

".... With Vista-like looks and... blah-blah..Mandriva is a ... good option..."

And also personally, I am fed up of people lynching Vista from its birth via articles such as :

"THREE REASONS WHY VISTA SUNK LIE A ROCK"
"THE ELEVEN PILLARS OF FALIURE"

I think Vista was engulfed by prejudice more than anything else.

Now, going over from Vista to 7, if Microsoft can fulfil all, or atleast, some of the failed promises which it planned to offer with Vista, like WinFS...
And Windows 7 takes a bold step forward by NOT offering Backwasrd Compatibility... That means all you old goodies will not run on Windows 7. But then, there is the Virtualization support in Win7.
Another step forward, though troublesome in some respects, is the Multi-Touch LCD support which may not be mainstream for another 2 years or so. A 19″ touchscreen LCD monitor is not available for less than $699 at Newegg currently.

And also, for Win7 to succeed, it must learn from Vista's mistakes.
I have some words for guys @ MS :

1. Not more than 2 versions
2. Familiarity must be a key point... Just look back on Windows ME II...
3. Increasing usability by decreasing complexity
4. Keeping the OS fast and informative

Well... I'm over... I felt like I was writing Vista's obitu... Nah! Not Now... Maybe Vista is surviving out there...