Vista voles take on Linux penguins

Subject: Linux is not an option

Looking at this objectively and in the most unbiased way possible, I think you portray a much more realistic view of Windows Vista than Charlie.

Also, just to add, I think Charlie is either referring to OEM copies which most certainly are tied to the original computer, by either SLP (for Royalty OEMs) or just purely by license (for System Builders): the key point to remember is that this has been the case since Windows 95 - an OEM license lives and dies with the original PC.

The other issue he could be referring to is the, granted foolish, decision to change the licensing terms some time ago for Windows Vista, making copies tied to the ''original'' PC rather than letting enthusiasts swap out as many components as possible. Please note: We back-tracked on this a few months ago - this is no longer in the license agreement!

So, either way, speaking in my personal capacty, I think Charlie's view is completely unfounded and also completely void of any correlation to 99.9% of Windows Vista users - sure he will hit Activation problems by changing his motherboard every week, as he would have done with Windows XP, but he will not be breaking his license (whatever license he has, OEM/FPP) any more than he would have been in Windows XP.

A Vole

Subject: Laptop batteries

Letterman

All of this talk in recent months about laptop batteries is allowing me to realise how nice my very ancient stinkpad 600E really is. It has two very ancient Lithium ion batteries which still manage to keep the system running for 4-6 hours straight.

Sure, it is a brick... but only by form, not function. Snail would be more equivalent for function...

sigh...

elmars

Subject: Vista vs. Linux

Andrew and Charlie,

Your two recent columns on Charlie's decision to switch to Linux sum up pretty well the state of the OS market. I have been saying for a while now that I just don't ever see Linux making any headway with the average computer using public.

I think Andrew is overstating the Vista case, however. Most people I know absolutely do not want to buy a new PC every 2-3 years. More and more are willing to pay for PC support. Look at Best Buy's Geek Squad. When it started about 3 years ago, I didn't think it had a prayer. Why pay $150-$200 to have a PC problem fixed when you can buy a pretty decent new box for $400? For years I've done a small amount of freelance support work, but I charge much less than Geek Squad or its competitors because I didn't think people would pay any more.

It appears that I was wrong. Geek Squad is still going, and if a conversation with a local Best Buy acquaintance is accurate, it is going strong.

What will Geek Squad and its ilk do on Vista boxes? Surely, they will be upgrading hardware in Vista machines, but how will they reactivate the OS? All I am trying to say is that, unless MS relents, average users WILL be affected by product activation.

Additionally, Mr. Thomas' argument that most users never tinker with their computers actually is a case for Linux. The main arguments against Linux are ease of installation and software compatibility. There are others, for sure, but if a user is supplied with a box that contains all the software they need, will they care that it is running Linux instead of Windows?

Up to now, the answer has been "Yes!" Let's check back next year to see if public sentiment has changed, if the current state of product activation and DRM remains the same.

I can see a scenario where people need to upgrade their PC or replace a broken part, only to find that their OEM copy of Windows is no longer valid. Will they pay hundreds of dollars for a new copy of Windows, knowing that this is likely to happen again, or might they be tempted to try a free, or nearly free, Linux distro?

Ultimately, Linux success in the home depends on its success in the business world. An important reason for Windows' victory over Macintosh was that people wanted to use the same system at home as they had at work. The other main factor was price. Finding a Linux box on your office desk will make it a lot easier for you to accept Linux at home, especially since running Linux will cost less.

What do I think will REALLY happen? Microsoft didn't get where they are by being stupid. Generally, they make acceptable to good products, because bad ones are scrapped or improved. I complain as much as anyone, but I haven't changed to the Mac or to Linux yet, and it is because it doesn't make sense for me to do so. With this in mind, product activation will be modified to make it less painful. I think Charlie suggested a scheme to check for multiple machines simultaneously running the same key as an anti-piracy measure. MS could easily do this by checking the MAC address on the network adapter now and then. This way, only if you change your network adapter, meaning your motherboard in most cases, will product activation matter. This will make average users happy, and to help people like Charlie, MS might offer a "deactivation" scheme for migration purposes.

I've learned to never underestimate corporate greed and stupidity, but MS has backed off in the past, indicating that the lights are still on in Redmond.

Best regards,
Sean Fowler

Subject: Let's just be clear on one thing

Backdating stock options is no novelty, everybody and his brother has apparently already done it. CEOs are being lined up like dominos since a few years, you've gotta think that the head of financial crime fighting found himself a new market and decided to squeeze it for all it's worth.

So Jobs did too, well whaddya know. Surprising ? Hardly. Important ? Barely, unless you're the IRS or a shareholder. Presumption of innocence ? Oh please, don't make me choke.

He took his chances and he lost, end of story. Just tell me what the fine is, and spare me the pseudo-drama.

More interesting : give me a list of the CEOs who most probably didn't do it.

Pascal

Subject: Can't believe I'm agreeing with you....

..but I read Charles' article before yours and thought he was 100% on crystal meth. Give me a break. Who the hell changes out their motherboards and procs and often as Charles? Yes, I have 7 PCs and 2 Macs at home and have built my own rigs before, but honestly I'm done with that BS. PCs are so cheap that it doesn't make sense to do the whole DIY thing. Of course I'll add RAM, PCI cards, etc, but motherboards? Screw that. I've got too many cuts from doing that for years.

Charles can take a leap this time around.

RobG

Subject: Bluetooth

Ferchrissake we all know Al Gore invented Bluetooth. What's a matter with these people?

Oli

Subject: I agree with you..sort of

Hello Andrew,

First of all, I want to say that your article was a bit more intuitive and thorough versus Charlie's article regarding the bottlenecks that come with Vista (via the EULA). But, what Charlie hasn't yet informed dedicated INQUIRER readers is that he was wrong. According to Chapter 15 of the Vista EULA (dated 02 Nov 06), it clearly states the following:

15. REASSIGN TO ANOTHER DEVICE.
a. Software Other than Windows Anytime Upgrade. You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices.

b. Windows Anytime Upgrade Software. The first user of the software may reassign the license to another device one time, but only if the license terms of the software you upgraded from allows reassignment.

So, what the heck does all this mean? Well, in short it means if you plan to transfer Vista from one machine to another or to re-install the software on a routine basis, then the "Windows Anytime Upgrade Software" is not for you!

Until Microsoft officially released the final EULA, we'll just have to hope they stick to their word to keep Vista as friendly as XP when it comes to re-installing the software.

In the end I just hope this helps to keep us away from the Penguins on the beach ;)

Sincerely,

Dan Keen, MSgt, USAF

Subject: Regarding Vista

Finally someone talking about Vista who gets it!

I understand that anyone reading this site (including myself)might have problems with Vista, but as the author of this piece points out most normal users simply do not care about upgrading.

For all of the people saying "Microsoft just doesnt get it" you need to open your eyes. Microsoft gets IT fine, they just dont get US! With Microsoft though, that is just fine, as I'm sure they would rather cater to the 90% as opposed to the 10%

Many kudos to the original author of this article !

Ifell

Subject: Developers are killing software

Nick,

Another pertinent question is my pet peeve. Why does it almost always take three mouse clicks to do anything? Do software developers think users have nothing better to do with their time than to click, click, click every time they want a program to do something?

Panther

Subject: MacWorld?

If you're going to mock us, Mr. Excellent Pseudonymous Purveyor of Superiority, at least get our name right.

It's Macworld. No capital W.

Thank you.

jsnell

Subject: Vista, Ubuntu, etc

Dear Inq,

This is mostly in responce to Jason Weiands' letter "Do you have Vista? I do.." Firstly he makes the point that Ubuntu does not currently have ATI or Nvidia drivers enabled by default, he goes on to sujest that it is a highly technichal and cryptic matter to install them, taking hours, this is simply untrue, if you make the decision that you want this code on your system it is simply a matter of running a script and letting it do its thing. The reason that they are not included in the default distribution is actualy a philosophical, moral and legal choice rather than a technichal restriction. The code used to make the drivers is closed, can not be viewed or modified by the users and is therefor a potential source of untrustworthy or dangerous programing, especialy as these drivers must run with high privilages and direct acess to the hardware. Additionaly, the next relese of Ubuntu will actualy have them enabled by default, in keeping with the aim to make things "just work", much to the anger of many of their users who see this as abandoning much or the reason they chose Free (freedom, not just money) software in the first place.

Thanks for reading my rant, just wanted to set a few missrepresentations straight. Crispin

Subject: Volesoft

Hi Nick, Great story! Are deveopers not taught to consider their audience?

When I was in high school in my required English classes (and probably back in elementary school (jk-gr. 8) in the later years when it came to writing essays or any written assignment, even in other classes that had writing assigments, we were taught many important thing. The most pertinent thing that we were taught was that we should consider our audience, who will be reading our work, or in some cases who is the intended audience rather than the teacher marking the assignment. I am pretty sure that in my high school computer classes this concept was applied to programming as well (sure it was just Turing, VB6, and HTML if you stretch and count HTML3.2 as a programming language). In fact at in my computer engineering technology program this was even told to us in our many programming courses, even when it came to programs written in HC11 Assembler this was important. The UI is all the average user really cares about (since they probably assume it works and does what it is supposed to.

Anyways assuming most professional developers are formally trained rather than self taught is anyone teaching them to consider their audience like you would normally do when writing an essay or something? You guys know that not every one who reads your articles speaks English as first language, hell many of you are writing in a language that inst your Mother tongue, we don't care about the spelling and grammar errors published in the INQ. So maybe these developers arent getting trained properly and we should be complaining to all the programing textbooks and professors around the world.

Daniel Steinberg,