 windows Vista -
02-01-2007
, 01:49 PM
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_frien...249102,00.html
Since the early days of DOS (and even with the Mac OS), there has been
a slow shift within the operating-system concept from increased
functionality to increased featurism, neither of which are needed.
This has resulted in a strange situation where the monoculture of
Microsoft Windows and the subcultures of Linux and Mac OS X have made
the computing scene both stagnant and dangerous.
Unless the computer is re-architected from scratch, which will not
happen in the next 100 years, we are set on a path of never-ending
misery. Windows Vista proves it.
Let's begin with the way things should have gone.
It began with DOS, which was a clone of CP/M before that. Each time a
new version came out, it was for one reason only: to add the
functionality of newer peripherals, disk drives, ports and more.
A new device would emerge from the labs, and it would be accommodated
by an OS upgrade. At first the device would be accommodated by clever
patches, and then the patch would be incorporated into a release of
the OS.
If you were interested in weird new features, such as a GUI [graphical
user interface], these would be separate programs that ran under the
OS (not on top of the OS).
Until Windows came along, the OS - whether CP/M, MS-DOS, or anything
else, for that matter - was constantly criticized by the big-iron
mainframe builders (IBM et al.) as not being a true operating system.
This critique was the beginning of the end, and a key to understanding
what went wrong.
Nobody running small desktop machines from 1975 to 1990 knew or cared
that the OS was merely a file loader. In fact, nobody actually knew
what that meant.
Why did you need a complex OS on a microprocessor-based machine
running Lotus 1-2-3 anyway? You didn't, but that "it's just a file
loader" complaint never ended.
So, IBM - which had been in bed for years with Microsoft's file loader
- took a dislike to the situation and convinced Microsoft and itself
that something more substantial should be developed.
This happened just as various iterations of Unix began to crop up on
small machines. Unix was a real operating system, and, golly, it was
neat to use. Instead of running practical programs and actually
getting jobs done, you could toy with the innards of the machine with
the OS. What fun!
Anyway, IBM began to develop OS/2, and Microsoft figured it had a
better idea with Windows, both of which were more than file loaders
(although not much more).
Over time, the features of these new OSs became more important than
the system's performance or anything else. They would have glowing
icons, transparent pop-ups, smooth scrolling and all the things that
used to be utilities sold by third parties.
Within no time, Microsoft decided that everything should be part of
the OS, although these features had nothing to do with the OS.
The company went to court to argue that the browser was part of the
OS. Media players were part of the OS.
One assumes that Microsoft would have argued that the word processor
was part of the OS if it didn't have a near-monopoly on word
processing already.
In ways nobody could have predicted, what was once an efficient file
loader evolved into a clumsy monstrosity that required massive amounts
of memory just to run. But did it ever become a genuine OS, or just a
file loader with benefits?
It became a clunker, in fact, with a pretty face and a high price tag
like a Park Avenue hooker using too much makeup to hide the fact that
she's old.
Now we have Vista. It turns out to be nothing like what was promised.
What a shock. It has a few new features, but I'd question if it's
actually more functional than what we've had before.
As an aside, I'm fascinated by the fact that Mac users all think Vista
is great. These are folks who have long since bought into the Steve
Jobs notion that the sizzle is more important than the steak.
PC users have traditionally preferred the steak over the sizzle. So
what happens now?
We start by playing with Vista and listening to the inevitable
complaints and praises. But this OS is not designed to be a good
candidate for upgrading older systems. This is something of a new
phenomenon.
Thus, people about to phase out old machines might be a little more
experimental. And that means trying Linux.
This transition period will not be like all the others. There will be
more orphan machines than ever before. It might take years before
Vista can achieve even 50 percent market share.
Anything can happen. I'll be watching. Now, let the reviews begin!
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