Someone asked me earlier, how good I thought Microsoft Windows 7 was. I replied that I think it’s good enough, to ‘maybe’ cause CNET, TWiT and other anti Microsoft networks, an unexpected problem:
How do you dump on something that the public ALREADY likes and even competitors say is great?
Windows 7 & Win7Love
There’s no doubt – the general feeling ‘out there’ is that Windows 7 is going to be a good OS. We even have a new word for it; “Win7Love.” This makes Windows 7 a LOT harder to dump on, than the big, easy target that is Vista. But that’s NOT stopping CNET from trying!
I think that when Windows Blogger Paul Thurrott told me on twitter, that there was; “an unofficial editorial policy at CNET to criticize Microsoft,” he was only partly exaggerating!
Even Mark Shuttleworth likes Windows 7
How can the anti Microsoft blogs and podcasts seriously slam Windows 7, when even the competition likes it? I’m writing this post on a PC running Ubuntu linux, so I have a huge respect for Mark Shuttleworth; CEO of Canonical and founder of Ubuntu.
This is an excerpt from a recent interview, which Shuttleworth gave to The Register;
“Speaking with The Reg, the founder of popular Linux distro Ubuntu and chief executive of Canonical called Windows 7 a great operating system. Great? Doesn’t Shuttleworth work for the competition? Shouldn’t he be building up Windows 7′s hidden weaknesses? Apparently not. “I’m not going to ‘diss it”, he said categorically. So there.“
If this wave of ‘Win7Love’ lasts until the product hits the shelves, it’s going to make for a VERY interesting year. However, with Microsoft’s track record for screwing up launches and PR disasters, one thing is certain. It’s going to be a very interesting 6/8 months!
To make remarks such as “anti-Microsoft” is wrong. I will explain.
It is my opinion that the current dislike of Microsoft products has been brought about by Vista and the allegations of Microsofts marketing practices that are documented on the net.
Whilst there may be a minority of people who jump on an anti-MS bandwagon, speaking as an Opensource supporter I can say that in my experience, even the most dedicated of open source activists are not anti Microsoft. What be are “anti” are the alleged marketing practices of Microsoft which are well documented on many sites.
What we celebrate is freedom of choice and diversity in the IT solutions people have.
Have you ever considered that maybe Mark Shuttleworth made those comments because he was being mature and honest (in his opinion) and maybe he doesnt believe in some of the underhanded tactics that have been alleged against Microsoft in its practices to promote its software.
Linux for me offers a far better computing environment than Windows, but thats me. I would not suggest that my experience would be the one everyone gets.
I find it a little distasteful that you would imply that Mark should “Shouldn’t he be building up Windows 7’s hidden weaknesses? ” as I personally believe that the software will speak for itself, if as a result of that people use it, great.
Why do people think that aggressive tactics are needed to promote Linux?, if Mark has an honest held belief that Windows 7 in its current release is good, are you suggesting he should be dishonest or are you suggesting he should seek to belittle? Surely the important person is the end user? surely if the end-user gets the functionality they require, it doesnt matter what platform they use?
It appears to me the good comments about Windows 7 are used to prove the fact Windows 7 will be the best release ever, yet the bad ones are put down to being a beta. As we have seen in the past with many products the end product can be very different to a working beta.
Linux has been quite happy all these years without the increase in popularity we see today, if people choose to try it, great (after all it wont cost) If not, fine. I hope Windows 7 lives up to their expectations, although after seeing the figures for Apple, it would tend to suggest that they are reaping the rewards of new customers.
I really wish people would stop believing that Linux users are on a crusade to crush Microsoft. The truth is we (as all computer users should be) are crusading for freedom of choice and having the best tools for them whatever they may be, but then as the allegations have detailed, it is a good way to cheapen an alternatives viewpoint by claiming that alternatives users are on some anti-microsoft crusade.
Maybe you would like to give your opinions on the alleged practices of Microsoft? Do you believe these acceptable?
Would you agree that Linux is good for the user (even if they dont use it) and it can be used not only to “haggle” a better deal out of a large Microsoft purchase but it also forces everyone to stay competetive. Isnt that good for everyone?
Even the most dedicated Windows user has to agree that without viable competition any product will become stall, and competition ends up with better deals for the end user.
On a final note Id ask people to be aware that whilst reading the great press on Windows 7 (including that by people alleged to have recieved a free laptop) they should consider the Mojave experiment. Can anyone honestly say that represented the average users experience of Vista?
Oh great – a comment that’s better than my post – thanks dude!
Seriously!
You make a number of excellent points; though I genuinely believe Windows 7 really is a good OS. Shuttleworth’s not afraid to speak his mind and if he thought it was average or below par, he would say so IMHO.
Will people BUY Windows 7? We are in the middle of a global recession and I believe the price is going to be a massive part of the success or failure of Windows 7. We are currently using a FREE version as beta testers, but when Microsoft start asking for hundreds of pounds / dollars for the same experience; will people REALLY be tempted?
I don’t think Microsoft will offer Windows 7 super cheap – which I believe is a mistake. Yes, it will appear on lots of laptops and maybe netbooks too as the pre-installed OS, so you will have lots of users; like Vista has. How many sales of the actual OS they will make is anyone’s guess.
Mojave was a total screw-up. It was Microsoft showing people Vista, running on super fast machines; that had been specifically built for the experiment. Had they allowed people to take Vista home and use it on their 12-month old laptop – the results would have been different.
Thanks for a GREAT comment Goblin!
WOW. I think its says alot about a site and its reporting impartiality when I receive a comment like that.
I am used to having the finger pointed whilst people shout “witch! burn them” whenever an alternatives viewpoint is put across.
You are too kind with your comments on my post.
Can I clear something up though, when I originally read your post, I was doing so on a rather buggy and difficult to read Mobile. It was not clear that the quote you made from the Register was theirs not yours, so the part where I challenge your implication, I would like to retract with apologies.
It is only now, when I look at the page on a desktop monitor, all becomes clear.
Having been active on Microsoft Watch for a while, I have found many people with good experiences of both Windows 7 & Microsoft in general and its a shame that their experiences are disbelieved purely because others are posting with more sinister motives.
In regards to the performance of Windows 7, I think its pretty safe to say that the final release will be far superior to Vista, but the question really needs to be asked:
What can Windows 7 do that XP cannot do (either natively or via 3rd party software) cannot?
I have been very clear on other sites that I have never tested Windows 7, but it strikes me as strange that the sites I visit are reporting similar XP operational speeds for tasks which they have run.
Sure Windows 7 probably looks great and operates very much as solidly as XP, but in these times of economic worry Ive yet to see the “juicy worm” Microsoft are going to use to sell it to a (IMO) cash strapped and previously burned customer (in the case of Vista).
In regards to Netbooks, I dont believe Microsoft is intending to get much revenue from them (with Win 7). I dont believe MS will drop the price of Win 7 just to get it on a netbook and if they do, I would be interested in what specs the Netbook needed in order to run it (and what the cost of this Netbook would be, when the main selling point of them is price).
I think this is the saving grace of XP and in my opinion great news for XP desktop users who either a/cant afford to upgrade their system or b/ simply dont want to.
I strongly believe Microsoft has lost sight of the home user market. Lets look at what I would consider the “average” household. For the past good few years consoles have replaced the need to upgrade your PC just to play games, theres no installation issues or do you need to fiddle with config files simply to get the latest game to run on your computer.
I think for gaming the PC is “on its way out” (certainly to the extent is once was) I think once WIFI is common place in the home, the PC will be viewed as a machine for productivity/surfing and email. All other entertainment will be provided by the console.
This is where I believe Microsoft underestimate the purchasing will of its customers, since if someone can surf and be productive quite happily under a Linux/other alternative OS and they play games on their console, what possible incentive is there to upgrade anything?
To the Editor, I think for me, Linux and its community takes me back to the A500, BBS’s and the demoscene, and a reminder of a world of Devpac/ArgASM, which was all too quickly replaced by a Microsoft vision and a wife and family (in no particular order!). The enthusiam and talent of alot of my demo/PD scene friends seemed, for a long while to be absent in the mainstream, from the PC, the idea of making software that involved the community (and for it) seemed to come back together within open source scene.
Im sure many people here (especially those who have read my comments elsewhere) think my posts are the mad ramblings of a 35+ coder, trying desperately to recapture his teenage years with dreams of “the good old days” but I truly believe Linux/Open source is the best thing to be associated with, and since I havent used a Windows environment in my home for a long while, I can honestly say Ive never looked back.
Im not on any crusade to promote Open Source, merely to say “Why not try it?” “You have nothing to loose”
and that, is a trademark Goblin wordy post! but before I go I would be interested to hear your views on something Ive read on the net. Its alleged that anyone who purchases Vista after June 1st will get a free Windows 7 update. If this is true, do you think that Microsoft have effectively killed Vista sales for the next few months simply because if anyone was considering a purchase they will wait until then?
Best wishes.
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