[geeks] can't wait for Vista

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 @ 08:46 +0200, Geoffrey S. Mendelson said:

>    Mark Benson said:
> > Tell em where they can stick their  
> > > company and go join someone like Google...
> 
> Google is IMHO and experience even worse.

No, not really.

Bad, yes, but not worse.  It's hard to top Microsoft in that department.

Oracle gives them a good run though.

>   Charles Shannon Hendrix wrote:
> 
> > Microsoft, as bad as it was in the early days, was nothing like it is
> > now, and of course it also didn't have the power to make it happen
> > either.
> 
> Now it does. No one is competing with them. Apple offers a viable option
> but you pay the premium of buying an Apple computer. 

True.  I would love to have an Apple, but it is incredibly hard to
justify the expense.

Take a look at their top-of-the-line. It is nice, and probably well
built, but it isn't really worth the price in terms of getting work
done.

I also wonder at the omissions: no external drive ports, low end video
card, only supports 4 drives, various common PC features missing, lack
of upgrade and repair options, etc.

Apple basically has no option for users who want to upgrade or repair
their machines. Their solution is for you to buy a totally new machine.

Your options are basically the anemic Mini, or the very expensive pro
line.

There really isn't anything in the middle.

Yeah, I know... they have those notebook conversion "desktops", but I
think they suck, and so do most people I know. It's basically a notebook
machine in a flat case and sold at a price premium. It's hard to upgrade
or work on, and any failure takes the whole machine down. 

Apple needs a mid-range badly. 

> On the other hand Microsoft has always been the number 1 Macintosh software
> vendor.

It's ironic too, how much better their Mac software is than their
Windows software.

> > The only good part about Balmer is he might screw up enough to hurt the
> > company.
> 
> I doubt it. People like what he is offering. Even if they did not, what
> would they use? There is no viable option for most people. 

There *are* viable options, it is just hard to break the Windows
momentum.

The users largely use what they are told to use, and so mainly it is a
matter of company leadership, or lack thereof.

For that matter, leadership should be demanding higher quality if they
are going to stick with Microsoft.

> > I wonder... is there anyone there who could oust him if he got really
> > bad?
> 
> The stockholders. The problem with that is I doubt that enough of them
> would. 

Probably true. However, if he started causing them to lose money, they'd
care about that.

> The other problem would be who could replace him? 

That's what I was wondering. With Bill gone, who's next after Ballmer?

>From what I've read, Bill and Balmer are *NOT* the most evil execs
there.

That woman who created Bob(TM) might take over... :)

> Personaly, ALL of my experience with Microsoft hardware has been
> excellent. Note that I have never owned or used an X-Box.

That's not been my experience. I'd rate them about the same as Logitech.
That is, not low-end, but not high end either.

Their mice are OK, but no better than Logitech.  I don't think many of
the mice out there from anyone are that great.

Optical mice are great though, if only because they are so much more
reliable now.

Keyboards... I haven't seen a high-quality unit from Microsoft. Some of
the designs look OK, but all of them are cheap membrane mechanisms as
far as I know.

Some of their better keyboards are also very expensive.  

I marvel at how much these cheap keyboards cost now.

Aside: I wish "computer stores" would actually let you try the stuff
they sell like you could 15 years ago. To really get an idea about a
keyboard, I need to sit down and use one on a machine.

> The stuff "just works", lasts a long time, is easy to use, etc. IMHO the
> person(s) responsible for the hardware should take over the company.

Might work.

-- 
shannon "AT" widomaker.com -- ["And in billows of might swell the Saxons
before her,-- Unite, oh unite!	Or the billows burst o'er her!" -- Downfall
of the Gael]