11:47 PM - slashdot response about MS and NeXTSTEP features
Microsoft doesn't need to include anything from NeXT anymore. They've already used it. Hmm.. an object oriented framework for applications? Microsoft has that now. X's in the right hand corner to close windows... done. (not next specific, but one of the oldest oses i've used with it) Good networking capabilities... done. (well its not exactly bsd sockets.. but it works and offers some interop with protocols) WWW support. What do i mean by this? The FIRST web browser was written on a NeXT machine by TimBL. done. TextEdit is a lot like Wordpad wouldn't you say? Which is a lot like Write. done. The ability to run two apps simultaneously without crashing.. done. (well usually.. if its an engineering app thats another story) I don't feel like going on with this.
All graphical systems have components stolen from others. Apple steals from microsoft and microsoft steals from apple. KDE steals from both and both steal back. Gnome copies everyone else and .. oh wait. Parts of OSX remind me of OS/2 Warp 4 but you don't see me bitching at apple from robbing IBM. I don't even know who stole from who sometimes. Windows Vista is designed to catch MS up to apple's multimedia push from the last 5 years. Bill gates is counting on the new features to curb sales in large markets with apple stores. Apple is gaining customers in those markets. 45 minutes way there is an apple store and a dell both a few stores apart. Can you guess which one is busy? Its not the dell both. Quite a few people compare the machines and then you see them come out with apple bags or iBook boxes. Part of it is the operating system features. Remember when you got your first pc? If you were like me, you bought it on software that it came with. Hell I got a packard bell. The only thing about packard bell machines I can say is 1. they had a good software package, 2. they could run NT4 and OS/2 warp 3 well and 3. it lasted 7 years (gave to my mom). Software sells machines.. and i wanted an apple then but couldn't afford it. The IBM or Nec machines had nothing but windows on them. Microsoft needs this release. Most praised linux distros on slashdot are the bloated ones with 8000 programs that do the same thing. Why? People like software and consider it a feature. Its why ubuntu or redhat are talked about more than gentoo and debian.
If Windows Vista fails, its the beginning to the end of the MS monopoly. Consumers don't care what OS they run, just people like us do. Its like buying a toyota vs a ford. Who cares. Different under the hood, but it still gets to from point a to point b (or website a to website b). This multimedia approach is why that 5% is important because it effected Microsoft and it will effect Linux distros as more multimedia will be required for home and business adoption of the software.
The interesting thing is that windows vista will force people to buy new pcs to get it. No upgrades this time. Unless you're a gamer, you don't have a video card that can run it. Apple's switch to intel hit at a great time. People have to rebuy computers and it could mean a big market share switch for apple, Microsoft, and/or the linux community if everyone plays their cards right.
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