It's time Microsoft acknowledged what the rest of us know
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Ridcully Aug 17, 2014 1:55 AM EDT |
As far as my knowledge/information takes me: 1. The Windows software package is now incredibly complex and enormous; 2. It has been around for 20(?) years; 3. Redmond software developers have left, retired, etc.; 4., Microsoft retains the "keep the source code in secrecy" principle. When I put all of those together, I cannot help but think that it is highly likely that there are parts of Microsoft Windows code that none of the present Redmond staff either know exist, or know what the heck they do. As a result, a patch to fix one part of the code can disrupt another part......About 3-4 years ago, I wrote a comment either on this site or on Linux Today which said that I believed it was time for Microsoft to "bite the bullet" and commission a complete re-write of Windows code.....Of course, it hasn't happened and we get situations like this. You cannot help but contrast Microsoft's angst with the Linux code which is always open. Eyes all around the world are constantly looking at it, finding flaws, conflicts, .......and fixing them - usually within 24 hours and sometimes much shorter than that. We know what every bit of that code does and why. I think it is high time Microsoft abandoned the "cathedral development system" and came out of the closet.......Although there might be real trouble if/when various organisations or people realise that their code has been placed in the Windows code without permission - "binaries only" can hide such situations. That is one aspect of Linux that we know is safe, thanks to Groklaw. Just my meanderings, random thoughts off the top of my head....... and 2c worth......... :-) |
| JaseP Aug 17, 2014 4:01 AM EDT |
Well, ... I guess this is the kind of stuff that happens when you lay off a whole ton of your software testing folks,... Can't say I'm not laughing just a bit... |
| Ridcully Aug 17, 2014 4:14 AM EDT |
JaseP......I did try to be serious in my first post. I really did.....however, given your post directly above, I feel I can give vent to just a little of my true feelings............mmmwhahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Sorry. I shouldn't say things like that should I ? I'm not a programmer, but I am thoroughly aware of the checks and balances in its writing from a little bit of University programming in Basic. (Cor blimey, that was in 1967 or thereabouts.) To be perfectly honest, given what I now know about software and its development and preparation and checking, the only answer for Redmond is very simple: "You are getting everything you deserve for having taken the management and development road you chose. It's just taking a little longer than usual for the consumers to wake up - but when they do, you won't enjoy the results." |
| cr Aug 17, 2014 4:35 AM EDT |
> I believed it was time for Microsoft to "bite the bullet" and commission a complete re-write of Windows code.. They tried that. It was called Longhorn. It was going to be the latest and greatest, instead it was late, so instead they went back to the win32/nt codebase and sludged it up and called it Vista, and it was almost as popular as WinME. Search on 'Longhorn' at The Register if you're curious. > I think it is high time Microsoft abandoned the "cathedral development system" and came out of the closet... Not so easy. From what I read, their big problem is the cathedral management system. And that's as far as I can draw the comparison under TOS. So. How 'bout those L.A. Clippies? |
| seatex Aug 17, 2014 10:32 AM EDT |
Just about everything MS touches now seems to be blowing up. And they wonder why nobody wants their phones? It's time stop marketing Linux to consumers just for being free, but for being safer and more secure than Windblows. |
| the_doctor Aug 17, 2014 12:15 PM EDT |
seatex wrote:
Quoting:It's time stop marketing Linux to consumers just for being free, but for being safer and more secure than Windblows. Agreed! The Linux learning curve is a myth. Linux is just as easy to use as Windows, if not more so. It's good to know the command line interface, but not necessary. Most Linux desktop environments are all point-and-click user friendly. |
| BernardSwiss Aug 17, 2014 5:33 PM EDT |
> Well, ... I guess this is the kind of stuff that happens when you lay off a whole ton of your software testing folks I thought those were mostly relatively recently acquired Nokia/hardware people -- did I miss something? |
| the_doctor Aug 17, 2014 5:55 PM EDT |
UPDATE:
Quoting:Within hours of its release, however, users reported that MS14-045 had generated a Stop 0x50 error on some systems, mostly on Windows 7 PCs running the 64-bit version of the OS. Not the first time: Quoting:In April 2013, Microsoft urged Windows 7 users to uninstall an update that had generated BSOD screens. And last August and September Microsoft had such a run of problems with updates for its Office suite that experts called it a "worrisome" sign of declining update quality. From: Microsoft urges customers to uninstall 'Blue Screen of Death' update |
| Ridcully Aug 17, 2014 6:22 PM EDT |
Quoting:The Linux learning curve is a myth. Linux is just as easy to use as Windows, if not more so. Absolutely true, "the_doctor", and one place where the ease of Linux certainly shines is installation. A Linux installation is so simple and so fast......At the most, after patches and updates have been applied, it's about 40 minutes.......Now try that with a Microsoft installation. Not only is it well over an hour, you then have to remove huge quantities of "muckware" that also has installed itself, and some of that muck clings firmly to the new Windows installation and doesn't want to be dumped either. Then you have to install antiviral software, etc. etc. before you can even USE the damn software........let alone plug it into the internet....Oh yes, and then it instantly slams barriers in front of you if you want to watch media that it thinks you shouldn't be able to, even if you OWN that media material. In my opinion, Windows is a steaming.......naaaah......I'm too polite to give vent to an Australianism and this is LXer after all, and we are supposed to talk nicely. One day soon, within the next 10 years, I hope to see generally published and recognised what we all know as well: general acknowledgement that Windows damaged the advancement and improvement of IT and software far more than we will ever know. That it was Windows that provided the fertilised ground for malware and scamming and that Microsoft has actively and deliberately held back USA software development through enforcement of patents that should never have been allowed. I hope to see it in my lifetime. |
| JaseP Aug 17, 2014 7:42 PM EDT |
Quoting: I thought those were mostly relatively recently acquired Nokia/hardware people -- did I miss something? Something like 12,500 of the 18,000 were from Nokia. The rest were at MS,... and most of those were in testing/QA... |
| gary_newell Aug 18, 2014 5:37 AM EDT |
How many of those in the testing/QA department took voluntary redundancy? What sort of people take voluntary redundancy? People who are good at their jobs. If you are happy to take voluntary redundancy it is logical to assume that you know you are good at your job and therefore another one is just around the corner. Therefore the best people leave and the people left behind are those that are either close to retirement (and don't want the hassle) or know their CV perhaps isn't strong enough to guarantee another position where they are well paid. This sort of thing happens all the time. Where I work they let loads of people go from IT so they could offshore to India. Then they decided that was a bad idea and brought everything back in house. All the good people that they let go wouldn't come back. |
| BernardSwiss Aug 18, 2014 3:12 PM EDT |
@JaseP Thanks. @gary_newell Very interesting. I wonder how common that is... |
| seatex Aug 18, 2014 3:24 PM EDT |
A friend of mine speculated today that bad updates might become a strategy for MS to prod people to "upgrade" to Windows 8.1. So, if we start to see more future updates that only cause issues for Windows 7 and earlier versions... |
| gus3 Aug 18, 2014 4:19 PM EDT |
In this case, the phrase "bad updates" is redundant. |
| the_doctor Aug 20, 2014 10:46 AM EDT |
 Ah, the good old days! |
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