Windows Could Use a Rush of Fresh Air

aryayush · 03-07-2008, 01:34 AM

Windows Could Use a Rush of Fresh Air

By RANDALL STROSS
Published: June 29, 2008

MICROSOFT Windows has put on a lot of weight over the years.

Illustration by The New York Times

Beginning as a thin veneer for older software code, it has become an obese monolith built on an ancient frame. Adding features, plugging security holes, fixing bugs, fixing the fixes that never worked properly, all while maintaining compatibility with older software and hardware — is there anything Windows doesn’t try to do?

Painfully visible are the inherent design deficiencies of a foundation that was never intended to support such weight. Windows seems to move an inch for every time that Mac OS X or Linux laps it.

The best solution to the multiple woes of Windows is starting over. Completely. Now. Read more…

[Via The New York Times]

goobimama · 03-07-2008, 01:49 AM

I hear that's what Windows 7 is all about... Let's hope they can keep to their promises this time round...

aryayush · 03-07-2008, 01:58 AM

No, it isn’t. Read the article—Windows 7 is going to be to Windows Vista what Vista is to XP.

FilledVoid · 03-07-2008, 02:13 AM

I seriously doubt Microsoft wanting to restart at this moment. Not to mention how Vista has been received by consumers. I'm pretty sure they are going to come out with a Load of features which should make the wait worth it.

Quote:

“is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7.”

Isn't this exactly what Mac OS X is doing also by releasing that new OS? An excerpt from the passage in this thread .

Quote:

“We have delivered more than a thousand new features to OS X in just seven years and Snow Leopard lays the foundation for thousands more,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “In our continued effort to deliver the best user experience, we hit the pause button on new features to focus on perfecting the world’s most advanced operating system.”

So in this case isn't the author being a bit harsh on Microsoft. But nonetheless Vista didn't come with quite alot of the features that would justify the wait I guess. Although I definitely see it emerging as its best product in the Long run.

gxsaurav · 03-07-2008, 11:01 AM

Windows doesn't need to start over at all. Compared to the BSD kernel & Unix kernel, the NT kernel which is the foundation of Windows Vista & Windows 7 although with major architecture changes is still fairly new & yet it's potential isn't completely achieved.

Windows is known for it's superior software backward compatibility compared to Mac OS X or Linux. I m yet to see a screenshot by Gautam showing openoffice .1 beta running on Ubuntu 8.04. On the other hand, Apple has already said that they won't support PowerPC architecture due to which within few years Mac developers will stop making universal binaries for Applications & will concentrate on X86 Mac only leaving all the PowerPC mac users in dark.....Microsoft isn't doing that.

Microsoft doesn't need to remove half the code or backward compatibility. Hyper-V is in Windows Server 2008 now & it will be there in Windows 7 by default in a sandbox enviroment. What they should do which will be easy for them anyway is that they should remove all the pre-vista code from Windows 7 & remove Win32 support all together.

Now if a developer has to make an application they should use a more sophisticated API such as .Net 2008 or QT or GTK & those old apps will run in a virtual machine esqe Sandbox enviroment. Since CPUs these days has VT Virtualisation inbuilt as well as DirectX 10's support for GPU Virtualisation (playing quake 3 in a VM which looks like it is running natively as well as running Aero at the same time or Quake 4 in Vista) so there will hardly be any performance panelty.

They don't need to develop something new or start over, there is no need. They just need to use what they already have in a better & optimised way. Don't be shocked if Windows 7 turns out to be a highly optimised version of Vista on the same hardware leaving all the legecy code behind & Hyper-V for old application which included Motocross Madness 1

aryayush · 03-07-2008, 12:42 PM

And don’t be shocked if it’s just as well received as Vista has been.

iMav · 03-07-2008, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aryayush

Windows 7 is going to be to Windows Vista what Vista is to XP.

Windows 7 is going to be to Windows Vista what XP was to ME. But, I think that it is time, MS gave a radically changed OS, from top to bottom.

naveen_reloaded · 03-07-2008, 12:52 PM

Nice article....

Yes true it has became fat...but if a os want to serve something for everyone...g think there offer to be loads of codes...i dont fault on windows...
But the things is they could atleast run through a installation wizard...where you are asked questions regarding how you use the system and ar for their need , only those featuress can be turned on...simple example being printer, network,etc... That would put a serious diet on windows..,
What say guys?

Offer = needs
FUC THE T9

aryayush · 03-07-2008, 01:23 PM

[off-topic]

What does “ADSF” stand for?

[/off-topic]

naveen_reloaded · 03-07-2008, 02:14 PM

Asdf keyboard keys dude... ASDF...

bikdel · 03-07-2008, 06:18 PM

There was an article in June issue of PC Quest about a Microsoft OS, a name that starts from 'S' alphabet I guess. A very early build was included in the free DVD. I did not understand what it was about and all those alien codes provided but it was certainly something I never saw...

EDIT: Sorry, Didnt read the article. Yes, its the Singularity OS or whatever...

Faun · 03-07-2008, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naveen_reloaded

Asdf keyboard keys dude... ASDF...

he is not into gaming

**MetalheadGautham** · 03-07-2008, 07:06 PM

this is absolutely right. I don't need an article to tell me that windows sucks internally.

Apple did the same thing with macintosh when they put performance over pride and based their operating system on FreeBSD. Now I hear apple apparently has rather satisfied customers.

ring_wraith · 03-07-2008, 08:11 PM

Gotta agree to that article. Its like adding the same decorations to a christmas tree year after year.. Get a new tree!

But does anyone realize the fact that a completely new kernel viz. a fresh start would result in so many incompatibilities that it might be the one last swipe that finally kills Microsoft? Morons, trying to prevent their company from falling apart and what not.

gxsaurav · 03-07-2008, 08:22 PM

No one is looking at what MS is doing with Vista & Windows 7. MS has already given developers WPF & native vista apps must be made in .net 3.0 or later. this means managed code in 95% apps by the time Windows 8 comes, they will all be GPGPU accelerated with WPF, WCF etc. Singularity is a project right now in which the 98% OS is made from scratch in .net managed code, so by 2012 we will have a new architecture made from scratch

singularity can very well be foundation for windows 8. Since by 2012 almost all apps will be in either in .net or similar API like Adobe flex, MS won't need to care about backward compatibility & they can remove old code from windows.
ring wraith is right, if MS removes backward compatibility then people will scold even more, gautam, weren't U cursing MS for not supporting motocross madness yourself. MS can't start over just like, it takes time

Krazy_About_Technology · 03-07-2008, 08:45 PM

^^Singularity is some new architecture or what? I dont quiet got you on that buddy

But ya, i agree with you GX.

gxsaurav · 03-07-2008, 09:15 PM

singularity is a compleately new architecture with new kernel, networking stack based on WCF instead of old TCP/IP, UI based on Aero etc with everything written in easy to use .net API. Even the drivers r said to be written in .net means it will be automaticaly compiled during installation with something like ngen.exe.
Windows 7 is to Vista what XP was to Win 2000, enhancement & optimisation to already established stable OS.

Krazy_About_Technology · 03-07-2008, 09:47 PM

^WHOA! That would be great whenever it comes mainstream

gxsaurav · 03-07-2008, 10:18 PM

Singularity is to Windows 7 what Win 95 was to Win 3.1, something mind blowing.

It makes sence for singularity to be 64bit only. by 2012, it will be 9 years that 64 bit CPU r out & it doesn't make sence for it to be 32bit anymore.

**MetalheadGautham** · 03-07-2008, 10:31 PM

Whatever microsoft does, I seriously doubt that they would be able to match upto the performance of the Linux Kernel in so short a span of time.

iMav · 03-07-2008, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

Whatever microsoft does, I seriously doubt that they would be able to match upto the performance of the Linux Kernel in so short a span of time.

What span of time are you talking about? Do you have any inside info about since when MS research has been working any new Kernel?

**MetalheadGautham** · 03-07-2008, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iMav

What span of time are you talking about? Do you have any inside info about since when MS research has been working any new Kernel?

I was comparing this 2012 time you guys were talking about. Do you honestly think this can match 21 years of hard work (by that time) by a million developers ?

Faun · 03-07-2008, 10:43 PM

^^lolz

iMav · 03-07-2008, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

I was comparing this 2012 time you guys were talking about. Do you honestly think this can match 21 years of hard work (by that time) by a million developers ?

Yes, why not. What you don't understand is that we are talking about a new kernel which will be made from lessons learnt from the past 3 decades. And, hard work, MS has it easy? Does Santa come and drop technology to MS?

infra_red_dude · 03-07-2008, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iMav

Yes, why not. What you don't understand is that we are talking about a new kernel which will be made from lessons learnt from the past 3 decades. And, hard work, MS has it easy? Does Santa come and drop technology to MS?

+1. When you talk about FOSS, everything is free and open. MS Engineers are not so dumb that they don't even understand the open code they see! Computing - whether hardware or software - moves at lightening speed.

Secondly, since the kernel is not open I think its not correct to comment on it since we don't know anything about it.

**MetalheadGautham** · 03-07-2008, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infra_red_dude

+1. When you talk about FOSS, everything is free and open. MS Engineers are not so dumb that they don't even understand the open code they see! Computing - whether hardware or software - moves at lightening speed.

Secondly, since the kernel is not open I think its not correct to comment on it since we don't know anything about it.

whatever it is, the future is not exactly clear. its dull and foggy and anything may happen.

So I wish all the best to MS, and hope for their sake that everything turns out well.

Faun · 03-07-2008, 11:03 PM

^^future should be open or else we all succumb to the competition.

**MetalheadGautham** · 03-07-2008, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T159

^^future is should be open or else we all succumb to the competition.

I know. But that doesn't give me any right to stop M$ from developing $$$ app$.

As a FOSS user, I shall do my part whenever I can to ensure that the world does not ask what OS you use, rather, they start asking what Distro® you use.