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microsoft
With Bill Gates gone, Microsoft to stop selling the last operating system he actually liked
Microsoft's Vista apologists no longer have to worry about former chief software architect Bill Gates letting slip an admission that its latest operating system sucks, sending computer makers and users back to Windows XP. As soon as Dell, HP and other major manufacturers sell their current-supply of XP-loaded PCs, no more will come off the shelves as Microsoft ends production of the aging but quite functional operating system today. But instead of moving on to Windows Vista, large corporate clients like General Motors intend to purchase Vista-loaded computers and "downgrade" them to XP. Meanwhile, only 8 percent of all software developers are working on applications for Vista, while 49 percent continue to develop for XP.
microsoft
Intel says there's "no compelling case" to upgrade to Vista
Back when Vista launched, Microsoft predicted corporate clients would adopt the new operating system at twice the rate of its predecessor, Windows XP. Hasn't happened. Now even longtime Microsoft partner, chipmaker Intel, has decided to not upgrade its 80,000 employees to Microsoft Vista. An IT buyer at the company told the New York Times that, after "a lengthy analysis" Intel's "information technology staff just found no compelling case for adopting Vista." Instead, Intel will keep its employees on the same OS they've used since 2001, XP.
quotable
Bill Gates privately declared Windows usability "an absolute mess" in 2003
Five years ago, which is probably about when Microsoft started announcing shipping dates for Vista, Bill Gates wanted to play with Windows Movie Maker. Thanks to the power of Windows XP and Microsoft's online support, it took him over an hour in frustration downloading software, installing it and rebooting and, in the end, still without the software he was looking for. More »
poll
We're on to Round Two in our worst-tech-job contest. We've whittled down 10 terrible gigs down to five:
Finding the worst-entry level job in tech: Round Two
We're on to Round Two in our worst-tech-job contest. We've whittled down 10 terrible gigs down to five:- Online sales and operations account manager, Google
- Content acquisition intern, IODA
- Customer support specialist, Fox Interactive, MySpace division
- Windows support professional, Microsoft
- Part-time guide, Mahalo
microsoft
Source: Windows developers chafe under new boss Steven Sinofsky
Who's the man responsible for cuts to internal spending at Microsoft? Here's a hint: he's feared, hated and respected by Windows developers: Steven Sinofsky, the SVP of Windows and Windows Live development, who's been mooted as a successor to Bill Gates. Sinofsky used to run Microsoft Office development, where he earned a reputation for "making the trains run on time." That landed him in charge of making sure fiascos like Vista never happen again. One problem, though. More »
d6 live coverage
Bill Gates's presentation at D6, the four-word version
After being kicked out of D6 — kicked out of mere proximity to D6, really — I learned I didn't miss much. Want a summary of Bill Gates's presentation at D6 of Windows Seven, Microsoft's supposedly exciting new operating system with multitouch features similar to the year-old Apple iPhone? "Windows Seven is bullshit," says Gizmodo editor Brian Lam. Here's to more insights like that at the Four Seasons hotel bar! The highlights reel, in case you're in doubt: More »
d6 live coverage
Bill Gates's valedictory: Windows Seven
CARLSBAD, CA — Next month, Bill Gates is retiring from his day job at Microsoft. That means his appearance tonight at the D6 conference is his last hurrah. To go out with a bang, he is debuting Windows Seven, John Paczkowski reports on the conference's AllThingsD website. Details are scant, but we've heard Microsoft was rushing out Seven to make up for the failures of Vista. Gates, Paczkowski writes, will demonstrate an "all new user interface." Which speaks to Microsoft's problems. Users are not demanding new interfaces; corporations are uninterested in retraining their staffs, and consumers are unmotivated to learn the quirks of a new operating system. Gates would have been better served by simply improving the operating system's reliability and performance — but that does not make for an interesting show.
10 worst jobs
Support professional, product: Windows, Microsoft
Support professional, product: Windows, MicrosoftKey responsibilities:
Represent Microsoft and communicate with Microsoft's Strategic OEM partners via telephone, written correspondence, or electronic services regarding technically complex escalated issues. Frequently, these problems will not only be technically complex, but will be politically charged situations requiring the highest level of customer skill and diplomacy both externally and internally.Why so bad? More »
microsoft
General Motors technology chief plans to skip Windows Vista
"We're considering bypassing Vista and going straight to Windows 7," GM technology chief Fred Killeen told BusinessWeek. He said that replacing Windows XP with Vista would require the company to buy too many machines. "By the time we'd replace them, Windows 7 might be ready anyway," he said. Fred, Fred, Fred — if you ask Microsoft, Intel, Dell, and the rest of the technology industry, buying too many machines is sort of the point. (Photo by ceonyc)
cubicle culture
Apple thinks corporate -- or rather, corporations think Apple
Out of 250 surveyed companies, 87 percent report owning Apple computers. That's up from 48 percent In 2006. In BusinessWeek's story on Apple's creep into corporate cubicles, Dimension Data CIO Mark Slaga explains how Apple is gaining ground without really trying: "Steve Jobs doesn't need a sales force because he already has one: employees like the ones in my company." (Though, as it happens, Apple is looking for office space in Manhattan's Midtown, which could conceivably house salespeople.) More »
Microsoft hire Mark Hamburg hates Windows
Mark Hamburg, pictured here accepting a Photoshop Hall of Fame award, on being hired away from Adobe to work on user experience at Microsoft: "Given that I find the current Windows experience really annoying and yet I keep having to deal with it, this opportunity was a little too interesting to turn down." [News.com]
geek love
Is an Italian hottie the reason why Vista sucks?
In 2001, Brian Valentine, then a top Microsoft executive, was pumped about Windows XP, as a spoof infomercial shows. By the time Vista was getting ready for release, his enthusiasm had waned. The reason? Some believe he was pining for Gianna Puerini, a sales manager who had left Microsoft for Amazon.com in 2003. In July 2006, Valentine secretly signed an employment contract with Amazon.com. Microsoft did not reveal that he was leaving for Amazon.com until September 5, less than a week before he started his new job. The business rationale for hiding his departure was obvious: Valentine ran the team that was shipping its Windows Vista operating system. Losing their leader would have killed morale. More »
great moments in pr
Microsoft pretends Vista sales video is a gag, and CNET editor buys it
With the leak of an internal sales video, Microsoft is having its ironic cake and pretending not to eat it too. Its marketing team produced an awful spoof of Bruce Springsteen singing about Vista. One should note: Companies do this routinely to motivate their salespeople, but the innocents in engineering normally aren't exposed to the cheerleading routines. Microsoft's spin on the video: It's a gag! We're being sly! And incredibly, CNET editor Charles Cooper bought their line, quoting an anonymous flack: "They thought folks internally would get a kick out of not taking themselves so seriously all the time." More »
lawyers
Safari for Windows illegal for use on Windows PCs
Want to install Safari on your Windows PC? Hope you don't mind violating Apple's Software License Agreement. Apple's lawyers messed up when they copied and pasted the license for using Safari for Windows. From the text of the SLA:"2. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions. A. This License allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time." Whoops! You could run Safari for Windows on an Apple, I suppose, using Boot Camp or virtualization software. But somehow I don't think that's why Steve Jobs had his programmers rewrite the browser software for PCs.
More »
bad ideas
Microsoft makes Vista cheaper -- as if that's why people weren't buying
Microsoft has cut the price of the U.S. consumer versions of Windows Vista. The Ultimate Edition fell from $399 to $319 and the Home Premium Edition went from $159 to $129. The Register nails it: "It's hard to believe that millions of Windows XP users were just waiting for Vista to get a little cheaper before committing themselves." Why don't they just put XP back on the shelves? That seems easier. (Photo by mkeefe)
lawsuits
Microsoft emails on Vista: "No one really believed we would ever ship"
A pile of internal emails (PDF) between Microsoft execs have surfaced as part of a suit against the company. The suit alleges that the company mislead customers in 2006 labeling PCs "Windows Vista Capable." And to judge by the emails from Microsoft execs, Microsofties agreed with the plaintiffs. One exec, Mike Nash, writes that Vista turned his $2,100 PC into nothing but an "email machine." In another, exec Steven Sinofsky confessed his Office team didn't start work on a Vista version until late 2006 because "No one really believed we would ever ship." Read the rest for yourself, below. More »
mysteries
