 |
Joe Wilcox discusses Windows Vista’s Speed Bumps:
About 18 months ago, I suggested that Microsoft’s security challenge with Windows Vista would be “trying to make the operating system more secure without taking too much away from partners and customers.”
…
Unfortunately, after many months of using Windows Vista, I conclude that Microsoft has placed a thick security facade around the operating system that impedes usability compared to Windows XP. The comparison to XP is important. Microsoft must emphasize user benefits to show potential customers that the current operating system isn’t good enough compared to Windows Vista. If the experience isn’t better–as in much better–customers will be less likely to rush out and buy off-the-shelf upgrades or new Windows Vista PCs. Neither situation would be good for Microsoft partners.
…
For example, I am rather stunned by the enormous number of security popups introduced in Windows Vista, either by the operating system’s “User Accounts Control” or Internet Explorer 7. Because Windows Vista has been in beta and the number of popups has reduced with each new test version, I decided to stay quiet and watch–to cut Microsoft some slack because of the amount of undeserved crap the company gets. But, if news reports are to be believed, with Release Candidate 1 imminent and the number of popups still numerous, I decided to voice my concerns now. Microsoft partners should carefully what Microsoft’s approach to Windows Vista security might mean for them.
Much more by following the link. I never thought that upgrades of existing XP systems were going to be that numerous and I still expect the overwhelming majority of new PCs to ship with Vista, but this rather makes you wonder whether Microsoft is in for some really bad PR.
Still, hopes for RC1 are high and Paul Thurrott says it is planned for early September despite some problems:
… behind the scenes, the company has had to come up with a new plan for the Release Candidate 1 (RC1) version of the product after plans to use build 5520 for RC1 fell through.
There’s been lots of press buzz over Microsoft offering to help the Firefox developers ensure that it runs on Vista, but my experience in recent years as the representative of a major ISV has been that for any new Windows OS, or even a major service pack, Microsoft is all over developers of popular 3rd party applications to ensure there are no compatibility glitches. Firefox certainly qualifies for that kind of support. In fact, Microsoft proactively tests a number of 3rd party applications themselves and I wouldn’t be surprised if they had tested Firefox. Some of the information and tools that Microsoft makes available for ISVs are listed here.
How Vista screws dual-booting nirvana. Vista continues the Windows tradition of overwriting the Master Boot Record. (Via Neowin)
Rachel Rosmarin reports at Forbes that Mozilla Gains On Microsoft:
Mozilla’s Firefox Web browser continues to burn a path into Microsoft’s house–the PC.The open source Web browser software is gaining on Microsoft’s (nasdaq: MSFT – news – people ) Internet Explorer, amassing 11.3% of the global browser market, up from 9.5% at the beginning of the year, according to Web traffic tracking from Net Applications. IE’s share slid from 85.3% in January to 83.6% in July.
In the U.S., Firefox’s claim is even larger, with 15.8% in July up from 14.1% at the end of last year, according to Web analytics firm OneStat.
It’s not exactly a water main break, but it seems be a steady leak.
Nate Mook at BetaNews:
Mozilla’s Firefox browser continues to post gains in market share, according to Web analytics firm OneStat.com, while usage of Internet Explorer has fallen more than 2 percent since May. Opera, meanwhile, has surpassed 1 percent market share worldwide.Worldwide, Firefox now holds 12.93 percent of the market, up from 11.79 percent in May. The open source browser commands a 15.82 percent usage share in the United States, and a whopping 39.02 percent in Germany.
More details by following the link and directly from OneStat.
Exemplifing all that online services investment that has Wall Street upset, Microsoft today launched a beta of Windows Live Shopping at shopping.live.com:
Today we launch the brand new Windows Live Shopping site!What is it? It is the beta launch of Microsofts Web 2.0 shopping experience, featuring one of the worlds largest product catalogs, user-created content and an easier-to-use interface built on 100% AJAX technology. It uses a unified shopping engine to search or browse almost 40 million products from 7,000 stores ranging from many of the countrys leading retailers to eBay. Results are displayed in an order that is not affected by advertising; merchants cannot pay to have their items show up closer to the top. Users will be able to drag-and-drop items to a shopping list and share lists with friends; see user reviews of products and sellers; and read and create public shopping guides on any subject.
As we have mentioned previously, Windows Live Shopping is MSN shopping with a spiffy new Web 2.0 user interface and features. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support Firefox.
If you consider shopping a team sport, apparently more Web 2.0 social networking is on the way:
What is our vision? In the future, Windows Live Shopping will continue to offer the great comparison shopping services you see today, while also integrating more social and community features that will enable users to better research, share, and have fun with their shopping experiences.
Since online shopping is not exactly a new category, the test will be to see if the new features draw a crowd.
