Windows Vista successor scheduled for a H2 2009 release?

[traveler]

Originally Posted by k0NG0

[snip]

it was a bit pathetic that the DX10 upgrade was a major selling point for a new OS.

Right you are kONGO. Sounds like an absolutely gotta-have needed upgrade for every business in the world to immediately make haste and invest in. That and the new desktop.

As for Ballmer, I think both Gates and he have failed miserably at keeping Microsoft's innovator status.

[snip]

I agree with you again kONGO.

MS hasn't had an original idea yet in the 21st century, and we've used up 8 years of it already. They grew complacent and it's hard transitioning from a purely reactionary way of doing business to actually leading with innovation. That they're still in business is because of their monopoly, a very handy thing to have when you're stuck treading water.

Exactly!!! Microsoft now does nothing much more than practice monopolistic and predatory business activities. No real product improvement activities. They just buy up the competitors or file a lawsuit claiming patent infringement. They (are trying to) refuse to sell and support wanted by the customer older products.

What would the world say if there was only one automobile manufacturer (they effectively bought up all the others) and every three years all dealers stopped servicing the previous models and bullied all third parties to do the same. "Need new brakes?" they say, "Then buy a new car! The current models use a different size brake than the old models and we don't support the old models anymore." Product improvement? Of course! The new brakes are a breathtaking new color! Buy them! Of course you need the whole auto to go with them!

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by k0NG0

The DX10 thing was hyped to death. And from what I saw, most of the hype came from "enthusiast" sites, not from MS PR. And from game publishers

the fact that DX10 is a Vista 'exclusive' did make it a major selling point and MS kept telling anyone that would listen how much better that would make Vista look...not just for games but also with the desktop/folders etc...I don't think many game publishers were touting DX10 to that much of an extent...I believe only Halo 2 and the upcoming 'Alan Wake' are the only 'Vista Exclusive' games...even Crysis runs better in XP

MS shot themselves in the foot by overhyping DX10 and when that didn't pan out as planned they did not have much to fall back on

[traveler]

With so many good games out now I can live fine if I never play Halo 2. Hmmmmmmmm. I never played Halo 1.

[k0NG0]

Traveler, there are choices: OS X and Linux are two (Linux comes in many flavors). As with Windows, they have their own set of kinks and oddities. If one is fed up with Microsoft, I suggest running Linux and buying a PS3 for gaming (I'd probably go for a Wii though, since Sony is equally evil but Nintendo is cuddly and disease-free). Making MS support XP for a long time isn't really sticking it to the man.

And the car analogy is flawed, because when you clicked yes on the XP EULA you agreed to the terms and conditions therein. You also implicitly agreed to the support plan MS had publicized at that time (ignorance isn't a valid defense here, AFAIK). So it's like buying a car from the biggest (though not the only) car manufacturer, and signing the contract when you know that the supply of brakes won't last forever. (Also, time is compressed for IT innovation. There is no Moore's Law for cars. Which actually matters.)

Polo, I guess I remember it wrong. Though I still think a lot of the non-PR-fueled DX10 hype was completely misguided and off the mark. That's not to say the design by MS was bad. On the contrary, moving the GUI rendering to the GPU rather than keeping it on the CPU is something everyone should welcome. It's the way it should be done.
The few DX10 patches I've seen screens from look quite a bit better than DX9. Of course, screenshots are one thing. A lot of the super-detailed stuff is pure "stareware". When you're moving around, immersed in the game, you're often tunnel-visioned and goal-oriented, not in tourist mode. And I maintain that DX-anything is just a poor substitute for ray-tracing and thus boring .

[XJ.]

Originally Posted by k0NG0

Now, all of them aren't sexy and may be nontrivial to market, but Microsoft needs to put on the big-boy pants and do it. I think BillG retiring will be a good thing. I also think Ballmer needs to step down.

I don't know, I think maybe Ballmer needs to be put down like a rabid dog

kONGO, you bring up some good points, and I'll have more to say a bit later.