4 ms·

I think this is largely true, but Microsoft is large enough that it really isn't a single entity - the various divisions are outputting different levels of suck

I think this is largely true, but Microsoft is large enough that it really isn't a single entity - the various divisions are outputting different levels of suckiness/goodness. For instance: DevDiv is on a pretty good roll right now. It is still many steps behind other communities in a lot of regards (and likely always will be), but LINQ was a huge milestone in 3.5 and the new dynamic integration options of 4.0 is a big step forward for a mainstream static language. The XBox division continues to do cool things. Last year's dashboard revamp was a huge face lift for the system, XBox Live may continue to be a wretched hive of scum and villainy but it is a well-implemented one. I'm skeptical of Kinect's value for the type of games I play, but I believe it'll be very popular amongst casuals and should be a compelling addition to the XBox's UI for non-gaming apps. Oh, and the "instant-on" 1080p streaming of pay-per-view and Netflix movies is really sick and feels like living in the future. The Zune may always be an niche choice, but its the best option if you'd prefer to spend $15/mo for "unlimited" music rather than purchasing music at $10/album. Which situation makes the most sense will vary from person to person. Last year Zune started handing out 10 song credits per month to each subscriber as well, which helped take the sting out of the normal arguments against subscription services. I don't particularly follow the Windows Phone 7 / Kin stuff, but it seems obvious they screwed up royally on at least half that proposition (and I don't expect big things out of the Win Phone 7 half either). Windows 7 has been very well perceived, though it still lags behind Linux/OSX. Office 2007 was a pretty good redesign of the suite, but Office 2010 doesn't seem to have raised the bar much. I don't think OpenOffice will ever replace MS Office, rather Office will continue to lead until GoogleDocs is fully ready to take over (its getting closer & closer every day and I don't think MS's new web-based Office will be able to compete). In retrospect, after reviewing what I've written so far, my opinion seems to be that Microsoft's offerrings haven't been that bad execution-wise lately, but that most are plagued by the fact that they are "also rans": decent products that have some strong merits, but offer no compelling reason to leave the market leader or community favorite.

Niten 16y ago
> Windows 7 has been very well perceived, though it still lags behind Linux/OSX. Lags behind in what sense?
- troygoode 16y ago
  Background: I'm a .NET developer in a Windows shop by day, and run OSX on most of my computers at home (except my primary desktop which is Win7 for gaming and .NET development). My major pain points on Windows that lag behind Linux/OSX: - Scripting. PowerShell is getting there, and is fine for system related tasks, but it remains a second-class citizen. - Application Installation. No apt-get; no simple dragging an app into the Apps folder. Same for uninstallation. - Security. I don't hate UAC nearly as much as everyone else seems to, but give me sudo any day. I'm also concerned by reports I've read of how easy it is for malicious software to get around UAC. - Settings/Configuration. Control Panel is still a cluster fuck and every app on my computer seems to have a different route to their custom config screen. - Startup. Yes I know about msconfig, but my wife certainly doesn't, nor does my mother. I don't hate Windows. I make my livelihood from it, use it all day with little complaint (Win7 is my favorite Windows version since Win2000), and its clearly the only real choice for PC gaming (I have like 3 games for my Macs via Steam). That doesn't mean I am or should be blind to where it falls behind its competitors. For what its worth, I have the same feeling about .NET: I use it, love it, make money off it, have fun with it; but I'm not blind to its faults.
endtime 16y ago
>Office 2007 was a pretty good redesign of the suite, but Office 2010 doesn't seem to have raised the bar much. I don't know if you use Outlook (I'm guessing not) but Outlook 2010's handling of threading makes it a huge improvement over 2007, IMO.
- troygoode 16y ago
  I do use Office. I'm a dev in a ".NET shop" and the org is Windows all the way around so I most certainly do use Office. That said, I'm not using Office for anything fancy: lots and lots of Outlook, some basic Word-based requirements docs, a bunch of Excel, and the rare Powerpoint. I also have a pretty monster rig at work, and never had any performance problems with 2007. I upgraded to 2010 during beta and am running the release right now. I like it (the UI improvements in Outlook are nice), but it doesn't strike me as a "must have" upgrade over 2007. It _certainly_ isn't an upgrade I would've spent $100+ of my _own_ money on. I use GoogleDocs at home for personal use.
  - endtime 16y ago
    Fair enough. The threading is the killer feature for me, but I guess the value of that varies with personal preference.

Niten 16y ago

> Windows 7 has been very well perceived, though it still lags behind Linux/OSX. Lags behind in what sense?

troygoode 16y ago
Background: I'm a .NET developer in a Windows shop by day, and run OSX on most of my computers at home (except my primary desktop which is Win7 for gaming and .NET development). My major pain points on Windows that lag behind Linux/OSX: - Scripting. PowerShell is getting there, and is fine for system related tasks, but it remains a second-class citizen. - Application Installation. No apt-get; no simple dragging an app into the Apps folder. Same for uninstallation. - Security. I don't hate UAC nearly as much as everyone else seems to, but give me sudo any day. I'm also concerned by reports I've read of how easy it is for malicious software to get around UAC. - Settings/Configuration. Control Panel is still a cluster fuck and every app on my computer seems to have a different route to their custom config screen. - Startup. Yes I know about msconfig, but my wife certainly doesn't, nor does my mother. I don't hate Windows. I make my livelihood from it, use it all day with little complaint (Win7 is my favorite Windows version since Win2000), and its clearly the only real choice for PC gaming (I have like 3 games for my Macs via Steam). That doesn't mean I am or should be blind to where it falls behind its competitors. For what its worth, I have the same feeling about .NET: I use it, love it, make money off it, have fun with it; but I'm not blind to its faults.

endtime 16y ago

>Office 2007 was a pretty good redesign of the suite, but Office 2010 doesn't seem to have raised the bar much. I don't know if you use Outlook (I'm guessing not) but Outlook 2010's handling of threading makes it a huge improvement over 2007, IMO.

troygoode 16y ago
I do use Office. I'm a dev in a ".NET shop" and the org is Windows all the way around so I most certainly do use Office. That said, I'm not using Office for anything fancy: lots and lots of Outlook, some basic Word-based requirements docs, a bunch of Excel, and the rare Powerpoint. I also have a pretty monster rig at work, and never had any performance problems with 2007. I upgraded to 2010 during beta and am running the release right now. I like it (the UI improvements in Outlook are nice), but it doesn't strike me as a "must have" upgrade over 2007. It _certainly_ isn't an upgrade I would've spent $100+ of my _own_ money on. I use GoogleDocs at home for personal use.
- endtime 16y ago
  Fair enough. The threading is the killer feature for me, but I guess the value of that varies with personal preference.