4 ms·

I'm not sure you can say Microsoft has turned any corner. I do agree that Bing is a fair piece of software (even if it is long, long over due). However, Bing is

by a2tech 17y ago

I'm not sure you can say Microsoft has turned any corner. I do agree that Bing is a fair piece of software (even if it is long, long over due). However, Bing is too little, too late. IE 8 is a solid browser compared to IE 7 and I'm glad MS is taking steps to produce a browser that can compete with the features of the other 'name brand' browsers. Those ads MS is running though? I thought the Apple ads were smug-they have nothing on the price-comparing ads MS is running.

old-gregg 17y ago
This is ridiculous. You're attacking them for not being an effective internet media company. Are you going to go after GM and Chrysler because they haven't launched their own search engines too? To "turn the corner", Microsoft needs to stop its Apple bleeding and make the Office, Windows Server and .NET stack more competitive in the cloud. That's their core business.
- bep 17y ago
  Windows 7, Azure and Office 2010 are steps in that direction
  - drhowarddrfine 17y ago
    Does anyone use Azure? It was years behind everyone else when it was introduced, like most Microsoft "technology" and won't Office 2010 just be another version of Office? Isn't Windows7 just Vista "fixed"? Rather than take steps in the right direction, it sounds like MS tripping over their own feet trying to get a course correction.
    - sachinag 17y ago
      Wait, Azure's not even live yet, I don't think. And they (like Google) are avoiding the issue with spinning up instances that you have with Amazon's cloud services.
      - cellis 17y ago
        CTP. I just tried testing it. Can't use the SDK unless you have Vista, though.
    - hello_moto 17y ago
      How would you change Office 2010 and Vista 7 (ignore Azure) and not alienating their users. NOTE: Some people that yell loudly in "Teh Internet" doesn't necessarily translate to MS biggest users.
- endtime 17y ago
  I'm working on Office web stuff this summer. I'll just say that I think Office 2010 will indeed be "more competitive in the cloud", as you put it.
- profquail 17y ago
  I do most of my development in C#/.NET, and I have to say you're right. I think their next step should be towards getting all of their desktop programming into the .NET API; they didn't have time to do it in Windows 7, but perhaps for Windows "8". I'm talking about things like drivers (which can be programmed using the now-free .NET Micro Framework) and lower-level APIs (like writing a screensaver...it should just be a class implementing IScreensaver or whatever, and not written in C any longer). Getting everything (or as much as possible) switched over to the .NET framework in Windows would also help a great deal as far as mitigating security risks as well.
  - mhansen 17y ago
    Not to miss the point of your message, but screensavers can be programmed in any language. I made one in .NET. The only constraint is the program needs to accept some command line parameters. But I agree, it should be an abstract class/interface.
  - kristiandupont 17y ago
    Not saying that you are wrong, but I don't see why this would be important, besides from the security point that you are making, perhaps?
    - profquail 17y ago
      Having the ability to do more system programming on .NET (without having to P/Invoke all over the place) would (should?) make a lot of it significantly easier and faster. Also, the security issue is not to be overlooked -- with managed drivers and lower-level libraries, there'd be a much lower chance of fatal security bugs (e.g. buffer overflows). Also, writing this code in .NET allows developers to take advantage of a great number of new testing tools like Pex and Code Contracts (for fuzzing and static analysis, respectively). Also, .NET 4.0 includes some additions for doing parallel processing to help developers take advantage of multi-core processors. I've been playing around with it for about a month now (I'm writing an open-source managed numerics library in C#) and the new parallel stuff is really quite good.
scj 17y ago
Mini has been getting soft in his old age. At least with Vista in 2006, he had the sense to say: "Of course, the proof is in the pudding..." Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy was caught and is now nothing but a mouthpiece.

by a2tech 17y ago

old-gregg 17y ago

This is ridiculous. You're attacking them for not being an effective internet media company. Are you going to go after GM and Chrysler because they haven't launched their own search engines too? To "turn the corner", Microsoft needs to stop its Apple bleeding and make the Office, Windows Server and .NET stack more competitive in the cloud. That's their core business.

bep 17y ago
Windows 7, Azure and Office 2010 are steps in that direction
- drhowarddrfine 17y ago
  Does anyone use Azure? It was years behind everyone else when it was introduced, like most Microsoft "technology" and won't Office 2010 just be another version of Office? Isn't Windows7 just Vista "fixed"? Rather than take steps in the right direction, it sounds like MS tripping over their own feet trying to get a course correction.
  - sachinag 17y ago
    Wait, Azure's not even live yet, I don't think. And they (like Google) are avoiding the issue with spinning up instances that you have with Amazon's cloud services.
    - cellis 17y ago
      CTP. I just tried testing it. Can't use the SDK unless you have Vista, though.
  - hello_moto 17y ago
    How would you change Office 2010 and Vista 7 (ignore Azure) and not alienating their users. NOTE: Some people that yell loudly in "Teh Internet" doesn't necessarily translate to MS biggest users.
endtime 17y ago
I'm working on Office web stuff this summer. I'll just say that I think Office 2010 will indeed be "more competitive in the cloud", as you put it.
profquail 17y ago
I do most of my development in C#/.NET, and I have to say you're right. I think their next step should be towards getting all of their desktop programming into the .NET API; they didn't have time to do it in Windows 7, but perhaps for Windows "8". I'm talking about things like drivers (which can be programmed using the now-free .NET Micro Framework) and lower-level APIs (like writing a screensaver...it should just be a class implementing IScreensaver or whatever, and not written in C any longer). Getting everything (or as much as possible) switched over to the .NET framework in Windows would also help a great deal as far as mitigating security risks as well.
- mhansen 17y ago
  Not to miss the point of your message, but screensavers can be programmed in any language. I made one in .NET. The only constraint is the program needs to accept some command line parameters. But I agree, it should be an abstract class/interface.
- kristiandupont 17y ago
  Not saying that you are wrong, but I don't see why this would be important, besides from the security point that you are making, perhaps?
  - profquail 17y ago
    Having the ability to do more system programming on .NET (without having to P/Invoke all over the place) would (should?) make a lot of it significantly easier and faster. Also, the security issue is not to be overlooked -- with managed drivers and lower-level libraries, there'd be a much lower chance of fatal security bugs (e.g. buffer overflows). Also, writing this code in .NET allows developers to take advantage of a great number of new testing tools like Pex and Code Contracts (for fuzzing and static analysis, respectively). Also, .NET 4.0 includes some additions for doing parallel processing to help developers take advantage of multi-core processors. I've been playing around with it for about a month now (I'm writing an open-source managed numerics library in C#) and the new parallel stuff is really quite good.

scj 17y ago

Mini has been getting soft in his old age. At least with Vista in 2006, he had the sense to say: "Of course, the proof is in the pudding..." Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy was caught and is now nothing but a mouthpiece.