There are few companies less popular than Microsoft these days. The company that has its hands in just about every techie pocket (be it handheld music, video games, or of course operating systems) is a big target for criticism. As they say, the bigger they are, they harder they fall, and many believe that some form of high-minded, high-tech revolution will do just that to chairman Gates and his empire in Redmond. So, what has everyone got against the Big MS?
Let’s face it, even if Mr Bill Gates openly brags that Windows Vista, the company’s newest operating system, has shipped some 40 million times, the product itself has been anything but “in-demand”. In fact, Microsoft was recently forced to make XP downgrades easier for both consumers and retailers, given the demand for an operating system that’s now growing in age.
So, what’s the beef with Vista?
Most techies have some idea of what’s wrong on the surface. Ironically, Vista’s superficial qualities are mesmerizing. It looks beautiful; Microsoft clearly spent much time developing its new standard graphics system, Aero, and standard desktop functions and applications reflect this effort. New “gadgets” allow users to track CPU and RAM speeds, make handy notes, look at cascading uploaded photos, and even keep their eye on the weather.
Vista’s also much safer than XP. Part of the problem with Microsoft’s last operating system was its security, most notably the connection between Internet Explorer (lambasted by full-time web surfers who tend to prefer Mozilla’s Firefox) and Outlook Express. Since these two major applications shared one big sphere, spyware, malware, adware, or virus threats that poured into one could easily infect the other. It made Trojans and other nasty tricks doubly perplexing.
Fortunately, that was cleared up with Vista, since the updated (and more secure) Internet Explorer and new Windows Mail are completely isolated from one another.
It sure sounds good, doesn’t it? Hard to understand why anyone would criticize Microsoft’s latest product, right?
Unfortunately, everything comes with a price. As a user of Windows Vista myself (there was no choice in the matter, it simply shipped with my new HP laptop), I know that Aero is much like a tricky Genie in a bottle. Ask for handy gadgets, and you’ll get ‘em…along with much slower processing speed. Despite a relatively powerful dual core AMD Turion chip under the hood and a gig of RAM, this HP chugs when running a few of Aero’s simple gadgets, a few browser windows, and perhaps Windows Media Player. It’s not much to ask of a brand new laptop, and certainly wouldn’t be a problem if it were running the “outdated” Windows XP.
Other problems with Vista are under the surface. When clicking around the desktop or loading up a browser in that big box electronics store showroom, there’s very little to detract one from buying a Vista-loaded machine. Unfortunately, less noticeable issues do exist.
For one, Microsoft is still desperately updating its compatibility list. Meaning? Not all programs from a few years back will run or run effectively on Vista, leaving some very distraught. Perhaps one of the most mind-boggling examples of this was the perpendicular development of Microsoft’s Zune player, once believed to be the Apple iPod’s Grim Reaper. Not so, for a number of reasons, one being that the player itself was incompatible with Vista. Now, that’s a major oversight. (source: appleinsider.com) Other incompatible issues included popular security software, such as AVG’s AntiVirus, and some of Microsoft’s own programs, like Money 2006. (source: webpronews.com) However, to find some of Vista’s truly nasty bits, it requires one to dig even deeper.
The company itself made headlines, and not in a good way, around this time last year for its “Windows Genuine Advantage” initiative, which sought to eradicate the piracy of Microsoft software. On the surface it makes sense; Microsoft certainly has the right to research better login keys and passcodes for those that legally purchase their wares. However, Redmond’s ideas, once discovered, were far more mischievous.
Seen the movie ET? Of course you have. Spielberg’s 80’s feel-good family flick made a lot of money, and in doing so churned out some notable lines. One of the most popular, of course, was “ET phone home”. That’s great when we’re speaking of a cute and cuddly little alien friend, but not so much when it comes to our software, and subsequently, privacy. We wept tears of joy when ET was finally picked up by that giant space ship (sorry to spoil it for you), but there were completely different kinds of tears when people realized just what the installation of WGA meant for their home computers.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, the Windows Genuine Advantage wasn’t much different than ET’s plea. Microsoft released WGA to home users promising it acted as a security upgrade, making little or no mention of its other abilities. And, just what else could it do? Phone home to Redmond, of course.
You see, WGA was developed so that Microsoft could curb a massive, costly, and growing piracy community. Once it was installed, WGA could detect which Microsoft programs were legitimately purchased and which were illegal. It could then use any connection to the web to inform Microsoft HQ just who was boasting the most black market software.
Outrage erupted in the tech community once people realized what WGA was doing. Although Microsoft had promised to help weed out spyware threats and had recently launched its own security program Microsoft OneCare Live, it was now employing malware-like tactics.
Unfortunately, although WGA has become a dirty word, it is not dead. In fact, Microsoft retains the right to perform similar actions today with Vista, as outlined in the End User License Agreement (EULA). Preventing Microsoft from phoning in is a difficult process that requires identifying and switching off some of Vista’s key components, components that could severely detract from the overall performance of the operating system itself. (source: softpedia.com)
So, is Vista evil?
Certainly not. Many will argue that Microsoft, in this day and age, has every right to monitor its own software and those using it. The operating system itself is certainly more secure than its predecessor, as are programs within like Mail and Internet Explorer.
The question now is: how safe are you from Microsoft?
Tags: Microsoft by brandon
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