Paul Thurrott's recent article titled "
Windows Vista February 2006 CTP (Build 5308/5342) Review, Part 5: Where Vista Fails" was front page Tech Memeorandum today so I started reading it...and kept reading it until I finished it. I don't often read lengthy articles like this one, particularly about Vista which I'm really not all that interested in. This article kept my attention though.
This is one of those provocative and articulate articles where you might think, "Dang, that guy should get huge recognition from the IT industry for writing this or he should be fired!" I'm in the Recognition camp, myself. The root of Thurrott's disappointment stemmed from PDC 2003 (2003!) when Longhorn appeared, full of promise and innovation. That was, of course, so long ago and a wildly different product than the Vista reality of 2006, er, 2007.
Thurrott wrote with fairness, balance and with respect of the individuals behind Vista's evolution throughout the article, but he didn't pull any punches on either the failures of Vista or those behind it. For instance, this honest assessment of Gates' role.
When Bill Gates revealed in mid-2003 that he was returning to his roots, so to speak, and spending half of his time on what was then still called Longhorn, we should have seen the warning signs. Sadly, Gates, too, is part of the Bad Microsoft, a vestige of the past who should have had the class to either formally step down from the company or at least play just an honorary role, not step up his involvement and get his hands dirty with the next Windows version. If blame is to be assessed, we must start with Gates. He has guided--or, through lack of leadership--failed to guide the development of Microsoft's most prized asset. He has driven it into the ground.Some of Thurrott's technical descriptions of what we can expect in Vista, like User Account Protection, Glass Windows or the new Media Center are downright scary.
It's all so sad, really. I think I'll go downstairs, slip in my
Riverdance DVD and forget I ever read this article.
[tags: Microsoft, Vista]