Windows POS Pro 2010 (or whatever) - better or worse than Vista?

[Phil]

Do you think the version of Windows after Vista will be better than, or worse than Vista?

In general, the versions seem to "zigzag" in usability, e.g. Windows 3.1 - bad, Windows '95 - good, Windows ME - bad, Windows XP - good, Windows Vista - bad.

Wonder if this bodes well for the 2010 version?

[a5chen]

I hope so. I'm on the verge of upgrading my laptop to XP. :(

[ultrafilter]

It's hard to imagine how they could do any worse.

[Brad Gile]

Do you think the version of Windows after Vista will be better than, or worse than Vista?

In general, the versions seem to "zigzag" in usability, e.g. Windows 3.1 - bad, Windows '95 - good, Windows ME - bad, Windows XP - good, Windows Vista - bad.

Wonder if this bodes well for the 2010 version?

You need to separate MS OS's by whether they sprang from DOS or not.

1. DOS descendants
Windows 3.0 was the first real GUI offered by MS. It was unstable and highly dependant on DOS. Bad.

Windows 3.1 greatly improved stability, but had the same DOS dependencies. OK.

Windows 95 had minor DOS dependencies and was revolutionary for MS operating systems. Good.

Windows 98 stems from 95 but had real problems. Bad

Windows ME was a disaster. Bad

2. Non-DOS systems (NT branch)
Windows NT 3.5 and Windows NT were very good as long as your hardware met rigid requirements. Otherwise, big problems. Not for the average user.

Windows 2000 (aka Win NT 5.0) was a huge improvement over its predecessor NT 4.0. Definitely Good.

Windows XP (aka Win NT 5.1) further improved the NT line. With SP2, XP is excellent but still has security concerns. Definitely Good.

Vista went overboard on security and created major headaches for many users. Definitely Bad.

The DOS branch died with ME and is now irrelevant. The NT branch is what we now have. The history shows no real trend. MS knows it cannot let XP die before they get an acceptable successor for Vista, so they are supporting XP until 2014. I think it safe to predict that the next MS operating system will be far more palatable to mainstream users than Vista is now.

[campbell]

I'm not going to speculate on vaporware.

I'll probably still be using my Mac G5 in 2010 (since I've been using it since 2004 and still going strong).... and our 3 XO laptops (Redhat Linux), and our Mac G3 (um... OS9? Can't remember), and my Thinkpad from 1996 (Windows 98).... oh right, and the Gateway tablet PC I'm using right now, that has XP on it. Unless Apple gets off its ass and finally produces a tablet Mac.

Dangit.

[Brad Gile]

I'm not going to speculate on vaporware.

I'll probably still be using my Mac G5 in 2010 (since I've been using it since 2004 and still going strong).... and our 3 XO laptops (Redhat Linux), and our Mac G3 (um... OS9? Can't remember), and my Thinkpad from 1996 (Windows 98).... oh right, and the Gateway tablet PC I'm using right now, that has XP on it. Unless Apple gets off its ass and finally produces a tablet Mac.

Dangit.

Whatever floats your boat.
Since starting with DOS and an IBM PC in 1982, Windows OS's have worked fine and dandy for me, as have the MS Office and developer products. I really don't care who makes the OS and software as long as it works for me. I'm currently using XP on my desktops and do have a laptop with Vista, which I plan to "upgrade" to XP when I can generate the energy to do so. :shrug:

[enyj]

It's hard to imagine how they could do any worse.

You might not want to hold your breath or bet anything valuable on that...

[GadgetGeek]

You need to separate MS OS's by whether they sprang from DOS or not.

1. DOS descendants
Windows 3.0 was the first real GUI offered by MS. It was unstable and highly dependant on DOS. Bad.

Windows 3.1 greatly improved stability, but had the same DOS dependencies. OK.

Windows 95 had minor DOS dependencies and was revolutionary for MS operating systems. Good.

Windows 98 stems from 95 but had real problems. Bad

Windows ME was a disaster. Bad

2. Non-DOS systems (NT branch)
Windows NT 3.5 and Windows NT were very good as long as your hardware met rigid requirements. Otherwise, big problems. Not for the average user.

Windows 2000 (aka Win NT 5.0) was a huge improvement over its predecessor NT 4.0. Definitely Good.

Windows XP (aka Win NT 5.1) further improved the NT line. With SP2, XP is excellent but still has security concerns. Definitely Good.

Vista went overboard on security and created major headaches for many users. Definitely Bad.

The DOS branch died with ME and is now irrelevant. The NT branch is what we now have. The history shows no real trend. MS knows it cannot let XP die before they get an acceptable successor for Vista, so they are supporting XP until 2014. I think it safe to predict that the next MS operating system will be far more palatable to mainstream users than Vista is now.

You missed "BOB". OMGWTFBBQ

[JMO]

I am still reflecting on the ambiguity of the acronym POS. Just sayin'

[lewisje]

I am still reflecting on the ambiguity of the acronym POS. Just sayin'
Well you know POS machines are often POSes:rimshot:

[Almighty Malachi]

:shrug:

I don't have a problem with Vista. It doesn't bother me, I don't bother it. Looks pretty much the same as XP anyway (if you want it too).

[tymesup]

Your avatar reminded me of an old girlfriend. We were talking about groups of animals - flock of geese, murder of crows, kennel of dogs. She said how about a bird that comes in a pack of nine - the St. Louis Cardinal.

[GuineaPig]

You know what I would really, really like to be upgraded on windows?


...the calculator. 2 line display would be nice, plus there are several functions that could be added. Also, I heard the next windows is suppose to be touch screen compatible. The calculator is one of few times I really think that touch screen capabilities would really come in handy.

[Almighty Malachi]

You know what I would really, really like to be upgraded on windows?


...the calculator. 2 line display would be nice, plus there are several functions that could be added. Also, I heard the next windows is suppose to be touch screen compatible. The calculator is one of few times I really think that touch screen capabilities would really come in handy.
http://www.moffsoft.com/freecalc.htm

[GuineaPig]

http://www.moffsoft.com/freecalc.htm

yeah, there's always add-in type things to fix stuff, but I still would like to see the actual one upgraded.

[Almighty Malachi]

Get a TI-30 :tup:

[campbell]

Isn't Excel just a fancy calculator?

[H.R. Paperstacks]

Get a TI-30 :tup:

:iatp:

[GuineaPig]

I have a ti-30 and excel is just a fancy calculator (well, I suppose you could argue with vba you can really turn excel into anything you want, but for the most part fancy calculator is the best description). This request is really more about principle than practicality

[Almighty Malachi]

:shrug: That's like asking to update notepad. Anything important should be done elsewhere

:toast:

[GuineaPig]

:shrug: That's like asking to update notepad. Anything important should be done elsewhere

:toast:

This is not the same as updating notepad. Notepad is perfect in everyway.

[Almighty Malachi]

Fair enough.

[ahow]

You know, probably close to 100% of new computers are 64-bit. MS really needs to can the 32-bit operating systems from here on out. Generally speaking, 64-bit driver support has suffered because most of the Windows OSes are 32-bit. If someone does have a 32-bit system, stick with Vista or XP, otherwise, go with Windows 7 (or whatever its name ends up being)...

[Brad Gile]

You missed "BOB". OMGWTFBBQ

How could I possibly leave out "Microsoft BOB", the bomb of the 20th century?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZegWedG-jk4
:lol:

[Brad Gile]

Isn't Excel just a fancy calculator?

No. VBA in Excel allows you to do things totally external to Excel. For example, you can write a file splitter using the Win32 APIs with no references whatsoever to Excel objects.

[vjvj]

Also, I heard the next windows is suppose to be touch screen compatible.

What does "touch screen compatible" mean?

I've already got a touch screen at home. This one: http://www.magictouch.com/addon.html. I generally don't mess with it, but have a kid that uses it all the time on a Windows machine.

[vjvj]

Do you think the version of Windows after Vista will be better than, or worse than Vista?

In general, the versions seem to "zigzag" in usability, e.g. Windows 3.1 - bad, Windows '95 - good, Windows ME - bad, Windows XP - good, Windows Vista - bad.

Wonder if this bodes well for the 2010 version?

In addition to BOB, you also missed 2000. I think that messes up the zigzag theory (unless together they add another good/bad pair?).

[JMO]

Isn't Excel just a fancy calculator?
Yes. Except when it is used as a word processor. I know people who use excel to write memos.

[Almighty Malachi]

Yes. Except when it is used as a word processor. I know people who use excel to write memos.
:wave:

[campbell]

Memos. Ok.

I've used Excel to write games.

[JMO]

In the early implementation of APL, before it provided random access to the monitor, a friend wrote a program that filled the screen line by line. ET arrived by saucer. It was hysterical, but mostly like the dancing bear. Not that the bear danced well, but that the bear would dance at all.

I also wrote a simplified implementation of Eliza in APL, with a much shorter repertoire of answers to the user. ;)

[GuineaPig]

What does "touch screen compatible" mean?

I've already got a touch screen at home. This one: http://www.magictouch.com/addon.html. I generally don't mess with it, but have a kid that uses it all the time on a Windows machine.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1041
m$ makes it sound like in minority report when all the keyboards and stuff are digital images on a monitor and you can grab them and throw them around. You know what I mean? Come on, surely you saw that movie right?

[GadgetGeek]

This is not the same as updating notepad. Notepad++ is perfect in everyway.

IFYP

[campbell]

I agree with GP's fixed post.

[JMO]

I agree with GP's fixed post.
:2: