Labels: Apple, iPhone, Microsoft, Paul Thurrott

Apple's Snow Leopard. What's The Point?
It appears to be a tacit admission that Leopard is horribly broken.

Thinking Like a Cocoa Programmer
Just think, "I'm going to sell 6 copies of this application!"

Labels: Paul Thurrott

A few interesting points to take away from the interview are:
1) Windows 7 release is penciled in for 2010, baring that in mind we are in the very early stages of development and this may not actually be a cone of silence just the lack of a hard feature list.
2) The approach now appears to be, under-promise then over-deliver. A good strategy.
3) Windows 7 is a 'manor' release, i.e. not quite a major release but more than a minor release.

Paul concludes by saying:

This makes me wonder: Is the major release wording a hint that major new end user functionality is coming? Or are they simply pulling an Apple and claiming that every release is a major release now?

I think it's a hint at major new functionality being built on the existing code base. The integration with Cloud Computing, altered security (I have to believe UAC will get an overhaul even though I don't believe it should), new UI and a deeper integration of virtualisation with the desktop environment could lead to a feature list that could be argued as a major upgrade.

Another reason i don't think Windows 7 will be a major upgrade is the close relationship between Server 2008 and Windows Vista. The work that went into bringing these two systems closer will not be thrown away. 7 will have the same Core as Vista but it'll feel very different.

Labels: CNET, Microsoft, Paul Thurrott, Steven Sinofsky, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista

In the last few days, we have uncovered a compatibility issue between
Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) and Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1). Microsoft Dynamics RMS is a retail chain management solution for small and midsize customers.
In order to make sure customers have the best possible experience we have decided to delay releasing Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update and Microsoft Download Center.
To help protect our customers, we plan to put filtering in place shortly to prevent Windows Update from offering both service packs to systems running Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Once filtering is in place, we expect to release Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update and Download Center.
Until we have published a fix for this issue, we advise
Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers to not install either service pack.
Microsoft Dynamics RMS customers running Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista SP1 should contact Microsoft Customer Support Services for additional
information. The fix is currently in testing and will be available as soon as
that process is complete. For further information regarding Windows XP
SP3, please visit the TechNet Forum.

While I've seen this referred to as a cock-up once today already we have to give Microsoft credit for how well the development of SP3 has gone and from the quote above it appears as though this problem is going to be fixed very quickly. For anyone desperate to get SP3 it can be downloaded from the Microsoft website. Paul has a link to the download on his blog.

Labels: Paul Thurrott, Windows XP SP3

Paul Thurrott has two gallerys showing the 6519 build of Windows 7. I've included a couple of pictures here and the rest can be seen at here and here.

Labels: Paul Thurrott, Pictures, Windows 7

Paul Thurrott responds to Steven Vaughan-Nichols claims that Windows is being eaten alive by Linux and Mac.

I guess it's all in how you look at it. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols provides the following bit of time killer over on Desktop Linux, which I'm guessing is one of the lonelier Web destinations these days:

For the first time in ages, the sale of new PCs with Windows as a percentage of the PC market is declining sharply. The new winner is the Mac, but, while no one does a good job of tracking the still-new, pre-installed Linux desktop market, it's also clear that Linux is finally making impressive inroads into Windows' once unchallenged market share.

I see two strong trends here. On the high end, people are buying Macs instead of Windows PC. On the low end, Linux is eating Windows alive.

Windows finds itself being confined to the middle ground.

As proof, he cites the US-only, retail-only NPD numbers that made the rounds this week on all the Mac fanatic sites, and "empirical evidence makes it clear that Linux desktops are moving into customers' hands at a quick pace." I feel that neither of these is particularly relevant from a wider trend perspective, but I do like the concept of Windows being "caught between Mac and Linux." So much, in fact, that I graphed it with Excel, using actual, real-world market share figures from calendar year 2007. And when you do this, here's what you get, ladies and gentlemen. I present: Windows, caught between Mac and Linux:

Chicken Little, your time has come.

Labels: Apple, Linux, Paul Thurrott, Windows