[RodgerB]

Anybody viewing this topic probably has their own view on these three subjects. Feel free to express your opinions. My views are:

1) Microsoft

I feel that Microsoft were great in its earlier stages. I felt confident that there would be hardly any bugs or errors assosiated with the products because they got it right the first time around, with exception to 98 First Edition and ME. Ever since NT went mainstream, I found the OS was much more stable, and 2000 and XP were teh shizz.

At this point I was really excited to see what they were going to come up with next. Unfourtunately they compromised compatibility and stability for a crappy new interface, stole a couple of features from mac and called it Windows Vista.

Discontinuing Photodraw made me sad back in the day (although now that Photoshop pwns all, its not really important), discontinuing Frontpage... renaming it to expression... that puts a dumbfounded expression on my face. Why not just keep the name Frontpage?! Silly.

Other than that, I usually feel great when I get a new piece of software. Unfourtunately for me and many others, Microsoft has a tendency to dramatically change standards in a matter of 2-5 years after going through all the effort to purchase Office or Windows. Why don't they make a de facto standard processer, IDE, etc, that the user can update according to his/her own will (e.g. new options, new 'office ribbon') without having to pay so much.

IE7 = Crap, IE8 = IE7.5, *.docx = cool, .NET = awesome, MSDN needs to be a bit more user-friendly (spell checking in search for those big long WIN32 functions, that TreeView thing is just annoying), TechNet has some cool articles, their forums are an eyesaw, sharepoint = satisfying, silverlight = da bomb, C# and VB.NET = my homiez.

2) Apple

All I can say is I am sick and tired of Steve Jobs bragging about complete crap when nobody in their right mind should care. MacBook Air.. Google maps on iPhone.. etc etc. I know Bill Gates does the same but Steve Jobs likes to pretend what he is preaching is cool.

I am infuriated by companies that bundle software. Microsoft have refrained from doing this at this point of time afaik, but bundling QuickTime with iTunes without a standalone Quicktime download is f****ng ludicrous. Many applications require QuickTime to run, and that doesn't make me want to download an extra 30mb for apple's gratification.

On a more positive note, I've always enjoyed fiddling with GarageBand and PhotoBooth on my brothers macbook. Everything else doesn't really take my fancy.

3) Google

This is a company that has stuck smart thoughout the whole time it has been in business. The search engine is great, their other projects have worked well, the only problem I can pick with them is that they really haven't made a whole lot of noteable new features nowdays.

When you think google you think search, nothing more, nothing less. With the money they have, they should be taking more risks imo. Google could have created a kinda web OS (well of course it would require an OS of it's own to use the computer), done a lot more to create an Office productivity suite, in everybody's internet browser.

People would pay subscriptions. Google would make more money. Google would make more advances in the industry.

Thats just my 2c on the corporations listed above, feel free to post your own view points.

[spearfish]

Google > Apple > Microsoft

That's all I've got to say.

[1lacca]

Also add Adobe to the mix.

[Mitman]

Apple reminds me of red which makes me think of communism which makes me believe apple=evil

microsoft is ok except for their zune, xbox, sorta ie, alittle of thier asp.net etc.

google is good.

[spearfish]

So windows doesn't suck? I understand your Vista has been hacked how many, eighteen, times now?

[thehat]

RodgerB, on 15 Mar, 2008 - 09:18 AM, said:

bundling QuickTime with iTunes without a standalone Quicktime download

Try the second radio button.

Microsoft
I don't really pitch into the whole Microsoft hate thing, and after waiting until 6 months after launch, I quite like vista. From a web developers pov, IE has been a real disappointment up to now, but the IE8 beta has brought a new hope. Sadly it'll still be a massive malware target because of it's penetration, but at least they're admitting that maybe someone else knows what's best for the web. The whole xbox fiasco was appalling though, and I'm interested to see what damage that does to comparative sales at the launch of the next one.

Apple
Apple try to make cool things for cool people. I'm not a particularly cool person, so their marketing alienates me. I have an archaic iMac for testing purposes, but haven't felt any desire to purchase any other Apple goods. Maybe if they didn't use that same smarmy git for all their hardware trailers I'd buy an iPod touch though.

Google
Google scares me, but I love them. They are so immense, and their contributions to the web are great, but I fear the day that they choose to use their powers for evil.

[PsychoCoder]

RodgerB, on 15 Mar, 2008 - 02:18 AM, said:

Unfourtunately they compromised compatibility and stability for a crappy new interface, stole a couple of features from mac and called it Windows Vista.

Well I'm not sure how you come up with this, Vista, so far in my experience, is a far better OS than XP was. I seen quite a few BSOD's in XP, have yet to see one in Vista. Compatibility issues? Ive yet to find a single thing in my system that doesn't work under Vista 64, yet half my stuff, mainly my controller cards, wont run under XP 64 (that along tells me Vista is the better OS).

Mitman, on 15 Mar, 2008 - 02:18 AM, said:

microsoft is ok except for their zune, xbox, sorta ie, alittle of thier asp.net etc.

I much prefer my Zune over an iPod. At least the Zune isn't proprietary, and I don't need a Zune ready stereo in my car to hook my Zune into it, so that alone is 1 up on the iPod

XBOX is a far better gaming console than the PS2, or the WII, or the Nintendo GameCube, or..well you get the idea.

I agree that IE is a POS, thats why I use only Firefox.

I would rather program in ASP.Net/C# than PHP or JSP

spearfish, on 15 Mar, 2008 - 02:18 AM, said:

So windows doesn't suck? I understand your Vista has been hacked how many, eighteen, times now?

I have been running Windows since Windows 3.1 and have yet to be hacked. Any OS can be hacked if someone wants to spend enough time on it. No one writes viruses for Mac because who wants to take the time to wreak havoc on like 2% of the computers, not even worth the time if you ask me

[spearfish]

Excellent points Psycho, except I've recently been experiencing strange problems with my Zune where it randomly shuts down.

From what I've heard of IE8, that's crap too.

[thehat]

IE8 is still an early beta but it does at least pass acid 2, which shows that microsoft are taking web standards even more seriously this time (or that they've coded an acid 2 fix in if you're a real cynic). I am a lot more hopeful for this iteration that I was after seeing the IE7 beta, and that was a huge step in the right direction after IE6.

Sh*t, I'm turning into an IE apologist.

[PsychoCoder]

Well I truly doubt that has anything with it being a Microsoft product. A friend at my old job went and bought an 80 GB iPod and it died in 3 days, does that mean an iPod is a POS product (well to me it is but thats a whole different story)?

I've yet to have a problem with my Zune, neither has my son, and my wife sold her iPod so she could get a Zune

[spearfish]

Well, it's big and bulky without as much support. The iTunes collection I believe is bigger, and there are many more places to go to pick up an iTunes gift card than a Marketplace giftcard.

Yet in terms of basic functionality, the Zune matches the iPod, and is a whole lot cheaper.

I'm split down the fence.

[musya]

PsychoCoder, on 15 Mar, 2008 - 05:44 PM, said:

RodgerB, on 15 Mar, 2008 - 02:18 AM, said:

Unfourtunately they compromised compatibility and stability for a crappy new interface, stole a couple of features from mac and called it Windows Vista.

spearfish, on 15 Mar, 2008 - 02:18 AM, said:

So windows doesn't suck? I understand your Vista has been hacked how many, eighteen, times now?

I have been running Windows since Windows 3.1 and have yet to be hacked. Any OS can be hacked if someone wants to spend enough time on it. No one writes viruses for Mac because who wants to take the time to wreak havoc on like 2% of the computers, not even worth the time if you ask me

Makes those OS's a good target Governments to use since there is a low usage percentage, thus making it a good target still.... In my opinion windows left itself too open, Letting the computer to run programs as root without permission. Vista is doing a better job at it but still, Linux has iptables that help keep it secure, I assume thats why its more stable. I personally like windows compatiblity with all its apps, .net, c#, c++ they all use the same libraries, it may not be true c++ but its smooth workflow, linux is getting into the guts of the OS which is where a person my get his smarts from or a $20 word for it is his technical understanding, of networking, OS operation, hardware compatiblity, etc, I learned alot from just installing debian from a terminal and following a tutorial on how to forge on setting up a webserver, in windows I would have set it up but all with just click, click, click, and some terminal stuff when it breaks. But thats my 2 cents on it.

[no2pencil]

A computer is only as smart as it's user.

If you're getting hacked, if stuff is crashing, or if you have strange day-after-day problems, think twice before throwing blame.

Learn how to use the thing properly before you start calling it a POS!

[Nykc]

As for this discussion about Zunes crashing, that is a static protection. The Zune has potential I have one as well as an Ipod Nano. Itunes has a way friendlier interface but I hate the fact they want me to keep updating and installing Quicktime.

Zune is a resource hog, and it's smart mechanism is retarted, i renamed my MP3 files countless times and it still can't get the album art right.

If the Zune had the iTunes interface or similiar I would vouch for the Zune being the better MP3 player - till that day iPod hands down!!!

[RodgerB]

thehat, on 16 Mar, 2008 - 11:40 AM, said:

Try the second radio button.

I can not believe I missed that. I had been trying every trick in the book; appending standalone.html to the end of the address, etc... whhat de.... lol thanks for that, I appreciate it.

@PsychoCoder: Get a stopwatch and time how long a fresh install of XP takes to startup, then time a fresh install of Vista, and you will see a dramatic increase of performance on XP's side (that includes timing from the BIOS, that stupid Windows Energy logo, to the desktop). As for compatibility, there is often messages when I install apps that they have some issues with Vista, e.g. SQL Server, VS 2005, Nero, TortoiseSVN etc.

I needed to download special drivers to get my laptop downgraded from Vista to XP. Vista made the ability to flick between operating systems shit, as the guys at Toshiba, etc, just ignored the XP drivers (not directly Microsoft's fault, but they could have prevented this occurence). I was talking compatibility with software .

Windows Sidebar couldn't have been put in a dumber spot imo. It really needed a menu of its own like the Mac.