Robert Peston, BBC’s business editor, has penned an open letter to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates which reads in part:
Dear Bill Gates,
Give me back my weekend. I bought a new Windows Vista laptop – and that’s when the trouble began.
My dislike of your new user interface you can put down to the conservatism that comes with advancing years. However having loyally stuck by the galumphing, unaesthetic functionality of your operating systems over the past 15 years, while faced with ridicule from pretentious Mac-loving types, I resent your attempt at an elegance transplant.
But what really grates is that your system is incompatible with two of the vital tools of my trade. Vista refuses to load the software for my newish Olympus digital recorder. And here’s what takes the biscuit. Vista rejects my HP IPAQ handheld device – even though the software for that was created by Microsoft!
So in order to put Vista at the centre of what I do, I would have to buy hundreds of pounds of new hardware. Which may be great news for your industry, but makes me regret never having defected to Steve Jobs. Perhaps now’s the time.
Full article, in which Peston writes that the only thing that gives him any comfort is that he is apparently not alone in his Vista-stress, here.
MacDailyNews Take: Why does knowing that others are also suffering similar woes him give comfort? Stockholm Syndrome and Cognitive Dissonance are powerful, insidious maladies, but Peston at least shows signs of rising above them. Now certainly is the time to dump Windows and get a Mac; so was any time during the last 23 years. Better late than never.
Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. – Helen Keller
Related articles:
Net Applications: Apple’s Mac market share continues rise, hits 6.22% in January 2007 – February 01, 2007
Gartner: Apple’s U.S. Mac shipments up 30.6% year over year – January 18, 2007
Net Applications: Apple’s Mac market share continues rise, now at 5.39%, up 31% year-over-year – December 01, 2006
Apple’s Mac market share surges, up 35-percent year-over-year as growth accelerates – November 01, 2006
Analyst: Apple has ‘real shot at dramatically expanding Macintosh market share’ – October 31, 2006
Analyst: Apple Mac gains market share, the reason why is significant – October 26, 2006
IDC: Apple Mac attained 5.8% of U.S. market share in Q3 06 – October 18, 2006
Gartner: Apple Mac grabbed 6.1% of U.S. market share in Q3 06 – October 18, 2006
Bill Gates unhinged with Apple envy; Microsoft on path to become high profile casualty – February 06, 2007
Apple takes dead aim at Microsoft’s Windows Vista in latest ‘Get a Mac’ ad (with video) – February 06, 2007
Digit: Don’t buy Vista; Microsoft may be driving millions to stick with XP or move to Apple Mac – February 05, 2007
Bill Gates has lost his mind: calls Apple liars, copiers; slams Mac OS X security vs. Windows – February 02, 2007
TIME Magazine: Microsoft’s Windows Vista ‘an embarassment to the good name of American innovation’ – February 02, 2007
Microsoft’s Windows Vista: Five years for a chrome-plated turd – January 30, 2007
Those unfamiliar with Apple’s Mac OS X may be impressed with Windows Vista – January 29, 2007
Digit: ‘Microsoft’s Windows Vista may be the best reason yet to buy an Apple Mac’ – January 29, 2007
Pioneer Press: Windows Vista shows ‘Apple is an innovation engine; Microsoft, not so much’ – January 29, 2007
Windows Vista disappoints, so get a Mac – January 29, 2007
Microsoft emails reveal serious Mac OS X Tiger envy – January 26, 2007
Analyst: Microsoft’s Windows Vista could be an opportunity for Apple – January 26, 2007
CNET Reviews Windows Vista: Is that all? Clunky and not very intuitive vs. Mac OS X; warmed-over XP – January 24, 2007
Mossberg: Microsoft’s Windows Vista offers lesser imitations of Apple’s Mac OS X features – January 18, 2007
Windows Vista disappointment drives longtime ‘Microsoft apologist’ to Apple’s Mac OS X – January 17, 2007
InformationWeek Review: Apple’s Mac OS X shines in comparison with Microsoft’s Windows Vista – January 06, 2007
NY Times’ Pogue reviews Microsoft’s Windows Vista: ‘Looks, Locks, Lacks’ – December 14, 2006
Unlike Microsoft’s Windows Vista, Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard will create no new jobs – December 12, 2006
15-year Windows vet tries Apple Mac: ‘My God! This is amazing!’ – December 04, 2006
Dave Winer: ‘Microsoft isn’t an innovator, and never was – they are always playing catch-up’ – December 01, 2006
Harvard Medical School CIO picks Mac OS X over Linux and Windows – November 30, 2006
Apple Macs can run more software than Windows PCs – October 30, 2006
Microsoft’s Windows Vista is basically Microsoft’s version of Mac OS 9.3 – October 11, 2006
Top Windows developer dumps Microsoft’s ‘pile of crap’ for Apple’s Mac OS X – September 12, 2006
$399 for Windows Vista Ultimate?! (Hint: Get a Mac) – August 29, 2006
Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard is 64-bit done right, unlike Microsoft’s Windows Vista kludge – August 14, 2006
Microsoft Windows Vista: If you can’t innovate… try to impersonate Apple’s Mac OS X – August 10, 2006
Analyst: Apple’s new Mac OS X Leopard sets new bar, leaves Microsoft’s Vista in the dust – August 08, 2006
Microsoft botches another copy job: Windows Vista Flip3D vs. Apple Mac OS X Exposé – June 26, 2006
Windows Vista rips-off Mac OS X at great hardware cost (and Apple gains in the end) – June 13, 2006
Computerworld: Microsoft Windows Vista a distant second-best to Apple Mac OS X – June 02, 2006
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Defending Windows over Mac a sign of mental illness – December 20, 2003
I’m sick and tired repeating this over and over again. Zune Tang is a Mac user. It’s ok if you don’t enjoy his humor but please stop trying to reply to his remarks, They are intentionally stupid. It’s humor folks, look it up in the dictionary. HUMOR.
boulderfrog,
you’ve got it right. The man (or woman) called Zune Tang is obviously stupid.
But why do you, and many others, make the mistake of answering him?
He’s just baiting you all. Why do you fall for it?
If there was any wit or intelligence in his posts then I could understand it a bit.
If we ignore him, completely ignore him, he’ll get bored and go away.
Ignore the half baked Zune Tang who just can’t tell that the joke is over.
If you need evidence of the BBC’s ongoing affair with Microsoft, take a look at the Technology front page:
“Macs are glorified Fisher-Price activity centres for adults”
The Guardian’s Charlie Brooker hates Macs – a lot
Quite a quote!
Robert,
Want some cheese with that whine?
You are the lemming-idiot who has been using Windose for 15 years.
What do you expect after 15 year of stupidity?
Macaday you twit. Charlie Brooker hates everything but hates PCs more.
Since I switched when the 17″ MBP was released last year I haven’t looked back. The thing is people get hung up on the aesthetics of the operating system but the truly outstanding thing about OS X is that you are completely unaware of it while you are working. By contrast working in Windows there is always something reminding you that you are using windows from those annoying balloons that need clicking or countless trips to the control panel to setup things that should be automatic. I cannot image how utterly irritating the user account security guard will be!
Use OS X and lower your blood pressure.
hey ZT,just get this:
Vista as so many librarys such as XP witch makes more heavy,macs: one ;you have to buy a new pc for vista or upgrade it,should macs have this: nop,you can put every system you want without testing compatiblities,macs are slow: guess not ZT,these are a few of more you could think about a mac,try to zen it!
Is anyone really surprised that Vista was not ready for release? “Longhorn” may have been a five-year effort costing $500 million, but what emerged as “Vista” was mostly slapped together during the last year. Most of the time and money was spent on project goals that were never realized. About the only thing that survived from the original Longhorn was the superficial interface eye-candy, tacked onto an existing Windows codebase.
The funny thing is that the same disaster happened to Apple in the 90’s. Apple had an ambitious project called “Copeland.” It was supposed to be the replacement for the aging “classic” Mac OS, System 7. After years of effort and millions in R&D, it was cancelled. What survived was mostly interface eye-candy (called Platinum) tacked onto the existing Mac OS codebase and released as Mac OS 8 (followed by Mac OS 8.1, 8.5, 8.6. 9.0, 9.1, and 9.2). But at least Apple’s Mac OS releases after 7.6 (and before X) were generally viewed as improvements.
Microsoft seems compelled to copy Apple, even when Apple fails. And as usual, 10 to 15 years later.
The bad news keeps rolling…
It isnt going to get any better. Microsoft are going to get a caning for Vista, and Zune, and for not having a strategy to turn around the business.
We are witnessing the first death throes of a titan.
Sell Microsoft
Buy Apple
In THAT interview, Bill Gates came across as a spoilt child who has been told he has to share his toys.
Its great to see the BBC getting stuck into Microsoft. Time magazine called Vista an embarrassment.
Keey your eyes on the next quarterly financial report. Earnings were down 28% last quarter. Expect the same, or worse…
@sapiens
Perhaps you could have a word to your friend ZT and let him know that he needs to try harder if he is trying to entertain. Its not working – its not funny and he just sounds like a dork.
@ Sapiens
If you are ‘sick and tired’ of repeating it then do us all a favour and STFU.
Oh and I forgot, that also applies to your idiot friend 7over.
Listen guys, we understand he is being humourous, we are weary of the same old same old.
Get it? Got it?
Gooooood.
Toby –
There is wit and intelligence in the posts made by one of the Zune Tangs — the one who first started posting under that name. He was very good at twisting Microsoft PR-speak into Windows fanboy parody. He never used the words “lemmings” or “Crapple.” The trolls who post in his name can’t replicate his subtlety any more than they could correctly spell the word “subtlety.”
(And how did I miss the return of Sputnik a few days ago? MDN’s been on a roll recently, so many articles; I’ll never find it again now. Welcome to the Socialist.)
@Follower
Right on.
@buster and his ilk, I guess my hopes were misplaced. You don’t seem to get it at all.
I find it hilarious how worked up your crowd gets about the excellent ZT posts. It is pretty obvious which are the real ZT posts (thanks for the explanation Follower) that parody MS PR-Speak vs the posts from ZT wannabe’s. The wannabe’s write like clueless teenage trolls and should be ignored completely.
The real Zune Tang is full of wit and humor and is more than welcome on this board.
Witty? No, Zune Tang is repetitive, tedious, and monotonous. It’s the same line posted over and over and over. Tang presence is unvaryingly predictable and excruciatingly inevitable. Tang is the same annoying child on a delayed flight facing a 200-knot headwind from San Diego to Shanghai.
Will the real Zune Tang please stand up?
You will notice that my moniker in my posts has a link to my real email address – there is nothing to stop the “real” Zune Tang from adopting the same approach. In the meantime, i suggest we declare a Zune-Tang-Free-zone…
Notice too that I smell like an elephant’s butt.