Microsoft Longhorn FAQ's

Many of you who are still currently suffering the nightmare of keeping
a Microsoft Windows based computer running trouble free may want to stay informed.

www.winsupersite.com...

Before getting too excited about this, you may also want to do a little research about
the rather impressive list of companies turning away from Microsoft, Windows and the x86 architecture.
You may also note that compatibility claims especially those regarding reverse hardware
compatibility and application compatibility should be carefully scrutinized.

www.power.org...

and while you're at it......

www.apple.com...

O.S. Debate

The Windows environment is NOT as unstable as popular opinion likes to think. For instance, I have a Windows XP Pro server at home that has only been rebooted twice in the last 18 months (for patches). My Win2k3 server has only been rebooted once (again, when it was patched). My uptime experience on a PROPERLY installed and deployed Windows server is 99%. I have NEVER had a windows machine I have installed and maintained compromised. Like anything else, it�s important to know your environment in order to secure it.

The biggest mistake businesses make with Windows is that they assume because it is designed to do many different things that one physical box SHOULD do all those things. If you treat windows more sanely, one box usually = one major task the O.S. is stable and pretty darn easy to manage. Active Directory is clean and efficient.

Unix WAS the best O.S. before OSX and 2003, it is still the choice for really really big boxes but Linux is starting to take that market. Unix as an Intranet O.S. is asking for a lot of headaches.

OSX: Apple has put a pretty interface over a Unix kernel. Neither of which are best of breed so where do they fit? They don�t. Just a cool device for yuppies to buy.

A windows environment supplemented by some Linux devices (Proxy, DNS, and Firewall should be Linux, everything else Windows 2003 or XP). This gives you the best mix.

COM was Microsoft�s worst decision ever and it haunts them to this day. UNIX / Linux and Mac OS do not manage backward compatibility well and that haunts them even MORE.

Summary: Pick your O.S. based on your task, not on your emotional response.

Programming:

I happen to work on SUN / Linux J2EE / ORACLE and Windows 2003 Server .NET SQL Server projects. I have to tell ya that so far the J2EE projects have left a lot to be desired. Programmers spend WAY too much time doing simple things in J2EE. Yes, they can learn STRUTS, or BEA, or WebSphere�but they have to re-learn things again and again for very little real payoff.

Windows shines for Intranet application development (and it�s market share is dominant in this arena). Linux / apache shines in the low-end web hosting and embedded devices (which is again reflected in the market). Sun Solaris is DEAD, it just doesn�t know it yet.

Java is going starting to peak. IT departments are starting to see the work effort vs. results equation for this environment and realize it�s just not paying off the way they expect it to. Once SUN goes bankrupt (and they will�faster that people think) then the only serious champions of Java will be ORACLE and IBM. IBM is in bed with .NET as much as J2EE and ORACLE�s revenues are declining fast (they are the most expensive RDMS out there and competitors are starting to catch up in feature / price and eat them alive).


Longhorn�hmmm�I love some of the things planned in Longhorn but I fear Microsoft�s ability to embrace and extend open standards and turn them into closed standards. Still, Longhorn should push all of the O.S. makers to improve the browser / �Internet on the desktop� model. That is always a good thing.

I still love to develop ISAPI kernel mods and Cold Fusion. Cold Fusion MX has me loving this environment again�I can do things in it 200-300% faster than raw J2EE programmers can hope to accomplish. also MX is J2EE compliant as it build WAR files and produces Java Compiled Code.

.NET is fun to develop in and has a LOT of goodies. I think for complex applications it really blows J2EE out of the water, shame about only supporting the buggy I.E. browser though.

Summary: Simpler is usually better. My #1 productivity environment right now is IIS, SQL and Cold Fusion MX�I can simply SCREAM in this environment. I�m at least 3-4 times faster here than working in .NET and Raw J2EE.

Databases:

Oracle is a PIECE OF CRAP for 99.9% of your projects. It�s way to much power / complexity to manage and the 0.1% of the time it is useful it�s probably better to throw big iron at the problem. It�s expensive and finicky and for most projects it�s like sandblasting a soup cracker. I hate trying to get Triggers and Stored Procedures stable in this environment (they�re NOT�don�t let anyone tell you otherwise).

SQL Server, along with MSDE (the FREE version of SQL Server), is a very attractive solution for small / medium / large projects. This is one area where Microsoft does an AWESOME job and gets little credit. Say what you want of their O.S.�s but ever since they got this technology from Sybase they have turned this product into my absolute favorite RDMS.

MySQL is, in my opnion, not ready for primetime yet. It�s cool for personal web sites but it is no-where as good as MSDE. (FYI: I use MySQL / PHP for my site, so I�m not saying NOT to use this).

PostGre has it�s own problems but I think it might seriously challenge Oracle down the road. It is much more a RDBMS than MySQL (which is a flat file system posing as a database).

Interbase has languished at Borland, which is sad�nice database system.

Sysbase was technologically ahead of it�s time and a nice RDBMS. They are waning now and will probably get bought out by someone.

Look for ORACLE to go down the same path SUN is going. Look for MySQL to fill a niche, low end, market. Look for SQL Server to continue to dominate the Business Intranet Market.

Summary: Use SQL server for most stuff, keep an eye open to the open-source stuff.

Companies:

Microsoft = Bad. Ok. I agree this company is just too aggressive. Let�s try to remember the times before Microsoft ok? Anyone trouble shoot WordStar and try to find a custom printer driver back before the HAL? This company HAS done some excellent things for the industry, it�s just sick now and needs a cure. That cure will come in declining sales. They will eventually become a much smaller company due to market forces about to act against them (they have a ponzi scheme about to collapse on them due to how they have been allocating pay into stock options).

Apple = WORSE. Yes, worse. I remember when Apple was starting out. Think Microsoft is arrogant? You should remember when Jobs had the upper hand. He turned us early developers away with his draconian marketing and developer support (oh�the LACK of developer support). People are kidding themselves if they think Apple would be any better than Microsoft if they had won the OS War. They would be WORSE, much worse.

SUN = Arrogant AND stupid. They will be bankrupt soon. It�s amazing the infighting that�s going on over at that company.

LINUX = Ok ..not really a company but a movement. Pretty nice but this Open Software movement is about to hit a wall. Feature creep is starting to bloat Linux�s kernel. As a stripped down O.S. this system rules. As a competitor to Microsoft it is not yet ready. I am impressed how well the newer SUSE installs and runs but it�s still not ready for my mom to use.

IBM = Screwed the pooch with OS/2. They had a windows killer in their hands but failed to take advantage of it. Oh well, better they lost this particular battle. We don�t need one massive company doing services, hardware AND the O.S. Talk about anti-trust. Also, please remember this company LOST an anti-trust trial just before the Great PC Revolution.

Summary: Support multiple vendors, release / sponsor open source when it makes sense and don�t worry�market forces will soon give us another Microsoft to hate.

MrNice,

Thank you for your post.

I understand that a properly maintained system SHOULD function trouble free
as long as those using it understand what properly maintained means.

Unfortunately most general home users have become victims of their own
lack of knowledge.
The low lifes that exploit the vulnerabilites of Windows have reduced the experience
of many users to a plague of headaches that they should not be forced to endure.

Business has a more difficult time thinking different because of the investments
they've made in equipment, software and training.
It's human nature to stick with what you know.

Even so, many are now looking for alternatives to Microsoft.

This becomes even more complicated when you look at the advancements
in hardware that will be available in the next year or so.
Both individual users and business will be forced to make some very expensive
investments in new systems to stay current.
X86 architechture will soon go the way of the DoDo
while Power PC and Cell architectures become the norm.
Writing code for multi-core processors will also open many opportunities
for those who look forward rather than clinging too tightly to
accepted ideology.

I am not a computer professional, but I do my best to stay well informed.
I hope this thread will help others explore the possibilites ahead.

A home based linux server

Try linux my friends....Longhorn is just implementing what linux users have enjoyed for free for years.

Originally posted by IntelRetard
A home based linux server

Try linux my friends....Longhorn is just implementing what linux users have enjoyed for free for years.

Hey a fellow slacker.. nice to meet and greet with you

Originally posted by FallenFromTheTree
Unfortunately most general home users have become victims of their own
lack of knowledge.
The low lifes that exploit the vulnerabilites of Windows have reduced the experience
of many users to a plague of headaches that they should not be forced to endure.

Exactly, you're right, Fallen. Windows is just plainly not even comparably as user-friendly as Linux or OSX.

If Microsoft being a horrible corporate citizen, monopolizer, and a seasoned thief-corporation is not enough, then the instability and poor security should. Mac OS and Linux are built for those who want power intertwined without the headache.

yes i agree very much so use SusE thats great but i find it hard to install its more stable than XP has less memory leaks and the lastest version comes with firefox which im using now as my main browser i have had no toolbars or spyware installed its very stable as is SusE remember longhorn is still in beta and under development who knows we might have a great microsoft OS on our hands soon but from experience the only stable operating systems microsoft done was windows 3.1 and windows 2000

nice post though

Originally posted by klain
...the only stable operating systems microsoft done was windows 3.1 and windows 2000

Hehe...yeah, I'm saving up for an Apple iBook and so am using 2000 interrim. It's the most stable Windows I've ever used but still crashes quite often or freezes up for 5-10 minutes while I'm not even doing anything that should make it do that. That's kind of sad. ^_^

Currently there are roughly 60 known viruses written to attack the Mac OS.
Most of these were directed at OS9.
Running OSX and keeping regular security updates has virtually eliminated the need for
anti-virus software on these machines.
After 5 years and regular AV scans, I've never once found one on my machine.
( This is not an excuse to be over confident )

In comparison, there are more than 59,000 known viruses directed at
the Windows operating system.
This does not even include spyware and adware.

Now if you're working on something really important
or you just want to enjoy surfing, e-mail and chat.
which one would you choose?

I suppose I should ask what made you choose your current system
and what will you be looking for in your next one?

Yes, everybody should convert to Linux or MacOS, ESPECIALLY people like me who use their PCs primarily for gaming.

We all know how GREAT AND WONDERFUL Linux & MacOS are for gaming! The world should convert today!

As much as it is fun to hate microsoft and blame all of lifes problems on the windows operating system. Its just illogical, i regularly use win2k, winXP, server 2k and 2k3, FreeBSD, RedHat, Mandrake, OSX and OS9 and each have its own faults and benefits.
windows is the best as a desktop computer or workstation, ive never had any problems with viruses, it integrates nicely with active directory, SUS, and Symantec Antivirus Server. it is stable and generally compatable with most software.
BSD/Unix/Linux are not ideal for desktop computers, they may be oneday but they do make great webservers and proxy servers. the suffer from lack of compatability.
OSX and OS9 completely and utterly useless, i absolutely hate them, they are user friendly till you actually try and do anything with them. sure you can run your word processor with minimal trouble, but try sticking it on a network (especially when its a windows network :cool
Before we all get on the "i hate microsoft because they arnt nice and i think they may have killed my dog" bandwagon, think of how they have revolutionised the industry, they may have stolen all their "inovations" but they have marketed it well, and brought computers into the mainstream. i know if it were not for microsoft i probably wouldnt have a job, neither would the hundreds of thousands of people who make a living from microsoft's software.
Personally im looking forward to what longhorn will look like in the end. my only concern is the amount of bloat (unfortunately common in windows products) i was looking at the Longhorn documentation on MSDN and many of the new features look like they would have a massive amount of overhead to work, XAML anyone? no doubt we will all need to upgrade our system for it to run, and there will probably be compatability issues, esspecially with WinFS and thousands of security issues when its finally released. i guess we can only wait and see. (lets just hope it doesnt go the way of windowsME)

Originally posted by FallenFromTheTree

Currently there are roughly 60 known viruses written to attack the Mac OS.
Most of these were directed at OS9.
Running OSX and keeping regular security updates has virtually eliminated the need for
anti-virus software on these machines.
After 5 years and regular AV scans, I've never once found one on my machine.
( This is not an excuse to be over confident )

In comparison, there are more than 59,000 known viruses directed at
the Windows operating system.
This does not even include spyware and adware.

Now if you're working on something really important
or you just want to enjoy surfing, e-mail and chat.
which one would you choose?

I run Windows.
I don't run antivirus.
I don't have a spyware scanner.
I don't run firewalls.
I'm clean.
My machine has never been compromised.

Why? Knowledge is power! Knowing when trouble has hit and how to deal with it is the perfect way of solving problems. I haven't fallen victim to corporate greed as the rest of the general public have. Why should I pay for antivirus when I can thwart viruses manually?

All you need is to patch up. NAT also helps a lot. I actually hardly patch up. My NAT does all the work. Remember W32.Blaster? I never got hit by it because it couldn't get around my NAT . My real problem was that my cable company's server was unprotected, and when their servers go down...well, my net goes down...

Before you condemn OSX, UNIX or LINUX you may want to do a bit more research.

If you grasp anything from these articles, the point is that a whole lot of current
professionals will have to re-learn everything they think they know.


news.com.com...

www.macworld.com...

www.macworld.com...

Originally posted by FallenFromTheTree

Before you condemn OSX, UNIX or LINUX you may want to do a bit more research.

If you grasp anything from these articles, the point is that a whole lot of current
professionals will have to re-learn everything they think they know.


news.com.com...

www.macworld.com...

www.macworld.com...

Did I condemn Mac OS X, Unix, or Linux? I actually run a dual-boot with Redhat, mind you. I'm just pointing out that it's the uneducated that have problems with Windows.

Also, those links you gave me, that has nothing to do with being a sysadmin or whatever you think I was talking about. Processors relate in no way to the security of a computer and the like. Although, I didn't bother reading all those articles as I have to leave soon.

If you were pointing out that IBM has a great new processor coming, be aware that programmers are still using the x86 architecture. In fact, I doubt the x86 architecture will die anytime soon. Windows controls at least 95% of the market. Whichever processor Windows is based on, that's the processor that has the market.

Don't get me wrong, IBM has a great processor, but I don't see myself moving away from x86 anytime soon.

If you take a quick glance at Microsoft's budget, you will realize that even if - by a stroke of luck - Windows loses 90% of the market, Microsoft has enough money to hold out for another 10 years if not more! Seriously, the speculation of Microsoft's nearing collapse is really way out there. I don't even see Windows losing 10% of the market in 5 years time.

I'm not a computer professional byany means, but I was an operator at IBM back in the days of 1401s and (later) 360s. My first home computer was an TI 99/4, followed by a C-64.

About 15 years ago, I switched to x86 and MS-DOS, followed by Win 3.1 and then all the subsequent versions. I run WinXP Pro on a Dell, because The Boeing Company uses nothing but Dells and runs WinXP (and Win 2000) on them, and I buy my software to do at home what I do at work. (plus the fact that I get great discounts on the Dells). I use full-up MS-Office, including MS-Project at work and at home, and I also use PhotoShop 7 at home.

Why in the name of Gates would I want to use different programs depending on what time of day it is? All my Windows apps work fine for me.

I am sure you can make an argument that the Mac OS is more elegant, but as far as business is concerned, it (and the Mac itself) is simply irrelevant.

For some reason the phrase "years of government training sir"
comes to mind, along with that ever popular lowest bidder mentality
that so many IT professionals are forced to swallow in the workplace.

I understand that many professionals would prefer to stay in that comfort zone
of what they already know, but keep in mind that many more will be right on your heels
with the most advanced equipment and training available.
If you get too comfortable with x86 bottleneck architecture, you may very well be left
in the dust.

If you haven't stayed current, you might also be surprised at the collection of
seamless professional applications that have been written to take advantage of OSX.

Microsoft Office, Adobe CS, Macromedia Studio , Vectorworks, Protools, DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut Pro, Maya, Poser and so on.

The point of this thread is to stay well informed, that's all.

there's nothing like a mac. my OSX has NEVER crashed. i spent about five to ten minutes to find out EVERYTHING i needed to know about using it. it's elegant, simple yet powerful, stable, and downright pretty.
apples cost more up front, but the money you save in time and dependability way more than makes up for it.
i agree, if jobs had 'won' the initial contest for market penetration, that we the user would have 'lost'. that's not what happened, though, and as a result, apple has not only survived a BRUTAL battering, but has actually managed to bounce back hugely.
i have an XP box that shuts itself off regularly, constantly quits programs, and takes about FIVE MINUTES to start up. despite having a clock speed of 1.8 gigahertz, and a fancier more modern chip architecture, and a more modern operating system than the 350 megahertz G3, running OS8.1 that i'm typing on right now, it manages to keep me waiting WAY more, and feels very sluggish compared to this old warhorse G3.
i liked the silicon graphics boxes hugely, although i had limited exposure.

a buddy of mine just got a $600 phone bill for long distance calls to amsterdam by some program that installed itself into his windows box.
i've been online for seven years with no virus protection, and have NEVER had any 'contamination' by unwanted backdoor programs.

i'm sure that the very informed post detailing the strengths and weaknesses of all the systems is quite true, however, most of us are just people who want our computer to be as easy to use as the telephone or VCR or car.

windows has never given me anything but a headache. even XP. two thumbs down.

Microsoft products have become better with every release, I remember windows 286, 386, 3.1 and on. I obtained my first real computer (not game machine) as a student in 1986 & I had a choice between spending 2k on a IBM PC running MS-Dos 3.x with a 14" color screen or 6k on an equivalently equipt Mac with a 9" grey monochrome screen. I choose the PC, because it was more affordable. Apple MAC's had the best desktop O/S at one time, but they were too greedy & lost the game and made Bill G on of the richest on the planet.

I did the CNE thing when Netware was big and then I jumped into MCSE thing when NT became popular & I could double my rate. I had many Netware systems that I built from the power supply on up run without a reboot for a year or more - until they came along with 4.X. If not for security patchs & such most of my 2000 & xp systems are stable as hell, because I don't use crapola hardware that I suspect most of the people who make comments like my machine turns off after 15 minutes etc do. Yes, I suspect 90% of those who complain that it's Microsoft problem, it's really a crappy computer hardware problem. I even do housecalls at some of my business clients homes, and most problems are idiot users going to porn sites, illegal software downloads, cheap xmachines & the like or expert 16 year old nephews who built their computer and didn't really have a clue.

The biggest problem I see with Microsoft is they're starting to dig in to try & maintain what they have and they're puting the screws to faithful customers with their new licensing models and anti-piracy policies that make it more difficult for managers & end users to stay with them. Yep, their starting to look like old Big Blue & Apple.


[edit on 29-12-2004 by outsider]

Originally posted by outsider
If not for security patchs & such most of my 2000 & xp systems are stable as hell, because I don't use crapola hardware that I suspect most of the people who make comments like my machine turns off after 15 minutes etc do. Yes, I suspect 90% of those who complain that it's Microsoft problem, it's really a crappy computer hardware problem. I even do housecalls at some of my business clients homes, and most problems are idiot users going to porn sites, illegal software downloads or expert 16 nephews who built their computer and didn't really have a clue.

the obvious thing here is that you are very computer savvy, and have spent countless hours troubleshooting and understanding wintel boxes from the ground up. you are a computer expert. i'm not. i AM a power user, though, and depend on my critical computers to behave, and not require me to learn a new language and huge skillset in order to keep them humming. i just want to use the computer, not grok it.

i've downloaded tons of porno(so i like porno, leave me alone, HAHA), freeware and shareware without a hitch on my macs. i've never had to hire someone to fix a mac for me. most of my problems have been from hard drives failing. a few glitches were induced by third party software OS add ons, too.