So, were they shopping for one machine to share between them? That will work really well, will it?

I’d like to see the ad where they go shopping for a netbook for the son. You know, compare the price and capabilities of Windows and Linux options...

First of all, Jackson needs a haircut. Second, his mother should not be saying things like "Dude." That is just wrong. Third, Jackson obviously knows a good computer when he sees one.

WHOA! VisDuh64 for GAMING! Yeah! I can play all of - oh, ZERO games! That's just too cool! Besides, everyone knows that nothing beats a laptop for gaming specs - they're just 'teh b3st'.

VAIO. Duh. Apple isn't going to win on price. I didn't care for these ads. But the more the Mac fanbois react to them, the better I think they are.

I see this as a successful marketing strategy for Micro$oft. As the average user will decide that Mac cost too much, especially the timing for these ads are correct in a time of a bad recession. But their are a few problems that the $ofties have not seemed to thought of. One problem is that many users will be far better off with Linux than a Windows PC, its far cheaper still. Another problem is Mac can actually cost a lot more if you are a typical Windows user that has to pay to get the malware cleaned out often. Also, this line of advertising is in a way, abandoning the top end to Mac, by implying that Mac is only for the rich and cool. It is also implying that Mac is better and that is why its more expensive.

But perhaps the big reason that this ad could come back a bite M$ in the hind quarter, is it could work. And if it does work, Apple will be forced to lower the price to compete. That will hurt the OEM's with Windows on it. And the only way those OEM's can lower the cost, will be to install Linux instead of Windows.

I think the real objective of this add is to get people thinking of buying laptops for over $1000 again. Right now people buy $500 laptops and the version of Windows they come with is the lowest and cheapest available. This is killing MS where they are getting way less money per notebook sold now.

Ballmer , im coming to get you.

Any self respecting kid is not going to let his mother hover over him while he's picking out his computer.

That kid got a good deal.

In fact I'm looking for a fairly decent Gaming laptop for the road.

Might have to look into that.

@Chips

But perhaps the big reason that this ad could come back a bite M$ in the hind quarter, is it could work. And if it does work, Apple will be forced to lower the price to compete. That will hurt the OEM's with Windows on it. And the only way those OEM's can lower the cost, will be to install Linux instead of Windows.

______________________________________
See that's why I love you chippy.

You're full of hope.

You're also delusional.... I've always had a fondeness for the mentally defective. They make me laugh ever so loudly.

for me? Dell XPS

"Blueraaaay"
Yep, good example of Microsoft foresight there. Were they not backing the HDdvd format until they realized nobody else was?
-
I expect this advert would be effective, if people were not savvy enough to be able to see it for what it is, a piece of marketing and another example of Microsoft having to use a child to promote their wares. Gone are the days when people blindly buy into adverts.
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A mother taking her son out to buy a $1500 laptop in the middle of a recession. What a great idea.
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Quote CC.Torment "You're also delusional.... I've always had a fondeness for the mentally defective."
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LOL, its not chips who is a foul mouthed self confessed porn surfer is it? For readers who have not seen the material which CC.Torment likes to post, I encourage you to look back at some of his "gems". Then ask yourself "Who's the delusional one?"

$1500 just to play games? That makes a PS3 look cheap. In fact you could buy one for you and one for your friend along with a load of games to play on, and an XBox for when you get bored and a Wii for when that is broken.

As far as I know Macs are popular amongst 30-somethings, not small children. I have never seem Apple showing an ad to appeal to children.

Blue Ray!? Last time I looked no one was rushing out to buy Blue Ray.

Chips, Macs do actually cost a lot more, whats your point? Trust me, even if PC's and Laptops start costing $50, it does not matter, people will still choose Windows. Linux doesn't even support Blu-Ray, so Lisa and Jackson would be out of luck if they wanted a laptop with incompatible Linux.

"by implying that Mac is only for the rich and cool. It is also implying that Mac is better and that is why its more expensive."

Not all that glitters is gold. Its just another x86 PC with a 33 year old logo on it. That Sony VAIO will allow Jackson to do all the cool things he wants to do, play all his favorite games and the latest ones without having to worry about compatibility. Do his school work, create great looking reports with having to suffer through Mac incompatibility.

I wonder why there is a requirement for it to be a laptop, there is nothing about him having to take this thing to school. He wants it for games and his mother wants it for school work (guess which he will be doing on it). She even talks about how he 'does something (on the laptop)' then has to 'get out of the door'.

He should have got a desktop which he can upgrade the graphics card on, that 3650 does not look very powerful for today's games. I seriously doubt it could play a BlueRay without stuttering or heating up, besides 1600 x 900 is not HD resolution, it would have to be scaled which would make it look crappy on that 16" screen. For $1500 they could have got a 21" screen with better than HD resolution and a decent computer.

What is the point in BlueRay on a 1600x900 16" screen? Just to buy more expensive disks?

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-3650.8839.0.html

You can only run today's games if you put the resolution down to 800x600. Within 5 years that laptop will not be upgradable and will not run the latest games. If he got a desktop then he could upgrade it for around $150 when the time comes.

[[Anonymouse :

WHOA! VisDuh64 for GAMING! Yeah! I can play all of - oh, ZERO games! That's just too cool! Besides, everyone knows that nothing beats a laptop for gaming specs - they're just 'teh b3st'.

Posted by Anonymouse | April 9, 2009 9:49 PM]]

What're you talking about? My machine's Vista x64. I play games all the time. I haven't found one I couldn't play yet. The 4 GB of RAM that I can have because I have x64 just makes the most resource intensive games faster. Oh, and the machine hasn't crashed in over a year.

Not smart to bash from a position of ignorance.

Vista's a 'good' operating system. Only problem is, it needed to be a 'great' OS to really dislodge XP, and MS didn't meet that bar. I'm looking forward to 7; I suspect it'll excel.

M$ Shill Andre Da Costa keeps spreading the FUD with :
"Linux doesn't even support Blu-Ray, so Lisa and Jackson would be out of luck if they wanted a laptop with incompatible Linux."
----------------------------------------------------
Nero Adds Linux Blu-ray Support

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=210

"TDK Nero has announced the availability of Nero Linux 3, the first Linux-based Blu-ray writing software. Based on the already successful Nero 7, Linux 3 provides user with the same features and usability for Linux that they are already familiar with on Windows."
--------------------------------------------------
Now Blue-ray on the computer has not quite come of age yet, has it. Last time I looked a blank blueray disk on sale at Frys, was about $11 to $12 on sale, so its not cost effective. Also, who would want to watch those on a tiny computer screen? The big screen over about 37" is the place to see the only real advantage of blueray over regular DVD, if you have the right HD home stereo equipment. So the best way to play Blueray movies, is not on windows, but on a Sony PS3 console hooked up to a really nice HD home entertainment system. For me, I am happy with regular DVD, and have no plans to move to Blueray, and still have some doubts about it ever making it as a replacement to regular DVD. BTW, you might have (maybe) been closer Andre if you had said Mac instead.

@Goblin.

Yes gobiln I am foul mouthed.

And on that point fuck you.

And Yes Goblin I surf porn. I'm in good company too. In fact I'm in tha majority of male internet users. No real suprise there. I'm just honest enough to admit it. I also have an occasional drink, am an avowed atheist, and don't always drive the speed limit. I'm such a horrible fucking person I honestly don't know how I go on living. I guess I'll have to hope that putting two kids through college, being a dedicated husband, and participating in community outreach programs saves me from the hell I don't believe in.

Jesus H fucking christ. Are all you Linux pricks such fucking prudes or are you just grasping for straws? Are is that you're afraid I'll see pics of yer mum.

@Billybob.

Show me a PS3 with:

Built in keyboard
Built in high def monitor
wireless internet connectivity
wide scale hardware support
bluetooth
DVD burner
Ability to run a large library of productivity and design software.
Ability to play a huge library of PC games in high def. including older ones and MMO's that are unavailable on any console, and run hundreds of game ROMS and hundreds of titles on gametap.
Ability to sync files with all my PC's at home and at work.
Ability to host a VPN client that allows me to connect to clients networks to monitor their systems.
That has a battery that allows me to use it away from home.
Can be expanded to 8 Gigs of memory.

And Hell yeah I'd pay 1500 bucks for it. I paid 2000 bucks for my newest Laptop. Not to play games, but because It could do everything I need a laptop to do AND play games. Beats the hell out of spending 2000 bucks so I can look good at starbucks with an elegant (though woefully under featured) MacBook Air.

Er "Nknow" wasnt that CC.Torments confession? I think you may have gotten a little confused with your numerous handles.
-
Anyway lets say you are a different person for a minute. What has anyones surfing habits in relation to "adult entertainment" have to do with this site and furthermore why on earth does someone need to take delight in it here. Its funny Nknow, Im sure it was you who suggested a while back that I get a girlfriend, since my personal opinion on the porn subject is that I am a happily married man and dont need to search for it.
You do, thats fine, but like CC.Torments revelation of what he would like to do to a certain electrical appliance, its my opinion that, that sort of talk has no place here.
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Just like CC.Torments/Nknows bad language. The point I make and the point which neither of you two understand is that your foul language puts off the decent people who come here to have debate and read articles that dont contain playground words.
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Quote "Are all you Linux p#icks such f#cking prudes or are you just grasping for straws?"
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Well we've seen your pro-MS counter argument, so the grasping for straws is wrong. So it comes down to am I a prude? Well I cant speak for other Linux users, but I suppose I am. Is that wrong? You like surfing for porn, I dont. Does it matter? Why is it relevant? The reason I highlighted it here was to show the level of respect he was showing to other users by mentioning it. It has no relevance to anything here, and until MS goes into the adult entertainment industry, I cant see why we should have to see it on MS watch. You must have sites you can go to if you want to post like that surely.
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Quote "I guess I'll have to hope that putting two kids through college, being a dedicated husband, and participating in community outreach programs saves me from the hell I don't believe in."
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Being a parent myself I do not believe you have ever had children, nor are old enough to put them through college. Does any parent here relate to the way Nknow behaves? I dont think so, and I shudder to think of the upbringing a child would have if their parent believed there was nothing wrong in posting in the way you do.
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Lets await the next "Mother" crack by a user who claims I am clutching at straws.
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LOL

Oh and by the way a 3650 will indeed play the latest games. Most PC games have adjustable graphics settings. Something you don't get on a console because they're homogenous. And Consoles can't keep up with even the most spartan Gaming capable video cards. I'm not saying you're going to run everything in high detail with all the bells and whistles on, but you get decent performance.

@Goblin:
I think you just got the confirmation that Nknow is one and the same as the other sock puppet the tormeted one. Its funny how this shill/troll can anwser a post with just changing his handle as another. But then when you add in the fact that Andre wanted to attack me as a racist, because I stated the fact that Jamaica is "hot and humid." I point out that I was also attacked before in the same manner about a statement made about the British. Which is as close as we are going get to establishing the identity of this bunch of trolls as being Andre. Not that it matters much, except, it does show that M$ is paranoid to control what is said on this site and others. Andre will use any means including the worst type of trolling.

@Goblin.

Not a confession. I'm just saying that I curse, drink and surf porn just like most men in my demographic. I honestly don't see the point of you going after someone for "Moraility Issues"

Or are you perfect? Making value judgements about a person based on the intardnet is shortsighted and stupid.

*ohhhhhh he surfs teh porrrrrrrrnnnn.* Gimme a fucking break.

Its just seems to me, if one wanted a Blue-ray player that the Sony PS3 is the way to go. As it comes standard on the PS3. So that saves the additional cost of buying a blue-ray player. Also the PS3 has some huge advantages over the Xbox360. Its far more dependable, no RROD's that kill so many Xbox360's. It does not have the disk scatching problems either that the XBox360's have or had, which can cost you even more than the RROD XBox360 problem.

With all this talk about Windows is the only one supporting Blue-ray, if its so great, why is not Microsoft not putting a blue-ray drive in its XBox360? They failed with putting a HD-DVD by toshiba in it that now almost useless, as nobody supports it anymore. Where is the value in the XBox360? All I see is problems with the XBox360 and bad service to boot. So the M$ shills want to discuss Blueray as a major M$ advantage, while at the same time M$ will not even put it in its own product???

Quote "I honestly don't see the point of you going after someone for "Moraility Issues"
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Please read what I am saying if you are going to try to counter it.
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Its not for me to say the rights and wrongs of your "desires" on the net. I am saying that it shows the level of counter argument and respect for other users that people like CC.Torment have when they mention it.
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Just how I believe you tried claiming that you built Linux systems to try and validate your argument, you are now trying to enter into a debate about morality on a subject that has no place on an IT blog. (IMO) Whilst trying to justify your own bad behaviour.

Hi Chips, sorry I missed your post there for a second.
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Talking of numerous handles and sock puppets I think it only fair (after the work I put in) that I link to an article on Boycott Novell which mentions my site and the work I did in undercovering a dubious poster on Twitter.
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In a nutshell I challenged a twitter poster who was blatantly promoting Microsoft Stock using the name Optionetics.
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It transpired after further challenge and research that the Twitter "Optionetics" was an imposter and using the name of a respected Stock Market education company.
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Suffice to say, I recieved a thankyou from the company, and Twitter has suspended the fake optionetics account.
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I wonder why an imposter would pose as a legitimate company and try to promote MS stock?
Ill let the readers here consider their own answer as to possible reasons. But what ever the reasons, we see plenty impersonation and dubious posting here, dont we?
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Heres the link:
http://boycottnovell.com/2009/04/10/pumping-msft-pimping-microsoft/

@Goblin:

Interesting read and link, thank you. Its not surprizing if it somehow turned out to be M$ behind that posting. Impersonation is not new to them, look at the dead letter campaign as example one. Example two would be the local shill Andre, he has done it often. Although he would have us think it was really the tormented one, who is Andre.

Andre/Know/Tormentedmind are all one and the same from what I see, they made too many slips in tactics. Bragging about their porn habits on a tech forum is simply out of place and should be moderated when too extreme.

Since Bill Gates is still chairman of the board and the largest shareholder, Paul Allen still has a lot of stock too I think, even Steve B. the sweaty monkeyboy has a lot of stock. And even this company controlled by this people is buying back stock in an effort to try to keep up the price. Ask yourself why? Is it in the interest of the shareholders? YES, the one that are selling stock that is, like Bill and friends. They don't buy M$ stock anymore people, they are sellers, and that should be telling everyone something.

One more thing about the XBox360, perhaps one of the worse engineering electronic products from a reliability standpoint of all time. The only worse one that comes to mind is the manufacturing of Soviet TV's back in the early cold wars days. With the Xbox360 you have to pay for online subscription every year, which is free with the sony ps3 BTW. And if you just want cheap and something good, that will not fail as soon as the one year warrenty is over, get a Wii or better, get a Sony PS2, they still make those. In a world where corporations do not run "democracies"consumer groups would be suing M$ over the Xbox360 back to the stone age into bankruptcy.

The Mom is probably relived the kid is staying away from the "I'm a Mac guy" now that Apple is redefining and narrowing the Mac demographic, as you can discover in this oddly titled video clip featuring "I'm a Mac guy" [now also known as Brand On]:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lL2F6mw9pk

@Joe Wilcox and Goblin:

Maybe Joe would like to respond to this Boycott Novell article about Ziff-Davis/eweek, since they own this blog that Joe writes on:

Microsoft Pays Ziff Davis to Promote Windows Vista

http://boycottnovell.com/2009/04/10/aaron-goldberg-microsoft-payola/

I would be interested in knowing Joe's take on this, but I doubt he will respond, as he did not respond on the one about eweek serving up windows malware either. Now I admit I have been critical of Joe in the past for some of his pro-ms articles, but I think he deserves a chance to reply.

I've read posts about techies who prefer Macs speaking about how superior DDR3 is over DDR2. Sure, they have a point, but looking at the comparison of MacBook and Vaio configs, it's readily apparent that 320 GBs running at 7,200 rpms vs. 160 GBs spinning 33% slower is a significant performance differentiator and one under which most scenarios is going to be noticed more often than the difference in DD3 vs. DDR2 memory.

Bethatasitmay, these commercials are kicking Apple's butt in a much more believable fashion than the mostly FUD laden Mac vs. PC commercials. The great part is that, once W7 is released, Apple is going to have a tough time coming up with a campaign slogan that's going to resonate with consumers outside of the iPhone segment of their business, which is about to get a knock or two from the Palm Pre/WebOS.

Then in about 12 months M$ will have a app presence and will be releasing WM7, which should bring M$ up to and possibly ahead of Apple in the mobile phone OS comparison, especially when including its mobile gaming abilities. Don't get me wrong though, Apple is without a doubt in the drivers seat of the mobile OS market right now, and they should be given props for excellent execution in this segment of their business over the past two years. The iPhone and its app store are simply kicking everyone else's butt at this point. Google will be in the game as well as a possible resurgent Palm with RIM making some good moves to push back against the iPhone. The question will be can M$ correct WM in the next 12 months as they're about to do with Windows with W7? Without a M$ branded phone, I don't think they can but maybe that's coming with WM8, which is supposed to be an complete rewrite using the Midori/Singularity codebase.

Why is everybody saying that Windows 7 is going to kick Apple's butt if it's just Vista with a few more colors? It's the same code, no re-write. And Windows Mobile 7? Give me a break.

@Triplets

It's because Windows 7 is perceived as what Vista should have been.

And what do you mean it is not a re-write? There's are many differences. But Microsoft was smart to keep some aspects of the architecture the same or nearly the same. This will enable devices and their drivers to work with no fuss if they already work with Vista.

When Vista came out, many things were incompatible, but over the past two/three years more and more device manufacturers have made their product lines compatible with Vista. So the great divide between Vista and devices that existed when Vista first came out will not exist when Windows 7 arrives.

Furthermore, it is not quite 'the same code'. Microsoft has been working in performance improvements and it is believed Windows 7 is leaner and cleaner and quicker running. And it boots up and shuts down more quickly too.

When a person uses it, they feel this is how an NT based system should run and operate.

Furthermore, the UI is a big improvement, mostly because of the many simple improvements. Selected items in Explorer are more clearly marked, the Taskbar is nicer with new useful features, newbies have more explained to them when using Control Panel items, everything's a bit snappier, it's lighter and brighter looking. The heavy Windows Vista Sidebar is gone and things like wallpaper and bootscreens [which people seem to enjoy] are more configurable.

And it is a more secure yet comfortable system which enables the user to more easily control aspects of security such as UAC. With the more secure IE8, protected mode, and features that resist social engineering attacks, malware writers are going to have an even tougher time with Windows 7 then even with Vista [which by itself substantially reduced security compromises on the Windows platform].

So there you have it, in my humble opinion, some of the reasons why Windows 7 is getting acceptance as an operating system.

"It's because Windows 7 is perceived as what Vista should have been."

THIS is what Vista is supposed to have been, it is nothing like Windows 7 (or Vista for that matter).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9ifQvQCO7Y

The finest operating system we have ever built... funny...

Triplets said: "Why is everybody saying that Windows 7 is going to kick Apple's butt if it's just Vista with a few more colors?"

I completely agree with Triplets. Nothing is going to change. Windows will still be same shit and pain in the ass regardless of what it is called.

I noticed that the Sony has outdated slow memory. Also, the graphics card has slow memory. The screen is nice and large for gaming .. but they are far more dim than a Mac. Harder to see the fast movements. The HDMI output seems cool ... but you wouldn't want an external HD screen for playing games as much as a high resolution computer screen .. like the Mac display that has far smaller high quality pixles. The HD would be more fuzzy .. I know cause I use both types with my computers. I like the HD screen for normal computing just because of the bigger pixels ... but for gaming I use a Mac display. Far more precise and fun.

The 13 inch mac book would be better for the kid .. but hey... if you haven't got the money ..... you haven't got the money !

@billybob

Well, not everyone wants their operating system coming on to them.

Besides, the sidebar is too heavy looking. I like Windows 7's implementation of gadgets better. And all those animations? Even the tacky OSX doesn't have as much or many. Better would be to provide an application that enabled people to watch animated mock ups posted to a video sharing website.

I've used the Beta, it works very well and this next rendition of NT should do well.

Have a good weekend.

One other thing I noticed was the Sony ... built for 64 bit ... most likely does not have the 64 bit Windows installed. Windows charges much more for that. So the Macbook .. well all Macs.. are 64 bit right out of the box and could play any games written for 64 bit.

As a 32 bit OS can only access 3 gig of memory .. the potential of 8 gigs of memory is not an option for this mother and son.

The real down side for the Sony is that it runs on Windows which most likely will need to be brought in to Best Buy several times a year for OS repair. Costing as much as a new MacBook Pro in the long run.

@John Duke

1. You are mistaken. Microsoft does not charge more for the 64-bit version of Windows. If you were to buy the retail box upgrade of Windows Business, you'd be entitled to run either the 32 or the 64-bit version.

2. It is better not to comment on memory management unless you understand it.

3. Most Windows users can repair their own computers. There is so much information and support available online and, with even a modicum of savvy, just about anyone can fix a Windows installation. The support nightmare is iMac.

Almost a monolithic block, it's difficult to work with and is a repair nightmare. Even Apple recommends that the owner never open the case her or himself. No fun when it overheats and shorts out and very expensive to repair. Note: Some Mac users like that aspect though, because they can brag about how much they spent repairing it at their rainbow-coaltion meetings.

Quote Clump:
"Most Windows users can repair their own computers. There is so much information and support available online and, with even a modicum of savvy, just about anyone can fix a Windows installation."

On that point, whether speaking about hardware or software, I think you give far too much credit to a large portion of Windows users, if not the vast majority. I wish you were right there, but I've handled or heard tales of too many support calls over the most bone headed things to believe otherwise. Just this weekend I was in a cafe and overheard a family talking about wanting to replace their Vista computer that was only a few months old because it had become overrun with malware to the point of being unusable. Not "get some antivirus software". Not "reinstall the OS." Outright replace it with a new one. And they were planning on buying another Vista PC instead of using OSX or Linux.... So I guess they'll be back to the store in another few months... Oh well. It stimulates the economy, I guess. Or something like that....

Clump, it sounds like you make money fixing people's computers. I wonder if there would be so much hatred of the iMac if it ran Windows and therefore needed your help/software on a regular basis?

If it is true that most Windows users can fix their own installation then this is a very sad reflection of Windows computing. This is like forgiving unreliable cars by saying that all Ford drivers can fix their own cars. Windows should not be so unreliable that their users have to learn how to fix them just to keep them running.

Of course Apple recommends that people do not open their machines, they are full of high voltage electricity and sensitive components. Last time I looked at a Dell they had a sticker over the case door which said "breaking this seal will void your warranty". Apple will still respect your warranty even if you upgrade it (so long as you didn't break it when you opened it).

I have opened and upgraded Mac Minis, and an iMac without a problem, I expect that even you could open a Mac Pro.

Clump, My point about the Longhorn preview was that Vista is not anything like what it was supposed to be. Therefore Windows 7 might be 'better than Vista' but it is not what Vista was supposed to be. Microsoft were the ones who showed 'the best OS they have ever _written_'.

I think that if Vista had been like the Longhorn demos then nobody would have complained about the speed or driver/application incompatibility, they would have willingly gone out and bought a new computer just to get it. It looked like they were finally introducing new UI concepts but in the end they just released a new version of XP with incompatibility and extra popups.

The sidebar in Longhorn looked like it was useful, but Microsoft couldn't be bothered to actually write sidebar apps.

The demo reminds me much more of KDE 4 with the widgets that you can drag to and from the desktop. It does not look anything like Windows 7. Just look at the window decorations, in the demo they are subtle and good looking, in Vista/7 they are garish, ugly and fat.

@billybob

The mock-up demonstrated concepts, but if I remember correctly, Microsoft's focus changed entirely with 9/11 and the rampage of the malware writers and their organized crime. Pretty animations had to give way to code review and architecturing for safer computing; which they accomplished, partly with XP SP2 and much more thoroughly with Vista.

And as far as the look of Vista? It's not garish, but it is a bit dark, IMHO. There's no accounting for taste, of course. The Longhorn preview has more spinning visuals than a televison infomercial - I'm not sure I like it. I did like how Microsoft did its part by encouraging New Yorkers with its Windows XP launch.

But of Windows 7 - it's nice. Looks nice, is lighter and simpler, I like it.

And about giving too much credit to Windows users? Sure, some people will not touch their computers. They've done nothing to give themselves confidence. But if they were to take any interest at all, they could manage their own computng on the PC platform, especially desktops. Macs, as you say, are an electrical hazard.

And about sidebar apps? Well, it's gone with Windows 7, but the gadgets remain. It's easy to write simple gadgets yourself - most of it is HTML and any JavaScript you might want to throw in. Microsoft is providing the platform not so much the gadgets themselves - which is great as far as I am concerned.

@Will

Well the PC platform is open. You can open up a typical PC and replace components, upgrade them and so on. The various slots and connectors are standardized. So I can build a PC and use all select high quality components on my own, needing only a bit of thermal paste and a screw driver.

And as far as the operating system on a PC? Well, I can choose. I choose Windows, but the platform is open. Various operating systems compete, including various versions of Windows, various distributions of Linux, FreeBSD, and various versions of DOS and DOS clones and so on.

Windows has the benefit of many millions of hours of research so that the operating system is easy to fix should a problem arise. It didn't happen by accident.

Macs? When something goes wrong with a Mac, and something seems to invariably go wrong with them, call the extraordinarily expensive technician because it's a hazard just opening the case.

About that family? Well, some people refuse to learn. If I log onto any computer running any OS, give myself admin rights and download and run a vicious program, well?

In all my years of Windows computing [since 1996] I caught one virus once .. once. And it was my fault because I ignored Microsoft's warning to install a patch to a Windows 2000 system which left the computer open to a buffer overrrun exploit while surfing (which was quickly caught). Otherwise, zero.

Why? Because I use a teeny tiny bit of common sense and do not allow software to run except from reputable sources. If you say "OK" to some ActiveX stuff in your Limewire downloaded hot movie, it is entirely your fault your computer gets compromised.

So the family with the computer 'loaded' with malware should stop using their computer as a wan-k-ing tool. Yes, they probably should zap the harddrive and re-install Windows, but no, they do not need to get a new PC - just stop gumming up the one they have.

Now-a-days, it is unlikely a PC running Windows kept patched will be exploited unless someone deliberately allows the malware to run. That's why dialogue boxes have Cancel buttons and the taskbar has Task Manager and Active X controls cause IE to throw a UAC prompt.

But at least over time Windows is being hardened. OSX, on the other hand, is a beautiful example of security by obscurity. Like the Titanic, they say it is unsinkable, but no one's practised with the binoculars, the rudder is a small closed shop, and the steel hasn't been hardened - and there are a many many of organized crime icebergs in the sea.

Quote Clump "In all my years of Windows computing [since 1996]"
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Thats not many, by 1996 I already had approx 10 years of computing experience. This is not a forum for bragging rights or justification of ones argument through their own credentials (since I know for a fact there are many here who could actually state very impressive credentials if they wished)
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Quote Clump "Now-a-days, it is unlikely a PC running Windows kept patched will be exploited unless someone deliberately allows the malware to run."
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What happened to the German/British military then? As you so eloquently put it, are we saying that our armed forces are using their machines as W***ing tools?
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Quote Clump "But at least over time Windows is being hardened."
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Are you reading the news by numerous reputable sites? Hell, even the BBC was able to compromise thousands of Windows home PC's in the name of entertaining television. Or do you mean "hardened" like in the example of this user:
http://boycottnovell.com/2009/04/12/windows-vista-7-vista-1-mobile/
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and although it was one of your early "points" I would like to comment now on:
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Quote Clump "Windows has the benefit of many millions of hours of research so that the operating system is easy to fix should a problem arise."
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How many hours do you think have been put into Linux over the years? What about the amount of people involved? Clump are you really saying that the "millions of hours" put into Vista means that all the reporters/users/bloggers complaining about it are telling lies? If you are not then Id suggest the time you allege that was invested was a waste, because in my opinion, the system in which you are describing in your post bares no similarity to the Windows Vista I know.

@Goblin

I wasn't trying to brag. I was trying to emphasize that I have been using Windows since Windows 95 and only one of my computers once, one running Windows 2000 with the IIS installed was ever compromised by malware and that was my own fault because I ignored a warning to patch. Even then, the virus scanner quickly caught the compromise. That's 13 years of Windows use and only one virus once and it wasn't Microsoft's fault, but my own. As far as my credentials, I haven't offered any.

Of the Germans and British military? I've read news reports about online paanagrophy and the military .. it's rampant. I would bet that ActiveX controls and dubious software were run when they should not have been.

Of the young man with the Logitech? He makes a lot of faces doesn't he? Strikes me as odd. And making one's voice sonourous doesn't make one sensible and may even be indicative of an arrogance in his case. But ad hominem aside, Windows 7 is not RTM'd .. it's a work in progress and as such doesn't count. Besides, who knows what he is doing? His point seems a bit dull there, because anyone who's been doing this sort of thing knows already that these companies do not support versions of Windows that Microsoft has labelled Beta. So what is he trying to prove by calling them?

Furthermore, it's an "older" computer as he says. Is he dual-booting? Have files been corrupted by a second, say, Linux installation? Is it infected with malware? Is the equipment failing? There are many possible reasons why a computer bluescreens with no fault being Microsoft's.

I have no idea how many hours have been put into the Linux platform. Many. For sure not as many as Windows.

As for some bloggers: Windows will be used by more bloggers than Linux. As a matter of fact, most bloggers blogging about Windows will have never used Linux on their desktop, while of the ones that have, most of those will have downloaded Ububtu or Fedora and then have quickly gone back to Windows. More bloggers will have used even the tacky OSX than Linux. So Windows will be discussed more by more bloggers just because of the sheer numbers. Linux will hardly be discussed because almost no one uses it on the desktop.

[It's like it almost doesn't exist on the desktop save for a handful of hobbiests. I think they are mostly concentrated in one town in Norway? lol]

And to get back to my point: many of these bloggers like to complain. Naysayers and complainers seem to abound these days and they complain about what is in front of them. Nay nay nay they always say.

But in case one wasn't looking, Windows 7 is getting a very positive reception overall. People tend to like it. Don't wail and gnu-ash your teeth!

@Goblin:
I have to wonder about Clump, he seems to just fit the profile of the next handle of Andre too well.

While he had some semi valid questions about blue-ray, he now becomes the apologetic for Micro$oft, with statements like these:

"I would bet that ActiveX controls and dubious software were run when they should not have been."

(ok, then why is "these" controls enabled by default then, if they are so unsafe?)

"Furthermore, it's an "older" computer as he says. Is he dual-booting? Have files been corrupted by a second, say, Linux installation? Is it infected with malware? Is the equipment failing? There are many possible reasons why a computer bluescreens with no fault being Microsoft's."

(this is the old tactic of lets find any reason to put doubt in peoples minds that the problem was not created by Micro$oft)

and then he says:

"Linux will hardly be discussed because almost no one uses it on the desktop."

(oh really, the figures at net apps is bogus by their own statements, as they mostly only use sites to monitor in the USA. They are also paid by M$ and Apple. The truth is, linux more than likely, has a higher number of users than Mac, if true world wide figures could be found, and not from some site that is shilling for M$. If you don't believe that linux is growing check out the rapid expansions of some of the Linux user forums like Ubuntu and ask them. BTW, even Steve B, the sweaty one, has said that Linux not Mac is their main competition.)
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So Goblin, the cycle starts again, Andre as another apologist for M$. Only I think people are waking up to the fact that M$ software has problems, both in stability, price, freedom, privacy, and malware. Blaming others for Micro$oft code is not working like it used to for the shills, but since they have nothing else, they continue.

Goblin one last point about clumps ramble. When he says we shouldn't judge 7even because its a beta, then near the end of his ramble, he says how great 7even is and how its getting great reviews. Not very consistent is he?

The great reviews, seems like Vista got some of those too before it came out. And he right, 7even is mostly getting good reviews in comparing it with the very bad Vista. So the question is, the Boycott Novell link I asked Joe about, is it correct? Is Micro$oft buying the good reviews? Nobody from eweek or Joe will respond, the silence sounds very much like a "yes" to me. And Joe's promoting of Vista as an OK operating system all this time, leaves a big question in my mind. Now Joe is seemingly jumping on the 7even bandwagon if you noticed. I may be all wrong about Joe, but I would like to hear from Joe and eweek about this, its only fair to give them a chance to respond.

Does Sony still sell that model?

"I have no idea how many hours have been put into the Linux platform. Many. For sure not as many as Windows."

The metric is man-hours, the estimate that I have seen puts the Linux kernel alone at 4,000 man-years. That is only the kernel, there is probably 3 times as much code in userspace. Add in all of the artwork and translations and there is a lot of work there.

You can probably work out the actual man-hours gone into the NT kernel but do not just guess because Windows is made by a large company. Linux is contributed to by many large and small companies. The number of people eligible to contribute code to Open Source is over 1 billion, the number of people that can contribute to Windows is in the thousands.

Look at Encarta vs. Wikipedia. Something which is contributed to freely by the whole world will eventually exceed anything that can be produced in a closed environment, it is inevitable. Open Source programs are translated into many more languages than Microsoft can translate Windows into and the quality of that translation is normally better.

Just to clear something up: I'm not "Andre" nor have ever posted as an "Andre" nor am I his next handle.

Anyway, when someone accuses Microsoft or Windows of being some culprit either explicitly or implicitly .. as this guy does who installed a Logitech .. then yes, I have doubts. Is it really Windows or is it something else? It is usually something else. He said it was an old computer. That right there makes me wonder if an electronic problem has arisen. AFAICT, he has not fully disclosed the setup. He's provide no history of the use of the computer. He has not said if Linux is also installed on it, and so on. I think to doubt the accusation in such cases is relevant, very relevant.

Yes, I joked about the Linux desktop install base. It is less than OSX in N. America, where I live and work. I rarely see it on a desktop. Some say Linux is doing a bit better in poor countries. I doubt it, but 'could be. If it is true, a rise of Linux on the desktop would be something to repine because it would indicate things are going downhill. Leaky roofs, Linux and languish, what a threesome.

But let's not put on any rose coloured glasses, on the ground Linux is on only a small percentage of desktops. It apparently does better on servers, especially web servers. It's these servers that Steve B. was talking about as competition, not desktop installations of Linux.

Linux is not used by the two universities in this city. Instead, their catagloging services use a combination of version of UNIX [Solaris] from Sun and Microsoft Windows.

Client after client of mine use Windows. None use Linux, a few use OSX [by rich doctors and rainbow coalition types]. If everyone is switching to Linux as you seem to be suggesting, I wonder where they are because I haven't seen them.

Let me guess, you make most of your money maintaining Microsoft machines?

No wonder you mostly see Microsoft software, in my experience the other 2 do not need anywhere as much work to keep them running properly.

Quote "I was trying to emphasize that I have been using Windows since Windows 95"
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Why? What purpose did it serve for the post othan than an attempt to legitimize and valid the rest of the text. Ive been using Windows since 3.1, so does that make my opinion more valid than yours? I dont think so. Like I say others here have far better CV's and I only need to cite Philosopher as having one the most impressive ones here.
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Quote "Of the Germans and British military? I've read news reports about online paanagrophy and the military .. it's rampant. "
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You obviously didnt read in detail what exactly happened in regards to the exploit. You can do that it you are interested an comment again.
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Quote "I have no idea how many hours have been put into the Linux platform. Many. For sure not as many as Windows. "
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Youve no idea, but "for sure" not as many as Windows? ok. Thats me convinced.
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Your propaganda post in response to chips ticks all the boxes, mention market share (moot point, I use Linux because its far better a platform than Windows, not because of its popularity)
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Quote "If everyone is switching to Linux as you seem to be suggesting, I wonder where they are because I haven't seen them."
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I could add to this the French police, the UK papers on FOSS etc erc but you already know that, and these type of posts always seem to pop up when the majority of posters here are talking about Linux and FOSS.
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Clump, if as you suggest Linux is on a small number of desktops and mainly in the poorer countries, why on earth is it on almost every single forum in regards to IT people are discussing and championing it. Even on Microsoft Watch the majority of posters (and certainly the regular ones) are all Linux users.
Casts a little doubt on the small percentage claim does it not?
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And Clump, instead of fudging around the issue, why not answer my question/challenge put to you in my post? Are you claiming the problems reported about Vista are lies? its quite simple yes or no.
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Whilst you start calling bloggers "Naysayers and complainers seem to abound these days and they complain about what is in front of them. Nay nay nay they always say."
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I have only nay'd Vista. Are you saying Im wrong? I havent tried 7 because after Vista I have no faith in any beta/pre release code from Microsoft. I think XP is a solid system, and I think Zune is the biggest waste of shareholders money.
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One things for sure, whoever Clump is, they are far better than Andre, at least we can have a discussion and it feels like a human is posting, not a robot.

@Goblin

Again, I was just trying to say it is easily possible to run Windows for years without getting malware if one patches and is careful about downloads. That's all I meant by citing dates.

I don't know why you mention Philosopher's credentials because most of his posts are just plain wrong.

".. Linux because its far better a platform than Windows, not because of its popularity .."

Yeah, Linux is so good they can't give it away.

It must be depressing to be using a system you know no one wants, only a few snob-types use, has no decent games, lacks anything but alpha grade software. It's not even secure. The list of vulnerabilities on a typical distro is as long as my arm and then some. Sad, pathetic really.

Firstly clump, I see you got another post in.
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Quote "Yeah, Linux is so good they can't give it away."
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Well they do give it away and people do use it.
Talking about giving away though, hasnt Microsoft got a piracy problem? So it appears people are happy to take MS products when they are free. I wonder if they would pay?
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Quote "It must be depressing to be using a system you know no one wants"
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Dont be silly.
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Quote "The list of vulnerabilities on a typical distro is as long as my arm and then some. Sad, pathetic really."
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Dont tell lies, we know which is the vulnerable system (check google or ask the armed services in the UK) Even Andre Da Costa wouldnt come out with a comment like that.
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Quote "Sad, pathetic really."
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Never a truer word said in jest.