joe says what took the company so long to get it reasonably right but then refuses to except what event actually took place to allow microsoft to be able to use the technology that's allowing them to say the kinds of things they say now about their products and plans they couldn't say before. No wonder portuno and dan won't post here anymore, joe chooses to be ignorant.

Life without Windows

A future Ubuntu commercial.

"The future is here now, Ubuntu 9.04. Close the Windows, toss out the fruit. Enjoy the freedom, faster performance, no viruses, no malware, no expensive anti spyware. Thousands of free programs, applications and games. Take back your computer, the revolution is on....Ubuntu 9.04...the future is now!"

Yes, the future is now! Ubuntul 9.04!

And don't forget to change src/nm-device-802-11-wireless.c, line 2318 to resolve your networking issues! Or enter "sudo apt-get install dpkg-dev" in a terminal session to update your wireless config files!

But it's so FAAAST!!!!

This campaign mirrors Windows closely. NO FOCUS! Mixed campaigns with mixed (confusing) messages. Mojave says windows doesn't suck (and introduces brand confusion with "Mojave"). Windows without Walls rings hollow as simple networking is one of Windows BIG shortcomings. And the Seinfeld spot? WHo knows what the message is. RULE ONE OF ADVERTISING: Show benefit to user: Only Windows without Walls comes close, but the copy and images are too much like political advertising and don't show HARD CORE BENEFITS of using Windows. I'll say it again. MS needs ONE PERSON to align the marketing message and the actual company direction. What we're seeing is the equivalent of RIck Waggoner running GM into the ground.

@Mark

LMFAO!!!!

Good one, no kidding... =;o)

Mark :wrote

Yes, the future is now! Ubuntul 9.04!

And don't forget to change src/nm-device-802-11-wireless.c, line 2318 to resolve your networking issues! Or enter "sudo apt-get install dpkg-dev" in a terminal session to update your wireless config files!

But it's so FAAAST!!!!
---------------------------------------------------

Then again, one can happily spend $80 on spyware per year, per computer, or go to the "Geek Squad"
and spend $200 to "fix" their virus plagued machine.

Or spend five minutes at the Ubuntu forums and a simple "cut and paste" into the terminal.

Of course since no computer user has any idea how to "cut and paste" (if needed).

I guess spending huge amounts of money to keep a troubled operating system like Windows working properly is a more logical choice...

Now thats really funny.....lol

Paul Thurrott has been drooling over this new campaign in each of his numerous Windows outlets today.

It's funny (hilarious, even) to hear anyone opine about Microsoft being the "human" company. As if a paragraph of ad copy can erase the last 15 years of Microsoft abuse.

At any rate, below is the conclusion I wrote of Microsoft's "manifesto" (Thurrott's word, not mine) shown in the first picture above:

"What I see is a paragraph of what Thurrott considers “humanity”, mixed in with concepts from Apple’s older ad campaigns, Microsoft’s big numbers, touchy-feely wording, and an admonition to stick with Windows if you want stuff to work together. That’s a weak manifesto, yet strangely enough it defines Microsoft perfectly. Perhaps there’s truth in advertising after all."

isn't that the "bliss" desktop from xp showing through the newly cut out window in the wall?

I suppose my tongue-in-cheek response to the "UBUNTU NOW!!!" admonitions is: sorry, folks, but until one doesn't HAVE TO drop to the command line to get something serious accomplished, Ubuntu (and Linux in general) will not be a fit operating system for 90% (or more) of the users out there.

And netbooks don't count--the presumption is that one will take a netbook, as is, and use it for the pre-configured functionality. As I understand it, some netbooks even have the OS locked down so that it's difficult to add new software. The gains Linux have made in this niche, unfortunately for the OS, aren't very translatable to the market at large.

In the meantime, it's a two-horse race, Windows and OS X. And, I'd put my money on things staying _just about_ the same as they are now. If Apple were to license OS X, then I might accept the argument that OS X's market share will climb _significantly_ past where it is now. Otherwise, I think Apple's limited in their ability to scale in providing the entire Mac ecosystem available to a much larger market.

But, that's pure idle speculation, way beyond where I started in this thread.

One additional thought: when will people accept that once an OS, be it OS X or Linux, gains more market share, it, too, will be attractive to malware writers and will require the same malware software (antivirus, antiphishing, antispyware, etc.) as Windows? For example, I've been reading more and more about how adding antivirus to my Mac _just might_ be a good idea. I'm sure it won't be long, as Apple continue to gain share, before it will be strongly suggested. All it will take is one serious trojan or such, and I'll be spending money on that same sorts of things.

And from the real world...I called my older brother yesterday to chat and he was in the middle of configuring a new laptop with what he described as a Vista "ultimate" upgrade. He was not a happy man and had been working for several hours trying to get wifi up and Outlook to access his email. Oddly the machine had received a thank you email from Microsoft, but it wouldn't send anything he had in his file or receive other incoming email. He joked that the message must have been baked into the software.

I tried to commiserate and told him I couldn't help much with his predicament because I use OS X. He admitted that he was fed up with Windows and that his wife wants to buy a Mac for her next laptop. This is from a guy who sees Michael Dell as his personal hero.

I hate to break this news to you IT drones, but there seem to be legions of people out there who are pissed and looking for an alternative to the Vista kludge. Decry Apple's advertising tactics all you want, but it doesn't matter how much money Microsoft spends to "fix" its image if its products suck. Instead of spending $300M on this bogus ad campaign, maybe Ballmer should fire half his coders as an example to the ones remaining. Shape up the code or ship out.

Mark said:

"One additional thought: when will people accept that once an OS, be it OS X or Linux, gains more market share, it, too, will be attractive to malware writers and will require the same malware software (antivirus, antiphishing, antispyware, etc.) as Windows? For example, I've been reading more and more about how adding antivirus to my Mac _just might_ be a good idea. I'm sure it won't be long, as Apple continue to gain share, before it will be strongly suggested. All it will take is one serious trojan or such, and I'll be spending money on that same sorts of things."

Come on. Out with it. You work for Symantec, don't you?

Probably in marketing, since you clearly don't know the difference between a virus and a trojan and their different attack vectors.

Do a little research on OS architecture so that you can understand *why* Mac OS X is inherently more secure and less prone to viral attacks than Windows. Trojans, of course, are another story entirely.

All I can say about the first one is: "Too much text". No one is going to read it. Makes the whole thing boring.

The second one is a nice metaphor of penguins trekking through Windows until the end when the dive out of Windows into their natural element water (or is that Linux) where they will be much happier.

Not sure about the PC diver about to be eaten by a shark. Would you trust Windows security with your life?

Jeff said:

"I hate to break this news to you IT drones, but there seem to be legions of people out there who are pissed and looking for an alternative to the Vista kludge."

Uhm... not all IT drones are Windows users... in fact, I'd say most *serious* IT drones avoid Windows like the plague that it is. No serious geek would use Windows for real work.

@Mark;

They just don't get the humor and the truth about Linux used by the masses in the not so distant future.

Take Granny Perkins for instance... "Hello, I am Sixty-Four years old, retired, and a second job in Wal-Mart. I love my new Ubuntu PC that I purchased on Lay-away..."

A few days later, "Hello, I am getting...'src/nm-device-802-11-wireless.c, line 2318 to resolve your networking issues' warning, what's that about?

I just want to connect to the Internet using my wifi thingy?"

"You want me to copy and paste what? Where?, and then do what? -- Oh Dear?"

Hey Granny, best get something else a little bit more user friendly, perhaps a MAC, or a PC.

Service Call and On-Site technician; $200.00 to configure a "free operating system."

Opening a computer up and everything just works: Priceless... Just ask Granny Perkins.

cgoblen: My apologies, I wasn't trying to write a technical piece on malware. And if you believe that OS X is fundamentally more secure from viruses than Windows, wonderful. Perhaps you're right, although I'd bet you're wrong. But in any case, I'd easily bet you $10 that you (and I) will be installing malware software on our Macs within the next few years.

That is, if Apple continues gaining market share...

Ralph: And also, "spend five minutes at the Ubuntu forums and a simple "cut and paste" into the terminal"?!? Really?

You must be kidding. Do you really think your average user would be able to search for and find an Ubuntu forum, translate what they find there into an answer to their problem, which they'd have to diagnose in the first place, then find the _right file_ into which they're suppose to cut and paste within the terminal session that they'll have a hard time starting in the first place?

My golly. Anyone with any experience working with the average user (say, 90% of them, if not more) know that this is a ludicrous position to take. Laughable, really.

"Life Without Walls" - Except when Typing "Democracy" Evidently

No amount of advertising hype, that is "pushing" Vista is going to change the facts how Vista hasn't delivered as promised. Just were are them Vista Ultimate extras as promised?

Can the public really expect coming from Microsoft, that by using paid Microsoft employees, there would be an impartial unobtrusive unbiased testimony when financial generating income is at stake? What Microsoft paid employee is going to be able to speak their own free thoughts without being censored by Microsoft?

"Windows users who don't want to be identified with sissy Macs..."

It takes a real man to drive a pink cadillac. How was your experience with it, Joe?

@Mark

"Anyone with any experience working with the average user (say, 90% of them, if not more) know that this is a ludicrous position to take. Laughable, really."

Highly doubtful, and by the way, Granny Perkins really likes her Mac until she gets her Mac "balled" by a virus in the future...

Douglas S. Taylor aka Doctor Doug, the windows ambulance viral cleaner chaser, says......
"Highly doubtful, and by the way, Granny Perkins really likes her Mac until she gets her Mac "balled" by a virus in the future..."

I find it amazing that this individual makes prediction based on the future that he seems to be totally clueless about. Also, Doctor Doug feels safe as anyone can make a prediction about the future without any proof to back up his bogus claims. Doctor Doug, cleans viruses off Windows computers, and as such, is scared that users will migrate to safer operating systems and put him out of business. Cause his low grade SciFi books, are trite, and he better not give up his day job.

Also Doctor Doug says, "Service Call and On-Site technician; $200.00 to configure a "free operating system."....

So now we know the fee that Doug is ripping off his customers to come out and clean out windows viruses off Windows computers. Doug has a vested interest in getting users on the Windows Plantation. And since Doug has a problem with copy and paste with Linux, he most likely has a problem doing much in Windows or as an Author. One has to wonder, if Doug is a MS Employee pretending to be something else, or he is just trying to protect his gravy train.

Mark :

Ralph: And also, "spend five minutes at the Ubuntu forums and a simple "cut and paste" into the terminal"?!? Really?

You must be kidding. Do you really think your average user would be able to search for and find an Ubuntu forum, translate what they find there into an answer to their problem, which they'd have to diagnose in the first place, then find the _right file_ into which they're suppose to cut and paste within the terminal session that they'll have a hard time starting in the first place?

My golly. Anyone with any experience working with the average user (say, 90% of them, if not more) know that this is a ludicrous position to take. Laughable, really.

--------------------------------------------------

How is it then, nearly everyone can cut and paste but when it comes to Linux...its suddenly impossible?

lmao

So people who use Windows can cut and paste jokes, sports scores, stock market quotes and god nearly everything else.... but they can only do it in Windows?

oh..ok

Ludicrous is buying a new computer with a $200 closed source operating system that needs $80 a year to keep running properly. Ludicrous is spending $150 on Office when free options are out there. Ludicrous is having to spend more money on RAM to attempt to make Vista run a bit better. Ludicrous is having to buy a new printer for that new Vista computer because your three year old printer won't run on it...but it will run on Linux....oops

Fact is many companies, countries, government entities, schools are switching to Linux to save from Microsoft's enormous license fees and client access licenses.

Microsoft may command close to 90% now, but from here its all down hill for them. Many governments throughout the E.U. have mandated open source and there ain't enough commercials that Bill and Jerry can do to save a sinking ship.

Vista did a lot for Apple and no doubt Windows 7 will soon follow in its footsteps. by this time next year Apple will have 12 to 15%.

After deleting Vista from my Compaq 756 laptop and replacing it with Ubuntu 8.04, my wireless works better, I use less ram, energy use is better and everything performs much smoother.

Too bad MSFT could not design a OS with the same performance...ah the wonders of "closed source"....

sudo -s

September 20...Software Freedom Day!

Of course Dimdows is so easy to use ... got a problem? Just edit the DWORD key for HKEY_CURRENT_USER\6DE799E8-CA24-4AFD-8C42-C4E3F34F8218 ... no, not HKEY_CURRENT_USER\6DE799E8-CA24-4AFD-8C42-C4E3F34F8219, that one reformats your hard drive! IDIOT!!! Now you'll have to start again!

What do you mean, "What Dimdows Recovery CD?"?!?

@The Hand

"I find it amazing that this individual makes prediction based on the future..."

--------------------------------------------------
Are you that inept? My God, anyone with some certainty can predict that Apple as it grows will become even more of a target with exploits, Trojans, and other forms of malware. I see that Mr. Taylor must of struck a nerve with you for you to mindlessly rant like that.

BTW, I went out to the sites of his, one is on something other than IT stuff, talented for sure, and the other, the PC Doctor, it doesn't say anything about any $200.00 to fix Linux, though I would imagine it does elsewhere.

I've been following the comments, and I think that Taylor and Mark should get together and do a commercial featuring "Granny Perkins" and you as the wanna-be technician. Now that would be very funny indeed.

--------------------------------------------------
For Everyone Else:

I am a diehard Linux User and I love Ubuntu for my own personal use. I've been using Linux of one flavor or another for well over a decade and personally I don't care for Apple at all, and Microsoft is somewhere in the middle.

I have five serious things that I will address that Linux/Ubuntu needs to work on and those who are seriously considering to install it:

1. Applications: Despite what your friends may have told you on IM or chat, compatibility with popular software applications is not great. Sure it is possible to get your copy of Adobe Photoshop CS2 to boot up using Wine, albeit very slowly, but it’s far from perfect. Various options will not work properly - such as utilizing special effects, plugins, inputting text and color tools.

You know, all those powerful tools you need to achieve professional results. The same applies to other productivity software like your expensive copies of Dreamweaver and Fireworks. And don’t get me started on Gimp. It’s a nice free toy for photo manipulation and editing graphics - but it’s about as comparable to Photoshop as is Microsoft Paint.

You also get to miss out on the joys of playing with the updated versions of your favorite software when new versions are released. These updated applications might work later of course using WINE, but you’ll need to wait until some hobbyist programmer has a chance to find a way to get the latest and greatest thing to simply boot up and take home the acclaim of the Open Source community.

And working Windows software in Linux has a whole other meaning to the one you might be expecting (if it boots to the welcome screen, that’s enough for the application to receive “it works in Linux” classification).

Now it is possible to sidestep some of these issues using a Virtual Machine. But since it is claimed Ubuntu is Linux for human beings, not just uber-computing-geeks, virtualization is not a practical option.

There’s also a good chance your copy of XP or Vista is OEM too, and that almost certainly won’t work in a virtualized environment (so you’ll need to buy another expensive license).

So much for FREEdom.

2. The Command Line: Hard-core Linux users love the power of the command line. Tapping out commands such as “./configure –with-options and make and make install” are the essential ingredients to surviving in Linux land.

Unfortunately, Mom and Dad have enough trouble just double clicking the installation icon. They are not going to love you very much when you start asking them to open up a command line terminal and tap out complicated lines of code to install that essential software driver or application.

You won’t like it much either, once you’ve spent several hours at the command line trying to solve some mysterious dependency problems nobody else has apparently encountered before. And because there’s still no standard package management system supported across Linux platforms, chances are you will run into software that is not supplied in .deb (Debian) format (think of .deb as the Ubuntu equivalent to .exe installations in Windows).

Without a Debian file, you’ll need to compile that wonderful software application from source using command line structures.

3. Hardware Support: Very few hardware companies provide certified drivers for Ubuntu or Linux in general.

Even those that do provide something resembling Linux support will still serve up drivers containing pages of documented known bugs and flaws - issues that will never get addressed by the vendor.

So getting your sound card, graphics card, or printer running close to perfectly in Linux is a game of chance and extreme good fortune. Dealing with driver issues in Linux almost always brings you back to reason #2 why switching to Ubuntu is dumb: you’ll need to solve these kinds of issues from the command line. It’s not pretty!

4. DRM or lackof: There are some people in the Open Source community that champion the lack of Digital Rights Management (DRM) support in Linux as one of the best things about their operating system.

After all, these individuals believe strongly in the free exchange of ideas, content and software - nothing locked to any single proprietary device or platform.

Those whose entire livelihoods depends on creating great content and monetizing that content usually have vastly different ideas how their material should be distributed.

Why should you care? Well you’ll probably become more than a little frustrated when you visit a site offering up protected downloads of your favorite TV Shows, Movies, or Musicians, and you cannot access or playback the content you want. If you enjoy live streaming video or music you will also run into issues of this kind more than occasionally.

You should also note your DVDs won’t play out of the box either. You’ll have to Google for instructions how to enable DVD playback in Ubuntu, and Google further for the instructions how to get the menus on your DVD to work correctly too. Constantly Googling for help is all part of the unique Ubuntu experience!

5. Ubuntu just works: Designed to entice the casual home computer user disappointed with his Windows Vista upgrade, to switch over to Ubuntu Linux, this marketing slogan is about as accurate as any of the marketing material you might run into from a large, multinational corporation.

Things that don’t just work include wireless networking, graphics cards, printers, scanners, soundcards, embedded laptop hardware (networking, sound, graphics) and VOIP phones.

Expect to return to the command line to try and solve these problems - when they are solvable. I still have functions on a Dell laptop that was originally shipped with Ubuntu that still do not work correctly - volume control, contrast and the wireless networking requires system reboots every several hours. On one older Samsung laptop, Ubuntu refuses to install at all.

Linux isn't obviously there yet for the masses such as people like "Granny Perkins" and still, that illustration made is both accurate and funny. Maybe that's what's so darn hysterical in the first place.

Hello? Did anyone notice that Mac now has a 10.6 % share? Nice going Vista!

Joe A wrote

1. Sure it is possible to get your copy of Adobe Photoshop CS2 to boot up using Wine,

(Why use photoshop when you can use GIMP...its good enough for most people)

2. Tapping out commands such as “./configure –with-options and make and make install” are the essential ingredients to surviving in Linux land.

(Thats IF you WANT to use the command line. Even then you cut and paste...something that Windows users here find impossible...for some odd reason. As for updates, see that little arrow in the upper right hand corner in Ubuntu? Yes that one click that and your computer will update..oh sorry...thats too complicated...for most people)

3. Hardware Support: Very few hardware companies provide certified drivers for Ubuntu or Linux in general.

So getting your sound card, graphics card, or printer running close to perfectly in Linux is a game of chance and extreme good fortune. Dealing with driver issues in Linux almost always brings you back to reason #2 why switching to Ubuntu is dumb: you’ll need to solve these kinds of issues from the command line. It’s not pretty!

(Its also false, I have tried out any different computers and Linux distributions. Ubuntu will find much more drivers and configure everything. A modern Power Spec computer with 2 GHz speed and 1 GB RAM , I reinstalled Windows XP, it could not find the LAN or the sound card, Ubuntu, Linux Mint and open Suse 11 and Knoppix found them without a problem...what kind of computer are you using????)

4. DRM or lackof:

You should also note your DVDs won’t play out of the box either. You’ll have to Google for instructions how to enable DVD playback in Ubuntu, and Google further for the instructions how to get the menus on your DVD to work correctly too. Constantly Googling for help is all part of the unique Ubuntu experience!

(Yes it is REAL complicated, its called Add/Remove , click it and then click the all option, look for G-Streamers and click that....sorry for making three clicks sooo complicated...I forget...Windows users don't know how to click. Then again just use Linux Mint, everything works out of the box)

5. Ubuntu just works:

Things that don’t just work include wireless
( I have three laptops running Linux and wireless)

networking
(works great on every computer I installed Ubuntu on)

graphics cards, printers, scanners, soundcards, embedded laptop hardware (networking, sound, graphics)

(A three year old printer didn't work with Vista, but worked fine with Ubuntu....)

Linux isn't obviously there yet for the masses such as people like "Granny Perkins" and still, that illustration made is both accurate and funny. Maybe that's what's so darn hysterical in the first place.

(Whats hysterical is that the E.U. has mandated open source and Bill, Steve and Jerry cannot change that. Whole countries have almost gone all open source, France for example. Philippines 20,000 school computers to Linux, Switzerland 9,000 school computers, The City of Munich has gone all Linux, good old LOWES uses Linux in all their computers...must save them millions in license fees. South Africa is looking to save a million or so in licensing fees by going open source. Linux is used by Google, Wall Street and by most Top 500 computer super sites as well as by NASA, the Army and other government agencies here in the U.S.)

"Windows: Life Without Walls"
Who comes up with that stuff?
If I have no walls, where am I going to put the windows?
Better yet: if I don't have walls, I don't NEED windows!

@JoeA, aka Mr. Porn (based on your base link):
Most of your complaints are valid and follow along with most other valid complaints of Linux distributions, including Ubuntu: Compatibility with the Windows world.

Linux and FOSS work with Windows applications nearly infinitely better than Microsoft applications work with Linux and FOSS. This is only a shortcoming of Linux but not of Windows because Windows owns 90% percent of the PC market. And it's hard for the FOSS folks to climb that hill when the King of the Hill is tossing rocks down on them all the way.

But your statement about not being able to play DVDs out of the box is simply FALSE. Using the default Ubuntu repositories and package manager, it is possible to install vlc or xine (xine is nicer with a richly polished Windows-media-caliber interface) and play off-the-shelf DVDs right out of the box.

It's possible to set up Mom and Dad and anyone else with Ubuntu. Yes, I agree that there will be support calls, and getting YouTube and MOV and WMV to play will take some support time. But Windows isn't for Mom and Dad either unless they know someone who will maintain their machine for them and help them get rid of viruses, install hardware that didn't come with their system when they bought it, and so on. No matter where I go, people ask me, "Hey, you know computers..." And then they proceed to ask me about some problem with their Windows PC.

No operating system is perfect. None are idiot proof. None are insurmountable. And none are as good as a vacation with family and friends far away from technology.

JoeA says:
"I am a diehard Linux User and I love Ubuntu for my own personal use. I've been using Linux of one flavor or another for well over a decade and personally I don't care for Apple at all, and Microsoft is somewhere in the middle."..........

Please, spare us the BS, its obvious you are a shill working for Microsoft.

I like it when someone mentions the weaknesses on an operating system, it doesn't matter which one, and someone always comes up with idiot accusations labeling the other that he's a "shill."

I know this is Troll bate, but sam, do you hide in the cellar wearing an aluminum coned hat where anyone that opposes you must be a shill?

Get a life and quit being a troll.

@Ralph :

Quote; "Hello? Did anyone notice that Mac now has a 10.6 % share? Nice going Vista!"
----------------------------------------------------
Ralph, most of you know me, and I think you do as you post here once in awhile. While I am not a Mac user, I am familiar with Mac OS X as one customer let me use his mac computer while they were on vacation for a month.

My experience with Mac OS X is this. I still prefer Linux on a PC. I think Mac computers are too expensive over PC's. I think and am convinced totally, that Mac OS X and Linux both are superior operating systems over the best that Microsoft has ever made, (XP) on the internet. As Windows, including Vista, is riddled with malware if you use if on the internet. Cause I know, I fix them.

Mac is too expensive, but I notice that the price seems to be coming down. Mac's are the only computer that you can run (legally) all three major operating platforms, Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. That appeals to us geeks. And guess what, if you know the basics, the way to clean a windows computer of malware, then chances are, you are a geek. So I hate to say this, but, if the Mac prices keep coming down, my next laptop, might be a Mac. Cause I will never, ever, but into DRM Vista or Seven.

Vista is broken, the thinking behind it at Microsoft is also broken. The thinking is all about what Microsoft wants to control in the marketplace at the expense of the user. Not about how to make the computer work for the user. So far Linux and Mac have not lost that concept.

Let me also say, that I am a long long long time Windows user, and longer time Dos user. I actually liked XP. BUT! Microsoft has know for how long that windows is not secured on the internet from malware and has done very little to fix it. In fact Microsoft tries to profit from the weakness in their operating system and tries to sell you krappy antivirus in the form of Onecare.

At some point, you just got to give up on them and move on. Distrowatch.com it will set you free

People like to harp on others/companies that achieved great success, probably because of jealousy. I used to dislike MS, but now I like them, because they have grown up and doing very good original work, especially with SQLSERVER, .NET, C# etc.
Open source stuff is just stuff, who would put mission critical projects on open source, there is no free lunch, some where down the line you got to pay the piper. I think next version of Windows will be excellent, just wait and see.

@sam

"Please, spare us the BS, its obvious you are a shill working for Microsoft."

What are you, a Troll like BobC suggests? No kidding get a life and get off your parents' computer and get a real job.

Hello? Did anyone notice that Mac now has a 10.6 % share? Nice going Vista! out 98

When I look at the adds I think exactly the same: "If there are no walls I don't need windows!"

When I look at the add with the Penguin I think: "Oh. Debian."

Microsoft is sinking. Not only it produces bad software now, it's advertising gets almost as bad. I can't complain though. The sooner that company sinks the better.

I actually have the T-Shirt from 10 years ago: "In a world without walls, no one needs Windows."

Life without walls? From the company that brought us UAC? From the company that REQUIRES drivers to be signed? From the company that requires users to be connected to the internet to play single-player games? The company that blocks access to "my documents", "my music", and the rest of the logged-in user's documents? The only thing "without walls" about Vista is the worthless firewall!

Since the release of the first Xbox, Microsoft has been trying to kill off the PC platform that is now their competition. There is much more money to be made when you control the software completely.

...I was going to buy an XboX360, but microsoft's current policies are too damaging to customers; I paid nearly $200 for windows and now the same company that sold me windows is preventing software from being sold on the platform. They also keep a 32-bit version around, so the software that does reach PC is almost all poorly coded 32-bit junk that does not take advantage of any processor made in the last five years. They will continue this for Windows 7; and by the time windows 8 comes out, most windows applications will be writen in code 7-8 years out of date. It is clear that this is all done to kill the PC gaming market, so that the XboX will sell more units.

I should point out here, that a life without walls, is a life without windows.

I should point out here, that a life without walls, is a life without windows.

I should point out here, that a life without walls, is a life without windows.

Walls are for security so the message suits the product.