[mdlug] Is Vista going to be the new Windows ME?

[Robert Adkins]

Ingles, Raymond wrote:
>> From: Jeff Hanson
>> An ongoing forum thread at CNet brings up an interesting question:
>>     
>
>  Maybe. It's hard to see how Vista could possibly be particularly
> reliable.
>
>  1. The codebase is huge and closed. They already scrapped major parts
> of it and started over. The thing is objectively too large to be manageable.
>   
    I agree.

>  2. The security model is basically patches and repairs on top of a broken
> foundation. They have no real history of security and the applications reflect
> that - they aren't written with separation of privileges in mind. MS can't
> break too many applications so their security model is full of holes and
> cumbersome besides.
>   
    From the RC1 that I played with and a number of articles that I have 
read about this, they have made decent strides towards better security. 
Of course, with the already announced SP1 (Announced about a week before 
the "General" release of the OS no less...) it remains to be seen if 
they actually did make true strides with security.

>  3. Their DRM work is attempting an impossible goal. Not just impractical,
> physically impossible. So it *can't* work, but it *can* be a massive headache
> and inconvenience.
>   
    I completely agree.
>  MS can throw billions at the problem, and they have, but I still think
> they'll be in trouble. Then there's the issues with 64-bit Vista - it's
> Not Ready For Prime Time. If a 64-bit "killer app" appears soon, MS is
> going to be in *major* trouble.
>   
    What could that be?

    A 'killer app' has to something that "Everyone" uses. Would a 64-bit 
web browser somehow be that much better than a 32-bit web browser? How 
about an email client? What about a word processor? Those are things 
everyone uses.

    Could it be video editing? How many people really do that at home?

    I am simply having trouble seeing what the next 'killer app' could 
be. (At least a 'killer app' on the common user's desktop, there's still 
plenty of opportunity for 'killer apss' on the 'net.)

    -Rob