Windows Vista "casi hecho"

Anda, mira lo que me he encontrado buscando información sobre el
problema de las imágenes. Según Gianfranco Lanci, presidente de Acer,
cuarto ensamblador mundial de pc, Windows Vista está ahora "casi
hecho". [1] Pero cuando salió al mercado estaba incompleto y era
inestable. En el artículo citan además a otros responsables de
compañías tecnológicas que comparten la opinión de Lanci.

De modo que, Sr. Tella, no son sólo los "lloros" de un puñado de
Layers8 ignorantes e histéricos. Resulta que gente más importante, con
más conocimiento y que sale más en Google que usted (aunque
seguramente ellos no se miren tanto el ombligo por eso) opina que
Windows Vista no lo hace todo tan bien como usted cree, o nos quiere
hacer creer.

Empleados de Microsoft que están investigando el asunto (tendrá usted,
Sr. Tella, que demostrar que son simples becarios) ya han admitido que
uno de los tres escenarios en que se manifiesta el problema
corresponde a un bug de Windows. Y la disparidad de configuraciones y
usuarios en los que se da el problema parece indicar, a la espera de
que se solvente definitivamente el tema, que el resto de escenarios
también corresponden a un bug de Windows. En cuyo caso, la afirmación
de que Windows Vista está "casi hecho" debería ser seriamente revisada
a la baja.

Por lo que respecta a su propuesta de solución, Sr. Tella, consistente
en "hacer una reinstalación limpia de Windows" equivale poco menos que
a llevar un coche recién comprado al concesionario a reclamar porque
la manecilla de la puerta se cae y que el mecánico/vendedor (no tengo
clara cual de las dos funciones desempeña usted aquí) aconseje al
cliente desmontar el coche y volver a montarlo, "a ver si ahora no se
cae" y encima por su cuenta y riesgo.

_______________________________

[1] http://www.crn.com/software/210602778

Acer CEO Lanci: Windows Vista Is 'Almost Done'
Last year at Acer's Global Press Conference, Acer President and CEO
Gianfranco Lanci raised eyebrows by claiming that the industry was
'disappointed' with Windows Vista. It was a bold proclamation, but one
with which, at least privately, many other CEOs within the Microsoft
ecosystem likely agreed.

But on Friday at Acer's Global Press Conference 2008 event, Lanci took
a more conciliatory tone when a reporter asked for his opinion of why
Vista has become one of the IT industry's favorite punching bags.

"I think Vista, when it was introduced, wasn't 100 percent ready, and
wasn't very stable. It was a pain point from our point of view. But
now, Vista is quite stable -- it's almost done," said Lanci.

Lanci's comment echoes the prevailing wisdom -- amongst vendors, at
least -- that Vista has reached the point where it's feasible for
companies of all sizes to deploy, despite lingering negative
perceptions that still circle around the OS like a pack of vultures.

But Andy Kretzer, director of sales and marketing at Bold Data
Technology, a Fremont, Calif.-based system builder, says when it comes
to operating system readiness, half-measures simply aren't acceptable.

"When I buy a meal at a restaurant and it comes out 'almost done' I
send it back. If it happens again, I stop going to that restaurant,"
said Kretzer. "Software companies -- and Microsoft in particular --
have been getting away with this for far too long."

Mark Crall, president of Charlotte Tech Care Team, a Microsoft partner
in Charlotte, N.C., says the problem isn't so much that Vista was
released too early, but that the industry wasn't ready for it, from
the standpoint of updating hardware drivers.

"Both users and hardware manufacturers were comfortable and content
with XP SP2. Without pre-release demand by users, I doubt the
manufacturers had much motivation to invest in preparing updated
drivers for hardware compatibility, [which was] the number one
frustration for users after any new operating system launch," Crall
said.

Daniel Duffy, CEO of Valley Network Solutions, a Microsoft Gold
partner in Fresno, Calif., agrees that Vista shouldn't have shipped
until the issues that SP1 fixed had been addressed.

But a bigger issue, in Duffy's view, is Vista's inability to conduct
searches on non-indexed files.

"For non-technical users, it may seem impossible to accomplish a
simple file search. And for experienced users, it's simply a pain to
use since you have to wait for the search to 'fail,' then bring up the
advanced search and select non-indexed items," Duffy said.

Added Duffy: "Something as crucial as file search, and as highly hyped
as this new functionality, should work on day one, without any extra
effort."