April 28th, 2005
Slashdot Declares Longhorn OS a Disappointment
Oh my…looks like the long-awaited Longhorn isn’t winning them over at my favorite conference, the Windows Hardware Engineering conference (or “WinHec” as it’s affectionately called.) And right on the day Apple’s Tiger OS launched too. Here’s the word from /.
“Longhorn beta 5048 was released a day before the start of WinHEC 2005, suggestive of the fact that it is not terribly impressive. Paul Thurrott (a Windows writer whose previously reported review of Mac OS X Tiger was updated after user feedback) confirmed this today in day two of his blog from WinHEC. Microsoft needed something big to kill the hype of competitors, but screenshots show minor visual updates from the last beta, and to quote Thurrot: ‘This has the makings of a train wreck.’” Source: Slashdot via ehomeupgrade
It’s interesting to note that Microsoft pulled the screenshot gallery. And from I see in the one screen I could find, the new look is pretty ho hum.
UPDATE
Chris Perillo of Lockergnome, has weighed in and he is no Longhorn fan now either:
“Even as I’m watching the 2005 WinHEC keynote right now , I’m screaming at my screen! The demonstration was faaaaaar from impressive, and left me NOT wanting more - but wanting to walk away altogether. Instead of watching with awe and wonder, I’m watching with a very confused look on my face. My brow is furrowed, and my fingers are slamming against the keys of my keyboard at this very moment… I’m growing increasingly impatient.
“Remember, I consider myself a power user - I’m not a developer.
“Arvind Mishra gave a high-level overview of some new features in the OS. First, he shows off a new way of launching Solitaire… yeah, it looked just as great as it did in Windows 3.1. Arvind continues with a joke about the dog in Windows Search no longer being there - and I couldn’t hear a single laugh coming from the audience. Why? Because it wasn’t funny when the pooch was foisted upon us in XP. Then, Arvind runs through the new Desktop search feature… which is nothing new to me, as I’ve been happy for months with something already far more elegant. In the “new” Explorer, the thumbnail options are just as ghastly as they have been in previous versions of Windows (what if I don’t want to have all my icons enlarged at the same time?). Oh, and I believe the thumbnail image representing folders (or their new paradigm, stacks) really needs to be redone. But I feel that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “
jason says:
I’m a multi-decade Windows user, and I have to say that the Longhorn images (my fiancee calls it Foghorn) look like a boring WinXP skin.
The jump from 3.1 to 95 was massive. From 98 to XP was eXtraordinary. But the XP to Leghorn jump seems weak. Is there a no-BS list of major enhancements that will instill confidence that the new OS will really be as strong as the hype?
April 28th, 2005 at 1:11 pm
Alice says:
I agree. I thought the jump to Longhorn would be like the Tiger platform - really visual, lots of new stuff. This really does look like a skin and the same old XP. Let me dig around and see if I can find a non-hype list of what is actually under the hood.
April 28th, 2005 at 1:13 pm
Justin says:
“I thought the jump to Longhorn would be like the Tiger platform - really visual, lots of new stuff.”
And the really sad part is that it took Apple about a year to go from Panther to Tiger, how long ago did XP come out?
Microsoft is eventually going to be forced to up their R&D to keep up with the rest of the industry. Of course that won’t be for a long time, they can glide on their current marketshare for quite a few more years before they will have to actually show some progress to keep their customers.
April 28th, 2005 at 5:27 pm
Ed3 says:
Ooooh, interface is a big letdown. Big whoop… When are the reviewers going to turn off the Telly Tubby interface (aka the default green field and candy buttons interface in XP) and try to get some real work done? Him and hawing over the barely rehashed interface does little for us. The candy button GUI is there for the newbies, little more.
Go into classic mode (if it’s still there, and for the love of everything that is good I hope it is), and tell us about new right-click menu options you find. How about command line tools?? Are promised security holes plugged?? New version of Internet Exploder with tabs and profiles and builtin popup blocker?? Revamped version of MS Firewall with per-application rules (ZoneAlarm would LOVE that)?? How about the filesystem?? Can it still be defragged?? How about interaction with current software?? How about new activation procedures (if they are in place yet)??
Then again, it’s only day two…
April 28th, 2005 at 7:39 pm
Alice says:
Get me a copy and I will dissect it like you have never seen.
April 28th, 2005 at 9:49 pm
Bob says:
Let’s see…there’s a start button…my documents….notepad…my pictures….control panel…windows explorer…who wouldn’t pony up another $200-$300 for that kind of innovation?
April 29th, 2005 at 2:33 pm
Don Olsen says:
Saying that ‘Slashdot Declares Longhorn OS a Disappointment’ is not much of a headline. That’s like reporting that Bill Gates thinks Longhorn is great.
Any disappointment in new Windows releases should be expected at this point. What more can you really do that will impress anybody, given that MS get sued everytime they try to add something beyond any basic functionality.
Visual enhancements are pretty cool, but most people really don’t want to pay for them.
May 2nd, 2005 at 10:02 am
Robert says:
You know that Slashdot is owned by VA Linux?
In other news, the Iraqi Minister for Information declares that Hussein’s forces are winning against the USA.
May 6th, 2005 at 7:36 pm
Rick Smith says:
Give me a break guys! Slashdot.org is THE biggest Linux homer/anti-Microsoft site on the net! They are the VERY LAST source I would go to for accurate, unbiased information about a Microsoft project. What’s the deal? Are you really MS haters or something? Come out of the closet and admit it if you are. Let’s be honest here!
Rick
May 6th, 2005 at 9:30 pm
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