A report in today’s New York Times offers an interesting account of Microsoft’s struggle to complete Vista, the long-planned Windows update whose release date was pushed back last week. The article makes a convincing case that Microsoft’s development team is, in some ways, a victim of the company’s success.
Microsoft has maintained a stranglehold on the PC operating system market in part because new versions of Windows take great pains to accommodate software and hardware created for earlier editions of the program. But that emphasis on compatibility has made Windows’ code increasingly byzantine and unwieldy, according to the Times:
"Windows is now so big and onerous because of the size of its code base, the size of its ecosystem and its insistence on compatibility with the legacy hardware and software, that it just slows everything down," observed David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard Business School. "That’s why a company like Apple has such an easier time of innovation."
In the five years that Microsoft programmers have been working on Vista — a period which saw company officials scrap their first attempt at designing the software, then called Longhorn — Apple has released four new versions of its operating system and scooped Microsoft on a number of minor innovations. Apple, the Times writes, is reaping the rewards of operating outside "the massive business ecosystem of Microsoft, with its hundreds of PC makers and thousands of third-party software companies." (The New York Times)
14 Responses to OS, Interrupted
historiann - March 3, 2012 at 11:22 am
I’m not surprised that there’s a Disney ad at the front of the Rush clip. I’m sure there’s a large crosshatch of users of Rush and of the Magic Kingdom. After all, they’re both fantasy worlds catering to the broad prejudices of U.S. Americans.
The thing that struck me most about this clip wasn’t Rush’s calling a young woman a “slut.” That seems par for the course. It was calling her a “co-ed.” This was meant to be dismissive of her too, as she’s not an undergrad but rather a law student, and “co-ed” is a term that’s used to imply that women are on college campuses only provisionally, as interlopers who don’t really belong there, rather than the majority of college students in the U.S.
Finally, I’m pretty sure that *both* Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh use birth control, as neither of them has children.
gayprof - March 3, 2012 at 6:45 pm
I mean, even Ann Coulter uses birth control.
And the world thanks her for it. . .
ladykildew - March 5, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Perhaps Rush’s devoted audience is not sufficiently enlightened to know the definition of “round-heeled” . However, those of us who are not his dupes find it laughable for him to say “OK, she not a slut–she’s round-heeled.” knowing full well that “round-heeled” is a rather outdated slang term for a slut or prostitute. We’re not fooled, Rush. We know a racist, sexist, elitist, hypocritical bigot when we see one, or in this case, hear one. And in your case, hearing is immensely preferable to seeing, but neither is pleasant.
jffoster - March 6, 2012 at 9:14 am
And whom does Ann Coulter ask to pay for her birth control?
Doctor Cleveland - March 6, 2012 at 11:38 am
Ah, you’re thoughtful, TR. What would I have done without seeing this, except be happy?
And of course you’re right … straight men opposed to women having sex seems like a pretty unstable base.
katybrandes - March 6, 2012 at 12:24 pm
John Stewart said it best on The Daily Show, ”To the people who are upset about their hard-earned tax money going to things they don’t like: Welcome to the ——- club. Reimburse me for the Iraq war and oil subsidies and diaphragms are on me!”
cpotter01 - March 6, 2012 at 11:16 pm
She doesn’t have to ask. Good Samaritans leave it in her mailbox.
cpotter01 - March 6, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Maybe Catholic bishops are allowed to vote twice?
Doctor Cleveland - March 7, 2012 at 12:44 am
Or the straight Catholic bishops get to vote 12 times. (Once for each apostle.)
fizmath - March 11, 2012 at 7:30 pm
The Republican Party did not call Sandra Fluke any derogatory names. It was one person, Rush Limbaugh.
Most voters have a multitude of issues to consider and they are unlikely to swtich parties over the funding of birth control, which is a minor footnote in the much bigger picture of healthcare spending.
racmonti - March 12, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Professor,
I thank the good Lord that Anne Coulter uses birth control!!
racmonti - March 12, 2012 at 5:47 pm
Well thanks to the HIPAA law that’s none of our business. Let’s just hope she uses it faithfully and every time.
bickerstaff - March 17, 2012 at 9:07 am
Alright. While Mittens isn’t mentioned here, it will do well to know that ROMNEY OWNS LIMBAUGH and has since 2008 when BAIN CAPITAL purchased CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS (with one partner) in a leveraged buy-out. Mittens pays Rush’s 400-million-dollar salary contract and profits from his lies and that ever-flapping hate hole. Don’t believe me? Look it up yourself–it’s not difficult. Let’s have no more of this nonsense about how Rush doesn’t represent the Republican Party. It goes way beyond that.
bickerstaff - March 17, 2012 at 9:09 am
See my post above and tell me what you think now.