Misunderstood Features in Microsoft Vista
I’ve been catching this story out of the corner of my eye over the past week or two.
Apparently, an apologetical missive from the mavens at Microsoft on how the most annoying aspects of the we-hope-it’s-soon-to-be-doomed Vista are actually features (that used to be a joke back from the 98 Second Edition days, “It’s not a bug: it’s a feature.”).
Apparently, the article went up on Microsoft’s server and came down again very quickly… just before a lot of cynical yet savvy bloggers could get their pencils out and their teeth sharpened.
That said, I ran across what appears to be a working copy on the Guardian tech blog.
Click here to read that Guardian article.
The Guardian does link to the original Microsoft page but that’s now been removed so all you get is a “Sorry, the page you requested…” Clever chaps over there at Microsoft.
Here’s the opening paragraph:
No one would expect a new OS adoption to be easy, and certainly adopting Windows Vista® across a desktop infrastructure can come with a few challenges—but like many urban myths, perception can quickly depart from reality. In this article, we will look at five features of Windows Vista that are often misunderstood, provide their background and rationale, and present the straight scoop on how to deal with them.
I confess: I don’t know what he’s going on about here, particularly the ‘like many urban myths, perception can quickly depart from reality’ — which is to say, I know it’s English. I know every word in the sentence but just don’t understand it.
Oh crap! I love this:
“With Standard User mode configured across the PC infrastructure, you help ensure intruders are unable to get to the family jewels.”
Ok, it now seems this must be a hoax letter or spoof… a belated April Fool gag… no way they’re talking about protecting your family jewels… no way.
Well, hold on… after reading further:
We‘ve heard some of you say that Windows Vista runs slower than Windows XP on a given PC. So what‘s really happening here? First, we need to avoid comparing apples to oranges—Windows Vista is doing a lot more than Windows XP, and it requires resources to conduct these tasks.
Hum, maybe the author’s not spoofing… he may just be a plonker.
He says, in relation to XP and VISTA, we shouldn’t compare apples to oranges… he’s right, fruit is a much better means of comparing: VISTA is a lemon. many of us still have sour grapes about XP and, apparently Apples are delicious.
Glad I finally read the article though (after it was pulled by Microsoft).
Sean