Battling Google, Microsoft Battling Google, Microsoft Changes How It Builds Software

When MS gets ready to launch a new version they start trashing the old version. Wasn't XP a rewrite supposed to fix all the ills of prior version? Notice how carefully they mention that Longhorn comes from the 2003 server base, so as not to hurt the migration from Server 2000 or whatever it is called.

You gotta love it, though.

Not used to serious competition, Microsoft's biggest competitor has always been earlier releases of its own software. It wasn't so hard to say "Well, we know that old stuff is crap now. You'd better move on to the new stuff."

Around the time that Microsoft Office 2000 came out, a serious vulnerability was discovered in the jet database engine shipping with Office 97. Microsoft began strongly advising customers to upgrade.

I don't remember how many weeks passed...6 or 7 at least...before it came to light that the same vulnerability was in Office 2000 and that Microsoft was fully aware of that fact all along.

So the theory is that this is part of a subtle marketing campaign to get people to switch? Maybe... MS is certainly good a marketing.

I may be gullible but I think this is a very negative article about MS. Doesn't this basically say that Gates is kind of washed up as far as vision goes? Out of his realm? Balmer knows nothing. And that the smarter guy, Allchin, will be leaving after Windows ships?

Who are the thousands of engineers coding day in and day out? I've certainly heard that the Microsoft coders were legion but now I'm left wondering what they spend all their time doing? (writing and rewriting the OS with breaks to make "flying pig" presentations, it seems)

Maybe I'm a skeptic, but I've read good books on "writing solid code" with "no bugs" written by Microsoft engineers. So, what's scary about this article is how screwed up and dysfunctional MS has been (... and continues to be?)

Jeez. If I held MS stock, I'd be bailing after reading this in the WSJ.

cubrewer -

I wouldn't go that far. The piece itself certainly has the not-so-subtle marketing fingerprint, but it is interesting to see anything from Microsoft talking so openly about competitors doing so much so much better than they are.

Before, it was sufficient to bad-mouth earlier versions because there was no significant competition. Now they have to get creative.

Yeah. I love this. MS restructures to make better software and ends up with Vista. An 'incomplete' version of the original pie in the sky idea that already required hardware to run 'optimally' which 90% of us will never see for 10 years (when its cheap enough to buy). So, what will the 'full' version with all the bells and whistles require? Maybe a mini Borg cube, complete with a live brain in a jar maybe? lol Heh, I know, the next version will require a Star Trek holodeck and quantum computers. ;)