"Reginald P. Smithers III" "Reggie is Here wrote in message
. ..
Eisboch wrote:
wrote in message
...


It is not just Microsoft, adobe is the same way. There are now PDFs
all over the internet that you can't open with a version of the reader
that runs on W98, yet it is still just a picture of a page. Where is
the increased value ... other than making software companies a little
richer.



Hmmmm... With that logic, the automobile industry should have stopped
with
the model "T".

Eisboch


If the actual benefit to the customer didn't improve they should have
kept building model Ts. Probably why they did for 18 years.
Creating a new format that is not backward compatible, simply because
they can is pure greed.


It's also how companies stay in business.

Eisboch

That only is accurate if they make a superior product than the
competition. If MS continues to make a product that the consumer is not
happy with, it opens the door for serious competition.


That wasn't my point. My point was that in order to grow and stay in
business, an established company has to come out with new, better, and
supposedly improved products. If they don't, the company goes flat once
their initial product saturates the market.

Polaroid had a unique marketing scheme to deal with this. They would
introduce a high end instant camera and sell it for big bucks until sales
dropped. Then, they would re-package the same camera in a cheaper housing
and sell it at a lower price. Once that product saturated, it would be
introduced again in a "really" cheap housing, maybe minus a feature or two
and sold at a bargain price.

How much of what you use today with respect to computer software or hardware
is backwards compatible to your first computer?
When was the last time you used a 5-1/4" floppy?

Eisboch

On Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:39:48 -0400, Reginald P. Smithers III wrote:


That only is accurate if they make a superior product than the
competition. If MS continues to make a product that the consumer is not
happy with, it opens the door for serious competition.

They have a long way to go before they will have "serious" competition,
but Apple *is* coming on strong. I'm just disappointed that all this
negative Vista attention, hasn't translated to much of an increase in
Linux use. Linux is still 1-2%, depending on how you measure.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1520

On Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:06:56 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


wrote in message
.. .

It is not just Microsoft, adobe is the same way. There are now PDFs
all over the internet that you can't open with a version of the reader
that runs on W98, yet it is still just a picture of a page. Where is
the increased value ... other than making software companies a little
richer.

Hmmmm... With that logic, the automobile industry should have stopped
with
the model "T".

If the actual benefit to the customer didn't improve they should have
kept building model Ts. Probably why they did for 18 years.
Creating a new format that is not backward compatible, simply because
they can is pure greed.

It's also how companies stay in business.

True and innovation drives success.

However to the larger point, a personal example.

When I first installed Thunderbird, it worked fine - simple to use,
did the job, no messing around with different menus, etc.

One day, Thunderbird upgraded itself - no choice in the matter. And
what was simple and easy, now became a problem. Only one email
account worked. Turns out they changed the way the account data is
entered - what had been done on one entry page, now takes three.

And as far as I can see, there isnt' any reason for it. It's just an
unnecessary complication under the guise of "improvement".

That's the way it is with most software.

wrote:
On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:53:57 -0400, HK wrote:

Usually the "improvement" is meaningless and only done to force
obsolecence of the older OS (like the DOCX file)

If the improvements are "meaningless," then why worry about backwards
compatibility?


Because you don't generate everything you might want to see.
The people on the bleeding edge drag everyone else into the morass
if we want to share data with them.

It is not just Microsoft, adobe is the same way. There are now PDFs
all over the internet that you can't open with a version of the reader
that runs on W98, yet it is still just a picture of a page. Where is
the increased value ... other than making software companies a little
richer.




Well, perhaps the creators of those .PDFs liked the additional features
available with the later editions. FOXIT is a pretty good .PDF reader,
free, contemporary, and it runs on Win 98:

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

wrote:
Well, perhaps the creators of those .PDFs liked the additional features
available with the later editions. FOXIT is a pretty good .PDF reader,
free, contemporary, and it runs on Win 98:

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php


It is more likely that the new version was something the users didn't
really want but it was foisted on them by an IT manager who just wants
the latest thing. I know a lot of people in the worker bee class these
days and none of them understand why Vista is any better than the XP
applications they had. If your mission doesn't change, why should your
software?
When I was in the computer biz, the most successful customers I had
were always several years off of the bleeding edge.


I thought XP offered a lot more stability and useful features in
comparison to 98.

wrote:
On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:47:10 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
"Reggie is Here wrote:

I have been looking at purchasing a new laptop for my son as he starts
his PhD program and another for my daughter as she enters college. When
comparing the cost of a 15" Laptop from Apple to a comparable 15" PC, I
can not justify the cost difference. I looked online to see when was
the last date Windows will be selling the XP version, and noticed that
their is a petition to request MS continue selling XP beyond their
current cut off date of June 30. So far, they have over 100,000 people
to sign the petition.

If you would like the option of buying XP after June30, stop by and sign
their petition, it just might make an impact on MS decision.

http://weblog.infoworld.com/save-xp/



You would have to find a way to send Bill Gates some more money to
impact his decision. That is all the greedy ******* recognizes.
Certainly older operating systems will still run (I am using W/98
here) but he always makes sure his new applications are not backward
compatible so the content you can access shrinks to the point that you
have to upgrade.
Usually the "improvement" is meaningless and only done to force
obsolecence of the older OS (like the DOCX file)

Actually, they are selling Windows XP for a tad more than Vista Basic
and Premium

On Mar 18, 1:33*pm, "Reginald P. Smithers III" "Reggie is Here
wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:47:10 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
"Reggie is Here wrote:

I have been looking at purchasing a new laptop for my son as he starts
his PhD program and another for my daughter as she enters college. When
comparing the cost of a 15" Laptop from Apple to a comparable 15" PC, I
can not justify the cost difference. *I looked online to see when was
the last date Windows will be selling the XP version, and noticed that
their is a petition to request MS continue selling XP beyond their
current cut off date of June 30. *So far, they have over 100,000 people
to sign the petition.

If you would like the option of buying XP after June30, stop by and sign
their petition, it just might make an impact on MS decision.

http://weblog.infoworld.com/save-xp/

You would have to find a way to send Bill Gates some more money to
impact his decision. That is all the greedy ******* recognizes.
Certainly older operating systems will still run (I am using W/98
here) but he always makes sure his new applications are not backward
compatible so the content you can access shrinks to the point that you
have to upgrade.
Usually the "improvement" is meaningless and only done to force
obsolecence of the older OS (like the DOCX file)

Actually, they are selling Windows XP for a tad more than Vista Basic
and Premium- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Well Reggie, I would say that even though MS cut off date is 6/30, the
machines will still be available well into august. I mean, just
because they quit printing them doesn't mean they won't be avalable
for a while.


i think....