Tater you don't need to hear it from me, but I have to say anyway:Nice job.
You sure laid out the situation and background, for the reader to quickly see/grasp the basic problem.
The insane bloat to satiate the need for more and more "eye-candy-display" is crazy.
It looks like 90% of a programmer's work in the future will be incorporating visual fluf into the app, and trying to get around the ever more insidious UAC side of things.
I did not know 8 would come with Office. Probably more entwined with the OS than ever, in the ways you describe with IE etc.. Microsoft of course will then reduce the chances the user will ever install Open Office.
Your summary on OS install disc sizes describes the bloat well.
Apple always seemed even more controlling to me (and pricey), the opposite of open source thinking.
I never played with Windows 2000. I went from DOS 3.2, to barely seeing Windows 95, then several year hiatus, and then landing on planet XP. Where I still am.
In Windows 7 professional, you can just load up an OS install disk (2000 or XP) in the virtual machine?
Is that the way it works? Do you then have to re-authorize in the usual way? Does it work just as well ? Can you boot up in XP, or do you boot up in 7 then switch to XP virtual?
Hope Win 8 will have a prof ver, with Virtual machine capability......
Wonder if suppliers would consider keeping a line of laptops setup to function with older operating systems, or maybe you will be stuck with putting a desktop together yourself.
The age of small powerfull computers has kept a lot of people all over the world happily occupied with an interesting activity: programming.
I remember when you had to have access to a mainframe punching your cards and adding them to the front end of a stack of 2000 plus IBM cards in the card reader hopper (2000+ = the fortran compiler), and running them through the card reader.
Yrs later, punching your program into a roll of @ 1" wide tape, and submitting your "roll to be run", to the mainframe operators.
Waiting, always waiting to see the results .... hours or the next day so you could start working the bugs out.
How many programmers today would be Sooo interested in programming, that they could be excited and content with this (if this is all there was) !
Most today would bail if they could not write with Delphi, or html with DreamWeaver.... focusing on fast output operating in "high level" mode producing cheap bloat that can be such a headache to work bugs out.
There may be more money, but a lot less craftsmanship (and pride in it).
Tx again for laying it out so well for any readers of this thread that happen by.
.......Ed
I checked out your links. "$99 membership waived first year".....like the pusher that offers the first drugs for free. Get you involved and playing with them.
Their worry will be a world-wide revolt. Many screaming to keep XP around longer, came close to revolt (but not too!).
....And Yes, very similar to Apple, THEM sanctioning your apps etc. and moving towards what ... something worse ?
