Microsoft Vista - delays can be good news
I hear that the much-vaunted Vista (previously known as Longhorn) is unlikley to ship before next year, at least in a retail form that ordinary folk can buy. While those who derive enjoyment from criticising the Redmond giant will express disappointment, the plain fact is that expectations for this new 0/s are very high indeed and it makes sense to release a retail version only when it is sufficiently stable and properly tested.
As a sofware developer and tester, I 'm bound to point out to members of the public that testing requires a change of approach on the part of the tester. There's never a time when you can be complacent or look smug because testing hasn't revealed flaws in the code - it just means you aren't looking hard enough or digging deep enough. The unpalatable truth is that as an application grows the number of possible routes through it (cyclomatic complexity) increases exponentially to the point where testing every possible route becomes unfeasible.
When designing and implementing new systems (applications) for clients there is usually a specification to conform to and a fairly tight set of requirements to satisfy. Hardware that the new system will use may well be specified by the client or developer BUT when dealing with anything like an operating system, the goalposts are changed because the end-users could be running an array of hardware that presents an almost infinitisimal number of possible permutations.
Another problem inherent with Vista is that it has to be so much more than a 'traditional' operating system. The futuristic vision I had as a kid that would see the a thin TV screen hung on the wall like a picture is here! Microsoft (and others) have sufficient vision to see that consumers will take to integrated entertainment systems (TV, stereo, DVD recorder, PC etc) in a big way. Great! Yet experience with MS Windows XP Media Centre Edition led me to conclude that there was work to do - getting the best hardware together wasn't so important as getting a kit of hardware together that would work .
Vista is much bigger -in both scale and ability- than previous incarnations of Windows. Critics seize upon this size and start muttering about 'bloatware' but this overlooks major changes in computer architecture that have occurred since the last release of Windows. The advent of 64 bit processors, PCI-Express graphics (and SLi/Crossfire configurations) SATA hard drives and most recently, mass availablity of dual core processors.
Love it or hate it, Microsoft is here to stay. Windows will remain the operating system of choice for the vast majority of users. Windows XP (at least in Professional guise) has been vastly supeior to previous operating systems from Microsoft. This fact was brought home to me last week when a site visit to a client's premises reminded me that legacy systems (Windows 98SE platform) were lacking some of the useful facilities I've come to expect and indeed, depend upon. One of my colleagues actually asked me 'Remind me, was it always this tough?'
Vista may be a long time coming but I reckon the wait will be more than justified. Meanwhile, to all those users out there running the Beta 2 version of Vista, do remember you are running an experimental operating system and if you do entrust any valuable data (accounts, photos, your family tree, music etc)to it, please ensure it is backed up properly. Professional software testers regard a succesful test as one that exposes a fault - ordinary users who just have to have the latest and greatest may not be amused.
I hear that the much-vaunted Vista (previously known as Longhorn) is unlikley to ship before next year, at least in a retail form that ordinary folk can buy. While those who derive enjoyment from criticising the Redmond giant will express disappointment, the plain fact is that expectations for this new 0/s are very high indeed and it makes sense to release a retail version only when it is sufficiently stable and properly tested.
As a sofware developer and tester, I 'm bound to point out to members of the public that testing requires a change of approach on the part of the tester. There's never a time when you can be complacent or look smug because testing hasn't revealed flaws in the code - it just means you aren't looking hard enough or digging deep enough. The unpalatable truth is that as an application grows the number of possible routes through it (cyclomatic complexity) increases exponentially to the point where testing every possible route becomes unfeasible.
When designing and implementing new systems (applications) for clients there is usually a specification to conform to and a fairly tight set of requirements to satisfy. Hardware that the new system will use may well be specified by the client or developer BUT when dealing with anything like an operating system, the goalposts are changed because the end-users could be running an array of hardware that presents an almost infinitisimal number of possible permutations.
Another problem inherent with Vista is that it has to be so much more than a 'traditional' operating system. The futuristic vision I had as a kid that would see the a thin TV screen hung on the wall like a picture is here! Microsoft (and others) have sufficient vision to see that consumers will take to integrated entertainment systems (TV, stereo, DVD recorder, PC etc) in a big way. Great! Yet experience with MS Windows XP Media Centre Edition led me to conclude that there was work to do - getting the best hardware together wasn't so important as getting a kit of hardware together that would work .
Vista is much bigger -in both scale and ability- than previous incarnations of Windows. Critics seize upon this size and start muttering about 'bloatware' but this overlooks major changes in computer architecture that have occurred since the last release of Windows. The advent of 64 bit processors, PCI-Express graphics (and SLi/Crossfire configurations) SATA hard drives and most recently, mass availablity of dual core processors.
Love it or hate it, Microsoft is here to stay. Windows will remain the operating system of choice for the vast majority of users. Windows XP (at least in Professional guise) has been vastly supeior to previous operating systems from Microsoft. This fact was brought home to me last week when a site visit to a client's premises reminded me that legacy systems (Windows 98SE platform) were lacking some of the useful facilities I've come to expect and indeed, depend upon. One of my colleagues actually asked me 'Remind me, was it always this tough?'
Vista may be a long time coming but I reckon the wait will be more than justified. Meanwhile, to all those users out there running the Beta 2 version of Vista, do remember you are running an experimental operating system and if you do entrust any valuable data (accounts, photos, your family tree, music etc)to it, please ensure it is backed up properly. Professional software testers regard a succesful test as one that exposes a fault - ordinary users who just have to have the latest and greatest may not be amused.
posted by Bat 21 at 3:31 PM
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