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From: WindowManager@bdcimail.com
Sent: Monday, October 08, 2001 12:25 PM
To: wwimberly@iadt.edu
Subject: BRIAN LIVINGSTON: “Window Manager” from InfoWorld.com, Monday,
October 8, 2001
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BRIAN LIVINGSTON: “Window Manager” InfoWorld.com
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Monday, October 8, 2001
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THERE’LL BE NO XP FOR ME
Posted October 5, 2001 01:01 PM Pacific Time
MANY READERS have written me with the question, “Faced
with the choice of Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, and
now XP, which operating system is the best one to
standardize on?”
After looking at the changes Microsoft has made in its
forthcoming Windows XP, I’m recommending that most
companies and individuals avoid it. I won’t be adding
to my line of books a Windows XP Secrets (although
someone else will inevitably write a work with that
title, and if it’s good I’ll recommend it). Instead,
I’m planning to keep Windows 2000 running on my office
network indefinitely.
The following are some of the reasons that XP feels to
me like a downgrade rather than an upgrade.
* You need a Passport. Despite the severe security
weaknesses of Microsoft’s Passport authentication
system (see www.avirubin.com/passport.html for an AT&T
Labs analysis), XP repeatedly requests the user’s
e-mail address and password to create a Passport
e-commerce account. And Microsoft made Passport a
requirement to use Windows Messenger and other features.
* Spam I am. The Passport agreement, which you accept
when you click OK, permits Microsoft and its partners
to send you an unlimited number of commercial e-mail
messages. Furthermore, you can’t rescind Microsoft’s
permission to use your e-mail address. You must
unsubscribe from every partner’s e-mail list
individually. One marketing study found that many
well-known companies won’t take you off their e-mail
lists even after several requests (see brianlivingston.com/011008).
* We don’t need no stinkin’ contract. The same
agreement says that Microsoft can change the
contract’s terms at any time, merely by editing a Web
page. Every time you use Passport, you’re supposed to
reread this page to see if you detect any changes.
Right. I predict that one day the contract will read,
“If you use Passport after the 1st of next month, a
$4.95-per-month charge will be placed on the credit
card number you registered.”
* Weak Java. Instead of including the latest version of
Java support, as a recent Sun-Microsoft lawsuit
settlement would suggest, XP will default to a
4-year-old version. Users can get a new Java download,
but its 5MB size will discourage many.
* No plug-ins. Internet Explorer loses support for all
Netscape-style plug-ins, including embedded QuickTime
clips (unless you download a kludge from Apple). New
users surfing the Web under XP will undoubtedly run
into sites that IE will no longer handle properly.
I haven’t even gotten to XP’s Product Activation
scheme. I’ll discuss this in a future column.
What all these new XP “features” have in common is that
they make Windows more convenient for Microsoft but
less convenient for users. I think I’ll stick with
Windows 2000 for a few more years. And after that?
Stay tuned.
Brian Livingston’s latest book is Windows Me Secrets.
Send tips to tips@brianlivingston.com. Go to
http://www.iwsubscribe.com/newsletters to get Window
Manager and E-Business Secrets free each week via e-mail.
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MORE WINDOW MANAGER
For a complete archive of his InfoWorld columns visit
http://www2.infoworld.com/cgi/component/columnarchive.wbs?column=window
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Copyright 2001 InfoWorld Media Group Inc.
This message was sent to: wwimberly@iadt.edu
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