/Rant
Change for the sake of change.
This represents a huge loss of productivity in the workforce every few years that I'm surprised the corporate world hasn't squawked about. They just seem to blindly accept it as 'progress'.
MS (and others) renames things, puts them in different places on their menus when there's really not a lot of change in functionality and calls it a 'new and improved' version.
Most geeks (I'm one but am tired of all the unnecessary 'learning') can't wait to get the latest and greatest so they can spend a couple months (or more) finding out how to access what they already knew. In other words, they have to learn where its been hidden in the new version and with new fancy graphics.
Think of the real productivity that could have been realized during that time.
Take user level operating system alone: Microsoft Windows 3.0, 95, 98 2nd edition, ME, XP, Vista.
They all have a different way of getting to the same basic things for network setup, user controls, etc. They name, sort and categorize THE SAME THINGS differently in each version.
With XP they started going to iterations of versions (basic, pro, ultimate) which have differences in basic configuration and functionality between them.
Gratuitous change. Its maddening.
/Rant off
It's an unwritten law always respected so far: Microsoft alternates a crappy OS with a good one.
MS.DOS (all versions): Good
Windows 3.0: bad
Windows 3.1 good
Windows 95: bad
Windows 98: good
Windows ME: VERY VERY bad
Windows XP :good
Windows VISTA: bad
Windows 7: good
Windows 8: bad
thus...
Next OS: good!
To complete the view, history about network oriented OS's has been better:
Windows for Workgroup: so so
Windows NT: good
Windows 2000: good
Windows XP: good
I like Windows 7 and will be sticking there for the foreseeable future......or until Windows 9 comes out.
It's an unwritten law always respected so far: Microsoft alternates a crappy OS with a good one.
MS.DOS (all versions): Good
Windows 3.0: bad
Windows 3.1 good
Windows 95: bad
Windows 98: good
Windows ME: bad
Windows XP :good
Windows VISTA: bad
Windows 7: good
Windows 8: bad
thus...
Next OS: good!
To complete the view, history about network oriented OS's has been better:
Windows for Workgroup: so so
Windows NT: good
Windows 2000: good
Windows XP: good
Give Microsoft credit......GREAT Strategic Marketing. Get a bunch of crap out in the field and then sell the corrected product to all that bought the junk.Sounds like fedgov. Create a crisis then provide the cure.