Windows Vista reminded me Windows ME. Windows ME was arguably the single worst operating system Microsoft has ever shipped. I’d have traded you Windows ME for Windows for Workgroups ANY day of the week. The concept of stability was laughable, and if you could get your hands on Windows 98 SE you bolted to your computer to rid yourself of this new “Millennium Edition.” Now Windows 2000 and Windows XP were both great upgrades — a lot of that can be contributed to being built on the NT kernal, but more than anything they weren’t rushed to market or simply lipstick on a pig.

Windows Vista was a 6 year long project that was about the furthest thing from a rushed to market product as you could get. In its numerous different transitions it went from a minor upgrade to XP to a complete overhaul of XP. Unfortunately though, Microsoft missed the boat on this one. Those of us forced to use Vista did it begrudgingly, and seeked any opportunities to rid ourselves of the operating system. Businesses were so against Vista they continued to deploy and purchase new hardware with XP downgrades.

Nobody liked Vista, nobody wanted Vista, and after the fanfare died down everybody dreaded Vista.

It would take Microsoft another two years before they would be able to write the ship: Windows 7.

Compared to Vista, Windows 7 performs much faster. Personally I tested it on VM against hardware running Vista — the VM won. The operating system ran efficiently and with little lag on even the oldest of systems. Unlike Vista, I was actually able to install and utilize Windows 7 on a workstation with a mere 512mb of ram. Sure just about any hardware platform you buy now will have at least 1GB or 2GB of ram, but that’s not the point here. The point is that Microsoft has created a new product that by in large runs faster on older systems than the old product. This is an astounding feat for Microsoft.

Windows 7 also has something Vista lacked — un-obnoxious UAC controls. There was arguably nothing more annoying about Windows Vista than UAC controls. The feature was so annoying and so bad that it couldn’t help but remind you of a overbearing mother who wanted to wrap their child in bubble wrap and foam. There was no good in-between, it was either on or off. Windows 7 took a step in the right direction when they gave users much more effective, and accurate, control over the UAC features.

Businesses are embracing Windows 7 though, even in light of the fact Microsoft has extended the downgrade option to a monumental 2020 making the system around for at least 19 years years. This is a startling contrast to Vista as it was shunned by businesses and customers alike. Windows 7, much like Windows XP is an incredibly stable and powerful workhorse, businesses can embrace it, and jump in with both feet. I’ve been working on getting Windows 7 deployments going, as well as complete migrations to Windows 2008.

Rest assured the differences in stability, usability, and overall user experience is a startling contrast between Vista and Windows 7. I highly recommend anybody that is still gun shy begin to embrace it. It’s here to stay, and was well worth the wait.

I replied with a CLASSIC Apple Switch parody where the guy literally drop kicks the G4. This has been around for years and is arguably the single best Apple Switch parody ever.

For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, Mr. Jobs said that PC’s would be pushed aside in favor of smaller more compact technologies like tablets and smart phones (and in an effort of full disclosure, he was describing the “personal computer” including Apple). His analogy was that of people moving away from Trucks, or large vehicles if you will, in favor of smaller compacts as they moved from rural areas to the metropolitan city.

Though I agree, and have stated before that I think mobile computing is the next big wave, I don’t see it eliminating PC’s, in fact, I think it will grow it.

See the problem with Job’s analogy is that he doesn’t understand his customer, or more specifically he does understand his customer, all 4% of the personal computer market share. A survey done as late as 2009 shows that Americans to this day still want their cake and eat it too. This one highlights that Americans don’t want smaller cars, they just want more fuel efficient cars. Americans, who are the largest consumers in the world, don’t want smaller things, they like big things. Big powerful things.

American’s don’t want smaller more portable TVs, they want big energy space saving TVs. How many people’s houses do you walk into and they brag about their 12inch TV? The largest consumers in the world want it all. They want PC’s and phones. They want an iPhone, and a Laptop. Heck they even want a tablet.

As my father always use to tell me, you can’t change a zebra’s strips. People still want a traditional computer, with a traditional keyboard, and a nice big traditional screen. If they didn’t then Dell and HP wouldn’t make 17 inch screen laptops that weigh next to nothing. Going further, businesses who are among the quickest to adopt and embrace new technologies, are also among the slowest to phase out antiquated technology. I can’t tell you how many NT 4.0 ADP server’s I’ve seen in my career.

Every generation has an evolutionary path. This generation is the entitlement and no-patience generation. That generation is going to lead the mobile revolution with their desire for on demand media all the time. The second problem with this generation is they’re rarely if ever satisfied. They, probably more so than their parents, want it bigger, they want it better, and they want it faster — if they didn’t shows like “My Super Sweet 16″ and “Suzy Orman” wouldn’t exist. People would buy watches they could afford and wouldn’t have to wait till Suzy told them they couldn’t.

So though I agree mobile technology is the future of the industry, I disagree with Jobs that it’s going to eliminate the PC. I think if anything its going to drastically increase the desire for a PC. Take my brother for example. He is by no means a computer aficionado but he thought the iPhone was a cool toy (and it is). After buying the iPhone he ended up buying a new computer for himself. Puzzled I asked why, and he said “This does things my iPhone doesn’t.” It will be impossible to take the entire computing experience and cram it onto a tablet or a smart phone. If they did that then it wouldn’t be something new, it would just be a really small computer — and as we said before, people, specifically Americans, don’t do anything small. They want it bigger, they want it better, and they want it faster.

So I have to agree with the equally narcissistic, but notoriously bad tempered Steve Ballmer on this one. Ballmer addressed job’s assessment of a shrinking PC market and said he saw a growing one — I see that too. I also see a larger piece of the pie going to Apple in the future (sorry Ballmer) that is if Job’s doesn’t drive the company into the ground first (sorry Jobs).

Will see how it all plays out, oh, and not to change the subject, but for those of you cheering that Apple has surpassed Microsoft in market value keep something in mind. Steve Job’s the man is estimated to be about 1/8th of Apples Market value, which means that if he died tomorrow Apple’s value would theoretically lose $25 billion dollars. It’s also worth noting that Enron, Lehman Brothers, and Bear Sterns proved it doesn’t matter how much you’re worth, its about how much you make.

Money isn’t in hardware, its in software. Microsoft proved that theory long ago. If you want to control a market space you either be a pioneer with about 100 mile head-start or License your product to everybody else.

In the smart phone market RIM was the pioneer with about 100 mile head-start. RIM was so far ahead of their competitors in the smart phone market space its taken years for others to catch them — and will take many more to oust them. Apple was a johnny come lately to a crowded party dominated by RIM, Palm and Microsoft. With that said though, nobody can deny they made one heck of an entrance. Apple has certainly hogged most of the attention from Microsoft, and nearly kicked Palm out of the party.

Apple revolutionized and raised the bar for all the competitors. Apple has also controlled every aspect and development of the product. They’re also sticking to Steve Job’s refusal of not licensing their software to other hardware manufacturers. This will likely prove to be a very costly to Apple in the long run — just as it was 25 years ago. Google’s AndroidOS has been eating away at Apple’s coveted market space, and has grown so aggressively that they outpaced Apple to rank number 2 in the US market last quarter. Apple will have a difficult time keeping up with Google since Apple is locked into a 5 year deal with AT&T. Even after the deal, the damage will have already been done. With Android being just as good as iPhone, and not being heavily controlled there will be little incentive for other US Carriers to pick up the iPhone.

If that wasn’t enough bad news for Apple, Verizon is in talks with Google to produce an Android based tablet, and Archos will bring the first Android tablet to market.

The most important thing worth noting here is that Google already built and shipped their own phone, NexusOne, which Verizon and Sprint both nixed from their lineup in favor of the HTC Droid Incredible. Thus showing that the quickest way to control a market space is in fact through licensing.

The iPod is what brought Apple back from the dead. It opened up the world to Apple, iPhone is what turned Apple into the powerhouse it is today. Without the iPhone, Apple is nothing more than a company making MP3 players and overpriced computers.

Will Steve Job’s control freak antics sink Apple once again? It’s far too soon to tell, but no matter what this doesn’t look well for Apple. The glasshouse keeps getting broken windows.

Oracle is incredibly expensive — which would be OK if you got an incredibly great product (which is a different blog all together) — but Larry is taking his same pricing model for software and applying it to hardware. For some reason or another Oracle expects people to pay a premium for Sun Hardware, Sun Products, and Sun Support — why? Just because it comes in a pretty red box now rather than a purple one?

My feeling is Oracle is trying to actually dismantle the Sun as we know it. I think they see the value in Java and will likely keep that exactly as is, but I have a feeling Oracle is trying to actually reduce the market share even further of Sun hardware and try to phase out products like MySQL.

These conclusions are purely speculative, however, It would explain their current actions. Driving up the costs of using MySQL Enterprise and Sun Hardware would reduce the market share even more and eventually make both irrelevant. This would allow Oracle to bring a database product with less features to the same market space — and bundle hardware with their database products — ideal solution for enterprise customers

I’m not entirely sure yet what Oracle is trying to gain from these changes to support and cost increases but one thing is fore sure — customer retention isn’t one of them.

The bigger problem is how do you respond? Steve Jobs has come out in public support and explanation of their practices. As a company this puts Apple in somewhat of a bind. It’s estimated that Steve Jobs is worth about $25Bn or 1/8th of Apple’s total value. We’re not talking about stock or net-worth, we’re talking about assets. If Steve Job is considered an asset, his value to Apple is estimated at $25Bn dollars, or as I said, about 1/8th of Apple’s total market value.

So now what does Apple do? To change or alter their position would not be in alignment with the opinion of the most valuable asset to the company, but to not alter their position can and would likely result in a length legal battle — one which could leave Apple vulnerable.

A DOJ ruling could look similar to US vs MS in which entire divisions are no longer allowed to share any information. That would mean that iTunes or the Apple Store could not collaborate on integration into the iPhone. That could prove to be an incredibly fatal blow to the simplistic and seamless end user experience Apple so covets. That wouldn’t be all though, other platforms would have to be more widely accepted on their platform — thus making the stability of the device questionable – bringing problems faced by Microsoft, RIM, and Google — all leading competitors in the market space.

Since the beginning, Steve Jobs has always been a control freak. His insistence on not allowing Mac OS on any non-apple platform, his dictation of distribution, advertising, and fierce control of Apple’s reselling led to his demise in the 80′s. As my father always said, you can’t change a Zebra’s stripes, and there is no doubt that Jobs is the puppet master behind what are arguably more anti-competitive practices than Microsoft ever practiced. Could Jobs prove to be Apple’s most valuable asset but biggest hindrance at the same time?

Only time will tell, but for now, Apple is in one heck of a pickle.

Previously I blogged about how Apple, aside from blocking the coolest app ever, was in fact probably more of a monopoly than Microsoft ever was (see here).

It looks as though they might in fact get slapped by the US Government. Personally I couldn’t be happier about this rooster coming to crow. Apple’s entire way of life has been built on top of a soap box inside of a glass house. Apple has and always will view themselves as a group of elitist. The irony of course with Apple is not only are they a monopoly, they are in fact more of a monopoly than Microsoft was.

In order to run Apple software you have to buy Apple hardware. If you buy the iPhone, iPod, iTouch, or iPad — the vast majority of their business, you have to use Apple software to communicate with it, and you’re limited to applications Apple sanctions. You’re limited to Apple’s store to buy applications and resources, and you’re restricted to Apple’s software to develop for it.

Going a step further, Apple’s products include everything bundled into it that one needs for basic functionality — something Microsoft was attacked for in their Anti-Trust case.

Apple has manged to fly below the radar sleeping in all day and snubbing the world — but it appears as though their rooster might just be coming to crow.

If not for Ed Roberts, Bill Gates would have likely finished his law degree at Harvard and been a relatively poor dressed mediocre lawyer in greater Boston.

Instead, that electrical engineer in Albuquerque, New Mexico gave the poorly dressed nerdy looking Harvard drop out the start he needed.

Ed Roberts should not just be credited for making the personal computer possible, but, completely changing the technology world today. Had he not, Microsoft would never have come along, and the technology we have today might not otherwise be so widely available. Keep in mind, nobody thought the personal computer was something people would need/want.

As critical of Microsoft’s software as we are, you can’t discredit or dispute the fact that unlike their competitors, Microsoft made theirs as widely and universally accessible as possible.

Ed Roberts made personal computing, and Microsoft a reality. For that, he deserves to be remembered as the man who forever changed the technology world.

Today IE 6 exists out of Microsoft’s own doing. Including IE 6 into Windows XP was a smart business decision on their part. Especially since the average computer user at the time at best had limited knowledge of the Internet, little desire to learn more, and no patience to scour for installing a web browser. The anxiety of wanting to use the internet as quickly as possible superseded everything else.

The other thing Windows XP lacked was real encouragement to run Windows Updates. I remember a time before Windows XP when nobody ran Windows updates. They were viewed down upon generally breaking more than they fixed. It wouldn’t be till Windows ME and 98 were a thing of the past that updates would widely grow as necessities. The significant increase in viruses and spyware and lacking of good virus scanners had a lot to do with it too.

IE 6 was still the browser of standard though until IE 7 came out. A lot of people didn’t like IE 7 nearly as much as IE 6, and by this point a vast majority of computer users were much savvier and downloaded alternative browsers. Personally I switched to Firefox at version 2.0. I used both in the early days, but made a full transition at version 2.0 and haven’t looked back.

Well it was this same business decision Microsoft is now probably regretting. At the time it was widely expected that everybody would migrate to the next version of Windows and eventually IE 6 would meet the same fate as others before it ride quietly into the sunset. The only thing nobody anticipated was that Windows Vista – Microsoft’s operating system that took over 6 years to develop – was a flop. Most IT managers stayed the course with Windows XP, and when they could, home users opted for XP over Vista.

Computer manufactures were shipping Windows XP with SP3, but, IE 6 was still stuck in there. Manufactures weren’t upgrading the computers to IE 7 so droves of computers were (and still are) being shipped with the infamous IE 6.

Hopefully that will change in the coming months as Windows 7 was met with a much warmer reception. Businesses are now planning for Windows 7 roll-outs and aren’t as gun shy as they were to Vista.

With IE 6 still controlling an estimated 16% of the browser market it is hard to ignore it. Some say its small, but Apple’s market share of computer sales is smaller than that and we don’t ignore them. A lot of companies dismiss the old but not dead platform. It’s certainly very frustrating for web and application developers as they have to make something compatible with 9 year old technology. Keep mind 9 years old is like 90 years old in computer years.

Had Windows Vista been met with a warmer and more widely accepted reception, IE 6 would have likely died peacefully of old age. Unfortunately it didn’t, and until Windows XP is eradicated it will live to fight on.

Truthfully I don’t see the point of the iPad let alone one covered in diamonds. What is even more troubling to me is they wouldn’t make it if there wasn’t a demand for it. Though I’ll never grasp the gold plated mac book, or the diamond studded iPhone at least I can see the novelty in it – this I don’t see at all.

Let’s talk about that too though; what is the point of the iPad? Somebody asked me what I thought of it, and I told them if Zack Morris had an iPhone on Saved by the Bell it would be the size of the iPad. The argument is it’s the device in between a laptop and an iPhone.

Now, I don’t have an iPhone, never cared much for it, but it’s a useful tool. It’s a smart phone, and a rather good one at that, even revolutionary. I have a laptop, most of us do nowadays, and it does everything my smart phone doesn’t. Thus leaving me to ask WHY do I need an iPad? To me the iPad looks like a glorified e-reader or something similar to that. Sort of reminds me of those gizmos In-N-Out uses to take your order to avoid using the intercom.

The really shocking part, or not, is that Apple has pre-sold hundreds of thousands of these things. Again, why? My feeling is a lot of these people are cult followers who will literally buy everything Apple makes. Apple could make calculator watches and these people would wait outside the store for 3 days in the pouring rain just to be featured on the Today show and be the first one to get one.

News Anchor: “So you just waited in line for 3 days to get the first calculator watch produced by Apple, how do you feel?”

Apple Fan: “No I haven’t, but I played with the demo in the store for 13 seconds immediately after buying the very first one ever sold in this store, and it’s just, ya, it’s amazing. It’s entirely in Latin though, you know Apple, thinking different”

The iPad might change the e-reader business, but I hardly think it will make the impact that the iPhone and iPod respectively made. These were both revolutionary devices that before they even shipped, you knew you wanted. The iPad isn’t that. You have to give credit where credit is due though…Apple has one heck of a propaganda machine and marketing down to a science.

Digressing, the Diamond iPad DEFINITELY makes the “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should” segment.