On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 11:07:11 +0100, "David W.E. Roberts"
wrote:

[snip]

Are Microsoft developing anything further?
Windows XP seems to be due to be around for quite a while.
Perhaps Microsoft have worked out that the benefits of future developments
are outweighed by the escalating costs.

If you have a 2GHZ PC with 0.5Gb memory and Windows XP that should do you
for most purposes until the hardware fails due to old age.

Don't try Microsoft's FS 2004 on it! ;O)

And given that my old P120 (From around 1995 IIRC) is still running and can
handle Linux (use to run NT4 workstation and server just fine) what is the
benefit in onward development? There must be a vast user base with no plans
to change.

Hmm.. there really are changes afoot at MS, the FS I referred to above
for example; they used to release Flightsim, and then about a year
later they'd update it to fix the bugs, then they'd announce a new one
and so the (more recently) 2 year cycle would go along. However they
have stopped doing the update, which means you got to upgrade to get
bug fixes, or live with the bugs. I'm not sure how I feel about that
proposition to be honest.

Further, they have made a really rather good (in my view) range of
game controllers (sidewinder, which for the most part have been very
well made and nicely designed, the software with them has been a tad
variable from time to time). They also brand good mice and keyboards.
(Well, I like the ones I have had so far, and I'm pretty picky!)
However they have announced that the game controllers are to be
discontinued sadly - I'll miss them myself.

So here we are with OE and for all we know IE being chopped (I
wouldn't be all that surprised), and XP seemingly here for the very
long run.

Sure looks like a shifting of longer term direction to me. Disaster
management?

Take Care,
Gnube
{too thick for linux}