Torvalds: Windows Vista 'Overhyped' (Updated)

The article...

With the imminent release of Windows Vista to consumers this month, Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, has claimed Microsoft's latest desktop effort is over-hyped and not a revolutionary advancement. "I don't actually think that something like Vista will change how people work that much," Torvalds told Computerworld. "I think it, to some degree, has been over-hyped as being something completely new and I don't actually think it is."

Update:
Novell has begun a new element of a years-long effort to coax people away from Windows and toward Linux. It unveiled a Web site Friday that touts purported advantages that Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 has over Windows Vista. The site includes a white paper making the case, a variety of customers who have opted to use the software, and a video arguing that SLED has good usability and a built-in office suite but not Windows' lock-in and high licensing costs.

"With the imminent release of Windows Vista to consumers this month, Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, has claimed Microsoft's latest desktop effort is over-hyped and not a revolutionary advancement. "I don't actually think that something like Vista will change how people work that much," Torvalds told Computerworld. "I think it, to some degree, has been over-hyped as being something completely new and I don't actually think it is.""

Anyone really expect him to say anything else?  Most people could have guessed what he would say before he said it. That is so weak.  Using that logic, an F-22 Raptor is not new either.  It still has wings, a turbine, and wheels so it surely can't be any better then an F-14.

"..customers who have opted to use the software, and a video arguing that SLED has good usability and a built-in office suite but not Windows' lock-in and high licensing costs. "

So for them, a lock-in to SLED is somehow better?  Yeh, better for them.  I never understand that kind of logic.  I guess because it is not logic, it is marketing so take a large dose of salt.

LarryOsterman wrote:


Yeah, lots of things have been overhyped.  The iPhone, Zune, the PS3, the WII, the XBox360, Halo3.  It's the nature of the business.

Raghavendra_Mudugal wrote:

With the imminent release of Windows Vista to consumers this month, Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, has claimed Microsoft's latest desktop effort is over-hyped and not a revolutionary advancement. "I don't actually think that something like Vista will change how people work that much," Torvalds told Computerworld. "I think it, to some degree, has been over-hyped as being something completely new and I don't actually think it is."

Did you guys expect Linus to praise Vista?

Its the same sort of reaction Ballmar expressed about the iPhone.

cescotto wrote:



Raghavendra_Mudugal wrote: With the imminent release of Windows Vista to consumers this month, Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, has claimed Microsoft's latest desktop effort is over-hyped and not a revolutionary advancement. "I don't actually think that something like Vista will change how people work that much," Torvalds told Computerworld. "I think it, to some degree, has been over-hyped as being something completely new and I don't actually think it is."

Could somebody please ask Torvalds which "Year Of The Desktop Linux" is this?

Xaero_Vincent wrote:



Did you guys expect Linus to praise Vista?

Its the same sort of reaction Ballmar expressed about the iPhone.

Another_Darren wrote:



cescotto wrote:  Raghavendra_Mudugal wrote: With the imminent release of Windows Vista to consumers this month, Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, has claimed Microsoft's latest desktop effort is over-hyped and not a revolutionary advancement. "I don't actually think that something like Vista will change how people work that much," Torvalds told Computerworld. "I think it, to some degree, has been over-hyped as being something completely new and I don't actually think it is." Could somebody please ask Torvalds which "Year Of The Desktop Linux" is this?

You sound like a broken record.

Another_Darren wrote:



Xaero_Vincent wrote:  Did you guys expect Linus to praise Vista? Its the same sort of reaction Ballmar expressed about the iPhone.

Yes but if Ballmer slags off Apple that's constructive critism, but if someone slags of MS then the are a <insert OS> zealot.  That seems to be the nature of C9 lately, rather than discuss the merits of what Linus said we get ....

"Could somebody please ask Torvalds which "Year Of The Desktop Linux" is this?"

Wow, argument over.

Another_Darren wrote:



cescotto wrote:  Raghavendra_Mudugal wrote: With the imminent release of Windows Vista to consumers this month, Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, has claimed Microsoft's latest desktop effort is over-hyped and not a revolutionary advancement. "I don't actually think that something like Vista will change how people work that much," Torvalds told Computerworld. "I think it, to some degree, has been over-hyped as being something completely new and I don't actually think it is." Could somebody please ask Torvalds which "Year Of The Desktop Linux" is this?

You sound like a broken record.

I contend that people live in the applications and not the O/S. So, Vista is only slightly better than XP SP2. Not until WPF apps are common place that Vista's impact will be felt.

I'm going back on my opinion that MS should be selling Vista for $30 a pop. There's still the hardware issue that may cause MS big $$$ if people "upgrade" to Vista.

Now, I think that MS should be selling the Expression suite for $30 a pop instead.

TimP wrote:



I have to agree. The people who keep bringing up the "Year of the Desktop" as some sort of potshot against Linux are almost as bad as the people who use "M$" or the people who constantly complain about BSODs. I don't think Linus has ever claimed that a particular year is the year of the Linux desktop. Just like Bill Gates never actually said 640KB is enough for anyone, even though a lot of people think he did.

cescotto wrote:


Oh by the way, even Torvalds seems like a broken record.

He repeated the usual "Linux facts":

- "One of the things we will probably notice is the hardware requirements for Vista are obviously much higher, and that could end up helping Linux just because people notice that you can run Linux on machines and have it work very well even if that same machine couldn't run Vista at all," -> people will switch to linux because vista requires more powerful hardware

- "People know what they want to do with their desktop, you want to have your word processor, you want to have some eye candy and 3D graphical stuff." -> the usual XGL/AIXGL+Compiz/Beryl advertizing

Oh yeah, things we never heard of before.

Another_Darren wrote:


You keep repeating your usual facts as well, browser stats that is.

Another_Darren wrote:


- He could be right, it's one of the reasons behind the Indian states moving to Linux as they cannot afford the h/w required for Vista and MS won't support XP for ever. It's a valid point.

Another_Darren wrote:


- The linux desktops and X windows support is moving fast now, Linux has proven itself in the server market that even MS has reacted by joining with Novell to support Linux.

Another_Darren wrote:


At least he points out reasons for Linux making headway in the market share rather than shows graphs of browser stats or question when the "year of the desktop is". 

Another_Darren wrote:


When was Microsofts year of the desktop?  Because the more Linux installations the further we move away from it, get it?  There is no year of the desktop, just competition and users.

No I'm just not sure where he gets off saying its overhyped.

Vista is being marketed like every single release of Windows is marketed, its being done heavier than XP because they have to make up for all of the Longhorn hype and also compete with Apple.

Most people on message boards and in the press however are either saying things like Vista is no big deal, or its an XP SP3, which underhype it.

Then, there are a few things in Vista, that were being designed for the Longhorn project, which deserve hype. WinFX does have the potential to be revolutionary, by whatever standards Linus has.

Microsoft is also working with computer manufacturers more than they did in the past, and you'll see desktops designed to work well with Vista functionally and aesthetically, and this is a step forward also.

I found that pretty much nobody has a clue what Vista is.
We're geeks posting stuff on an MSDN online forum. WE know what Vista is but you have to realize that the average user (I deal with them every day) often don't even know what OS they're using.

We all know that it takes a long time for all the software and hardware/drivers to catch up after a new version on Windows comes out, sometimes years, so there's no reason to hype anything until then.

When more WPF apps and DX10 games come out the general public will want to use Vista andmost of them will probably have heard about it by then.