16 May 08 Microsoft Does It Again

Now, I make no secret that I’m not a Microsoft fan. Not any kind of anti-corporate stance particularly, just that by and large I think their software sucks.

I had to smile a few days ago though. I know it’s a beta version, but I installed a copy of IE8 on a winbox here. I NEVER use IE out of choice, but you have to have a copy of IE on a Windows machine, so I thought OK, I’ll see if it’s any better at W3C compliancy than the previous dismal attempts at such.

By and large, at first glance most pages were displaying ok, but the truth will come when I code a few without the IE hacks in CSS to see what happens.

While I was in there, I thought I’d run MS update, which complains if you try to use a decent browser, such as Firefox.

This was what made me laugh. I got a message telling me that I needed to be using a copy of Internet Explorer IE6 or newer.

Again, I reiterate, I know it’s a beta, but even so I found it somewhat amusing that Microsoft’s own browser wasn’t recognized correctly on it’s own operating system.

Of course, with the advent of more and more online apps,  perhaps Microsoft is slowly losing its relevance in the marketplace anyway?

After all,  a Linux install isn’t particularly geeky these days. Simply insert a CD, and follow the prompts. If you can install Windows, you can install Ubuntu for example.

I can do everything I need to do on a linux box – email, read/write documents, spreadsheets, manipulate images, listen to music, watch video. It’s all free, and more to the point, no stupid activation nonsense, and I can install Linux on most anything I have here. No OEM nonsense either, when a copy of Windows that came with a Dell, won’t install on another machine I’ve built after the old Dell died.

No, personally, I’m not getting excited about Windows 7; Vista was a fiasco; and I wouldn’t miss Microsoft if it disappeared tomorrow.

Tags: advent, beta version, compliancy, decent browser, dell, few days, fiasco, first glance, hacks, ie8, internet explorer, linux box, microsoft fan, music watch, nonsense, own operating system, relevance, spreadsheets, Ubuntu, winbox, windows machine