Your Favorite Software must die

The edition of this PC Magazine’s month is full of phrases with this level of irony against Microsoft’s popularity and specifically for the Windows operating system. I would like to dedicate this post to Nadia Molina, which leaves from PC Magazine, we will miss her mole and her unmistakable voice on the podcast, but we surely know about her through her personal blog.

Turning to the month’s topic, John Dvorak, with a heavy topic “Windows must die” proposes that after 25 years of history, we need to admit that the most popular operating system can not progress more… not in the form as it is happening. Meanwhile, Lance Ulanoff makes a contrast of how have changed other things in 25 years and that a restart of Windows is almost impossible; his theme “More of the same? ¡No!” is conclusive.

And the fact is that Steve Ballmer a few months ago, after the bad taste that caused Windows Vista, dare to say one of the phrases that will make history in the Idiotpedia. He said that if 97% of people use Windows, that was the clearest demonstration that the PC was better than Mac, a tragic way to measure the quality due to the consumption volume. Windows 7 dares to say it’s just a little better than Windows Vista. Epa!

In technology, users do not have much freedom of choice, not if we want the implemented processes are sustainable. It is true that no one put us a knife to buy the more expensive program on the market, but Moore’s law has been responsible of maintaining a monopoly on big commercial brands to kill small initiatives whose market share is insignificant and therefore commercially unsustainable. We see how innovative technologies that give half back to the big brand software are viewed with contempt by the relative fans scarcity, on the contrary, larger companies rather than fight their weaknesses are just looking to saturate different niches mutating its much “absurd way of leading us”.

Here is not so easy to say “for preferences there are different colors,” (Spanish Idiom: ‘para gustos, los colores’ that means there’s a personal option for everyone) because the life cycle of dress fashions although are shorter, are recyclable; something that does not happen in the technological environment. Personally, I prefer to implement these overcrowded brands, because the ease of finding human resources that use it, sales support and warranty that will not die (soon). But I must admit doing it with low-cost solutions would be easier in terms of price, convenience and ease of creating new features. In weighing both sides of the balance between making it more expensive and difficult or making it “uncertainly sustainable”, it is obvious that the first risk is more acceptable than the latter.

In a curious way, PC Magazine’s second part of the publication is uncovered throwing a lot of praise (Spanish idiom: ‘flores’, flattery) to Apple’s computers and applications, which have been doing for a while. We congratulate this act, not only by believing they are right but because in these times, when writing for the majority opinion is a measure of success and to swim against the current requires a value by itself (Spanish Idiom: persé); it is risky (Spanish Idiom: ‘se la juegan’) if we remember that the magazine’s English version disappeared a couple of months ago (in print format).

Anyone who has tried Linux knows that is more efficient than Windows, so he can sing it loudly so as to be heard in heaven instead of criticizing the neighbor’s lawn, even doing this only for its daily 22 visitors. But it’s necessary to be consistent and impartial in this, being careful not to fall into the extreme of constant disbelief and unproductive pessimism. At the end of the road, passion for seeking new ways to do things will build better results and time will give us the reason.

In conclusion I recommend this post as a required exercise in the privacy of the 45 inches that separate us from the monitor; a few minutes to reflect on whether our most used programs in the geospatial world could also walk with the coffin in the back. If the innovations of the last eight years have produced greater effectiveness in massive processes, if new ways of doing things have decreased steps and the need to increase RAM is equivalent to the share of innovation and development occurred in daily routines.

In spite of everything, long life to the King.