Present and Future of Windows Vista

I just read an interesting article that I linked from OSNews. It's a very interesting read about Vista from someone who own a Microsoft Review site. Quote:

"The company itself [Microsoft] has turned into that thing it most hated (read: IBM), an endlessly complex hierarchy of semi-autonomous middle managers and vice presidents of various levels and titles, many of whom can't seem to make even the smallest of decisions. The company is too big and too slow to ship updates to its biggest products. It's collapsing under its own weight. "

And I think he hits the nail on the head about why I dislike (not actualy hate) Microsoft for the same reason that I dislike the old IBM: It's an 800 pound gorilla that can't move because of its own weight. The right hand doesn't talk to the left hand because that can't see each other.

I certainly hope that the past 5 years eXPerience with security and the long delays around Vista will change the company for the better.

Where is the problem?

I take the bus and/or the subway to work everyday, and I see a lot of people. Most of the time, other passengers just wait silently for the correct stop. And since most of them now have some sort of music player, so it's a smooth and quiet ride. But the behavior of some really bothers me. And it's not just on the bus, but also at work, and everywhere I go: People act really stupid and blame others for it.

I witnessed a perfect example this morning. Usually, you get on the bus by entering the front door, and getting out the back door (so you don't bother those comming in). For a couple of years now, the new bus have motions detectors to open these door, and it's written on the door "Motion detector". I see all sort of behavior on 'how to open the door'. Some of the individuals who can't open the door simply try to push it, and by pushing hard enough eventually the motion detector see motions and opens the door. Others try to put their hand on the door, as if it had a 'hand is on the door' detector. Others think that the bus driver is supposed to open theses door and just wait in front of them. Of course, if they can't manage to open the door in time, they then proceed to shout when the bus tries to live without them getting out, and finally blame the bus driver for their own inability to open a door.

I see this everyday at least once and I am always reminded of a study that proved that being ignorant usually meant that you lacked not only the skilled themsleves, but also the habilities to see that you lacked these skills, and thus never improved. People assume they have the right idea, that they are right. A sort of misplaced confidence. (original paper here )

We see that a lot on the internet, where everyone can simply claim that their are an expert on any subject. I could aloborate, but i'll keep this for a future post.

But on the idea of the bus door, where exactly is the problem? Is it really because the individuals can't be bothered to read what's in front of them and come up with a logical reasoning on how to open an advance door? Or is it because the door is well designed? So who is to blame?

Both.

Think about it. You shouldn't have to think about it. After all, isnt it just a door? But since people can't see that their are doing wrong they are also partialy to blame...

The solution: There is none. There is a saying that goes:

"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning"

And it applied on the bus example. You just have to design so that most people can use your product/application/door/whatever and to have to think about it. There will always be one idiot who can't use it. Let the rest enjoy it.

And i'm sure I am to blame on some subject... I just can't see which one... A sort of misplaced confidence...

MMORPGs

I have always looked away from MMORPG. While I do find them interesting on a sociological and/or academics aspect, they are almost always presented on the same level as addictive drugs.

But then, if they are so bad, why are they so popular? What drives people to play these games?

From a developer stand point, it makes a lot of sense:

• It's a constant revenue stream. You don't provide a 'product' anymore but a 'service': access to the virtual world.
• You don't have to spend much time on A.I. : you can simply make players competes against each others.
• The world is dynamic by itself: you don't have to 'pretend' a lot of traffic, exchange, price fluctuation ,etc.
• Etc.

And so, I decided to try one for myself... I decided to go with EVE Online: There is a free 14 days trial, It's space-based (more of my type) and it's one of the biggest universe of all the MMO I can think of. But what surprised me the most is that It's a 4 year old game and people are still playing it after 4 years!

At first, the game felt odd. The controls aren't direct. This is not Elite, Wing Commander Privateer or Freelancer. It is not even close to Allegiance. It resembles more Homeworld, but with one ship: yours.

This game is different from WOW or EverQuest in that, skill aren't gained with XP but with time and training. You must buy books, and your character learns or perfects the skill even when offline. In theory, this systems sounds nice, but it only replace length of play with frequency of play. While you can just choose a 10h-to-train skill, you have to log on to switch skill since you can't queue the next skill. I found myself checking the game every 2 or 3h to make sure I wasn't losing training time. Annoying. Especially when you have to go to work or sleep. Or if you want to have a life.

Since I have never played any MMO before, one things struck me: The social aspect is the most important part of the game. I know It may sound like common sense, but really, it is the most interesting aspect. You can't do much alone. To really enjoy the game, you have to work with others, organize in groups and split the work. Even if the game didn't provide the basic methods to form groups, people would.... With just chat, people can organize clans, raiding parties or even start a pirate group. Just like in real life: Cooperation and Competition drives the game...

It made sense in Ultima Online in 1997, and it makes a lot more sense with any modern MMO. It gives those games a depth that can hardly be achieved with a single player experience. For example, in EvE, I found the market quite developed. Since almost any object can be user-built, there is a whole virtual economy around ore, refined materials, and manufactured products. And since skills determines the amount of Ore used or obtained, you could, like I did, buy raw ores, refine them better then the original seller could and then sell back the refined ores for a profit.

But, as I found out, this depth of experience comes with a price. As one user wrote in a in-game chat "Patience! Loyalty! Dedication! Three things required to really play this game"... You have to invest time (and monthly fee) to really enjoy the game. And at the end of the day, it's just a game.

And it should stay that way.