Ford's Turn to Scratch Microsoft's Back

[AVANTI R5]

Microsoft Corp. said Ford Motor Co., Continental Airlines Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Intel Corp. will help introduce its Windows 7 operating system, saying they will upgrade to the new program.

Executives of the four companies will appear today with Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer at an event in San Francisco to talk about their use of the software, according to an e-mail from Microsoft.

Starwood put the program on computers in Sheraton hotel lobbies. Intel, which skipped the previous Windows upgrade, has 500 people trying it out.

Microsoft needs to generate interest among corporate customers for Windows 7, which goes on sale Oct. 22, after Windows Vista was adopted by relatively few during its almost three years on the market. Twenty-four percent of companies surveyed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said they will upgrade to Windows 7 in the first 12 to 18 months, and 67 percent plan to switch eventually, a higher rate than Vista achieved.

Vista was deployed by about 10 percent of customers in the first 12 to 18 months, Goldman said. In total, only 20 percent to 25 percent switched to Vista, according to Goldman.

Ford is planning to “aggressively move” to Windows 7, Microsoft said, as the automaker tries to offer better computer technology for a younger and more mobile workforce.

Starwood has put Windows 7 on Hewlett-Packard Co.’s touch- screen computers in Sheraton hotels in seven cities, including New York and Seattle, said Hoyt Harper, a Starwood senior vice president who’s overseeing a project to refresh the Sheraton brand.

Hotel-Lobby Computers

A key part of that project has been outfitting lobbies with computing areas that let hotel guests check e-mail, order food and drinks, and take digital photos to send electronic postcards. Some hotels will install Windows 7 on new touch- screen machines, while others will put Windows 7 on existing computers in the lobby.

The software and touch-screen computers will let guests browse Microsoft’s Bing Maps program or play games. Starwood also plans to start installing Windows 7 on its corporate PCs.

Microsoft fell 4 cents to $25.79 at 9:32 a.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares had gained 33 percent this year before today.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=amkKmkJzCbYk

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[SCRAPPYDO]

YEs, please keep upgrading windows and office products, so half of your customers cannot run your programs anymore.

Gosh I wish Microsoft would die.

[Crawdads]

Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO

YEs, please keep upgrading windows and office products, so half of your customers cannot run your programs anymore.

Gosh I wish Microsoft would die.

You are complaining about Upgrades?

Am I to assume you use DOS or some sort of punch card setup?

[Rokkit]

I love my msdn issued copy of 7. very nice so far.

[AVANTI R5]

I am waiting on my new laptop purchase till 7 comes out. What is that a beta version?? What do you like about 7 so far?

[Tim-H]

Love 7. Really stable, quick. I mostly use it for gaming and It's a really good improvement over XP, because it can utlize multiple core processors. Over Vista because it's just a lot quicker.

On waiting for the laptop, if you didn't want to wait, I'm pretty sure if you buy one with Vista now there is an option to get a free upgrade to 7. You'd have to confirm with whoever you buy it from though.

And I wish Apple would die, it's a company fully of arrogant a--holes.

[JC]

I can get the student Windows 7 upgrade for $30, if Ford says it good it must be.

[AVANTI R5]

Thanks Tim, Yes alot of them will upgrade for free, but I want to just get it loaded already. I know about the ability to run dual process. as opposed to XP. But I never got to talk to anybody running it. Heck I did not know it was really even out yet. How long have you had it??

[SCRAPPYDO]

Originally Posted by Crawdads

You are complaining about Upgrades?

Am I to assume you use DOS or some sort of punch card setup?

I complain products that fail so often it needs constant bandaids to keep it from dieing. I did hear that 7 is far better than Vista, but that is like saying the Flu is better than the flesh eating virus.

If you are not sure yet, yes I hate windows. I have had far too many computers just stop working, upgrades or not, so I condemn their products every chance I get.

Yes I bought a Mac 2 years ago, and I have not had one single problem in networking, software, hardware, or usability since the day I first turned it on.

The instant my work Laptop is due for a refresh, I am getting a Mac. Why, as today my 1 year old laptop which is full of your 'upgrades' could not find a network that is always there.

Windows is an overly complex and flawed system.

I just upgraded my mac to slow leopard. It was 30 bucks. It freed up tons of space, and now my computer runs faster. Imagine an upgrade that downsizes the size of the OS, makes it run faster, and is affordable.

Say what you want PC believers, but 2 years of flawless service with software that always works makes me yet another person who will never buy a PC.

In case you have not noticed, Macs have captured more and more of the market lately. There is a reason. Once the indoctrinated see the freedom a Mac provides, the slide will continue.

flame suit on!

[Tim-H]

Originally Posted by AVANTI R5

Thanks Tim, Yes alot of them will upgrade for free, but I want to just get it loaded already. I know about the ability to run dual process. as opposed to XP. But I never got to talk to anybody running it. Heck I did not know it was really even out yet. How long have you had it??

They've had an open beta going since around january. I've been running it since then. It looks like its only officially out on october 22nd.

[jalm111]

Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO

I complain products that fail so often it needs constant bandaids to keep it from dieing. I did hear that 7 is far better than Vista, but that is like saying the Flu is better than the flesh eating virus.

If you are not sure yet, yes I hate windows. I have had far too many computers just stop working, upgrades or not, so I condemn their products every chance I get.

Yes I bought a Mac 2 years ago, and I have not had one single problem in networking, software, hardware, or usability since the day I first turned it on.

The instant my work Laptop is due for a refresh, I am getting a Mac. Why, as today my 1 year old laptop which is full of your 'upgrades' could not find a network that is always there.

Windows is an overly complex and flawed system.

I just upgraded my mac to slow leopard. It was 30 bucks. It freed up tons of space, and now my computer runs faster. Imagine an upgrade that downsizes the size of the OS, makes it run faster, and is affordable.

Say what you want PC believers, but 2 years of flawless service with software that always works makes me yet another person who will never buy a PC.

In case you have not noticed, Macs have captured more and more of the market lately. There is a reason. Once the indoctrinated see the freedom a Mac provides, the slide will continue.

flame suit on!

LOL. Get a life fanboi...

MAC sucks just as much as the next OS. And you paid $30 for a beefed up UNIX distro which is available free online.

Windows 7 is a great upgrade, Vista sucked and failed badly which is why Mac gained share. 7 has fixed a lot of issues and I wouldn't be surprised if Apple's OS market share stops growing as fast once 7 comes out. Apple is a greedy company who overcharges for all the crap they make (right down to the iPod). Paying ridiculous money for a Mac computer is just stupid (unless you like wasting money).

I use Linux(Ubunty,Gentoo), Unix (FreeBSD), Win 7 and Mac OS out of which I dislike the Mac OS the most.

Luke

[SLegacy99]

Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO

YEs, please keep upgrading windows and office products, so half of your customers cannot run your programs anymore.

Gosh I wish Microsoft would die.

How is that different from anyone else? I don't know how many times a day I get prompted download the latest itunes. Version 9.100000013452.

[Deuce Cam]

Things that suck about mac that nobody talks about:

You're forced to upgrade the software every couple years. I can't even get even a flash update now because they no longer support my version os; bs, I've only owned the computer for 5 years, and it's been this way for about 3 years. The worst is the incompatibility. Anyone who owns a mac should know what I'm talking about. Anyone who is even remotely tech/computer savvy with a mac has encountered this problem on many occasions. I'm talking about random software that isn't supported on mac, and most products that need internet firmware updates don't support mac os. This alone has really turned me away from mac.

PC's suck as well. IMO it's best to own both. The PC will be compatible with everything and the mac will be more reliable and secure.

[Angelus911]

^I've never had any of the problems you state with my Mac. So you're complaining that Adobe doesn't update Flash player, and that's Apple's fault? Does Adobe still support Windows 98 or 2000?

I never thought I would like a Mac, but I ended up using one for the first time in college and I was hooked. I'm stuck on a Windows XP PC at work, and I always find myself trying to do things that Windows doesn't support (Expose for example).

[teiva-boy]

This is not news, especially not Auto news. I was at this conference as a vendor. I shook hands with Mr Ballmer, took pictures with him too (part of the vendor perks). I spoke at length with the Starwood's executive that was a guest panel speaker.

All this was, was about the corporate side of the company's day to day operations using Windows technology for mainly mobile users (i.e. laptops) There was mention of Sync from Ford/MS. But that was a side conversation to the main point of Windows 7 and improving operational efficiencies.

Might as well throw this in to OT, as this is where this thread is headed fast.

[wayoutwest]

I have Snow Leopard on my MacBook Pro and the RTM version of 7 on my desktop, and I think I like 7 better. The new interface is really nice, and it hasn't had ONE program crash (much less system crash), and performance is better than XP even. (I am using 64-bit with 8 GB of DDR2 memory, which is super cheap these days).

Dave

[Deuce Cam]

Originally Posted by Angelus911

^I've never had any of the problems you state with my Mac. So you're complaining that Adobe doesn't update Flash player, and that's Apple's fault? Does Adobe still support Windows 98 or 2000?

I never thought I would like a Mac, but I ended up using one for the first time in college and I was hooked. I'm stuck on a Windows XP PC at work, and I always find myself trying to do things that Windows doesn't support (Expose for example).

Well, either you don't use your computer for much or you're in denial. You're telling me you've never run across software that wasn't compatible with mac?

The adobe thing was just an example to show how useless my mac has become over just 5 years, it's not like adobe is the only one who's dropped support . I haven't had any apple updates in years either, they just abandoned the old os when leopard or tiger came out (whatever it's called?). I realize this comes with the territory, but I'm still bitter about my experience. Maybe you don't mind forking out $100+ every couple years to keep your system up to date, or maybe you just haven't owned a mac long enough.

I had windows with XP before I even purchased the mac and guess what? That os is still heavily supported.

[Crawdads]

I bought a MAC once, it lasted 13 months, just long enough to be out of warranty before the hardware failed. Never again. OSX is annoying as well.

My 5 year old homebuilt PC is still going strong, no hardware failures, and no viruses (no anti-virus for that matter)

[SCRAPPYDO]

Guys, my example is a data point. So is Crawdads, and so is Angelus911. We are all datapoints. Opinions vary as to how well a computer can work depending on the users knowledge, his workload, etc. I consider myself a very typically average home user. I use my home MAC to surf the net, make videos, edit photos, my kids will use it for homework, and send email, which is well over 95% of the computer buying market.

I am saying that for me, in my past 27 months of mac ownership, has been the most trouble free, easy to use, enjoyable computer experience of my life. I have built half a dozen desktop PC's (all of them mysteriously just starting to have critical problems after about 12 to 18 months of typical use). So I got off the home built bandwagon and starting buying PCs. Bought 2 PC laptops the next year. One died in 20 months, the other we gave away. I bought a desktop, and it was plagued with problems (mostly networking and of course the occasional blue screen).

I do not stress out my computers. Most PC fanbois I find are usually very computer savvy, some are hard core Unix users, or Linux converts, or people who know how to dig into the box and fix things and for the most part like to.

I use to be that guy. But now I am older and I expect a product to work from day one with no issues. I do not want to configure drivers, and find mysterious .dll files. I want my computer to be like an appliance. I want it powerful from day one, and I want it to work without needing 2 different spyware programs, a firewall, and an antivirus program. I want it work without so much as a hitch each and every time. I want it to boot up in less than 5 minutes (my 27 year old mac boots up in 22 seconds).

Look I am just one guy, and this is getting too off subject, but I am an average to light home computer user, (my work computer does all my FEA, solid modeling etc), and for my money, there is no better product than a mac.

[brrrrrbecold]

Love my MSDN copy of 7 on my laptop however very ticked off about Adaptec not creating drivers for most of the SCSI cards. I have a 29160 SCSI card (which they still sell) and they have no plans on making drivers for it. They told me to just buy a new card.

[Omophorus]

I'm getting a Mac for my next work laptop purely because of how godawful modern Lenovos are (my T60, on which I'm making this post, is an unredeeming pile of crap).

That said, I still think they are the most overhyped gimmicks in recent computing memory. The OS is really nothing special. It's a shiny GUI on a tweaked variant of BSD. Its security flaws are numerous and hilarious, mitigated only through "security through obscurity" (which is rapidly dissolving - malware folks know people don't protect their Macs, which makes for easy targets).

They use better materials and good hardware, then charge absurd amounts to join the "lifestyle" (read: cult). From a usability standpoint, OS-X has a better interface than Windows, but 7 closes that gap significantly, and the broader support for applications, especially legacy apps, far eclipses a slightly prettier and more interactive interface.

I think it's cool that Ford is jumping in with both feet. XP is a nice OS but it's old. 7 has been in development basically since Vista first began (Microsoft knew Vista was a dud, and released it as an interim as much as anything to have more time to polish 7). Microsoft needs key corporate customers to drive adoption.

I'm not saying that Microsoft makes a ton of great products, but every couple of OSs they put out a real gem, and some of the better development software out there is made in Redmond (Visual Studio is great). Everyone clones Microsoft Office because it's damn good at what it does, whether you like the new interface and XML goodies or not.

[imprezaowner27]

my new itouch is not suported by any of the accesories i had for my nano....the chargers and homes dont work....

hows that? can i hate apple now because WTF!! its the same damn connector, couldnt you make it the same damn thing


i hate both, Macs and PCs, Macs are overly expensive, i HATE the single click mouse, the minimize, max/box or w.e, and the X buttons on the left bug the hell out of me

and just the overall feeling like if i buy a mac, i turn into a sheep because everyone else buys the same exact product and drinks starbucks.

on the other hand

why cant my PC just do things that macs can....like why cant i split my screen in 4 and just run a game on one screen, IM on the other, a webpage on the other and w.e the hell i want on the 4th

[4wdwrx]

Originally Posted by JC

I can get the student Windows 7 upgrade for $30, if Ford says it good it must be.

I get it for free in my school.

[under5]

"well ford, the funny thing about my back is, it's located on my c**k"

[teiva-boy]

Originally Posted by brrrrrbecold

Love my MSDN copy of 7 on my laptop however very ticked off about Adaptec not creating drivers for most of the SCSI cards. I have a 29160 SCSI card (which they still sell) and they have no plans on making drivers for it. They told me to just buy a new card.

Sweet jeebus, do you know how friggen old a 29160 is? Why do you expect them to make drivers for such old technology. Besides, I would think Windows has some generic driver for it?