Programs That XP Could Add?

[Guest]

Hi. What if Microsoft added their own anti-virus, PDF
viewer, DVD decoder software and a fully functional
WinZip utility? Also add packet writing software like
InCd. Basically you could just install WindowsXP SP2 and
Office 2003 on your PC and that was it.

 

[Vanguardx]

"(e-mail address removed)"

Hi. What if Microsoft added their own anti-virus, PDF
viewer, DVD decoder software and a fully functional
WinZip utility? Also add packet writing software like
InCd. Basically you could just install WindowsXP SP2 and
Office 2003 on your PC and that was it.

What, no Photoshop, no *full* version of Acrobat (rather than just
reader), no MathCAD, no office suite, no *full* defragmenter program
(rather than the crippled Diskeeper that it includes), no accounting
program, no Visual Studio .NET Pro, no OCR program, no
anti-[spyware|malware|hijack] utilities, no drive image program, no ...
yadda yadda. If you want all that pre-installed, I'm sure some jobber
will be more than willing to build it for you - at a price. Fact is,
Microsoft installing all this fluff just makes for a severely bloated
"operating system" (because none of it is really part of JUST an
operating system). During install, they should let the user decide
whether any or all of this extra fluff gets installed. Why would I want
their crippled Roxio CD burning software when I already or plan to use a
full and much more potent CD burning program? Why would I want their
anti-virus solution if I find one that exceeds theirs in coverage and
speed? Why would I want their particular DVD decoder when another more
robust and richer featured product exists and that I want to use? Why
would I want them to support .zip files if I already have a much faster
and richer featured product, like PKZip (which is faster than WinZip and
which doesn't have the CRC mis-recording problem of WinZip)? Why would
I even want packet writing to CDs which makes them incompatible with
some systems and has proven to NOT be a stable installable file system?

I'd like to pare *down* Windows (and instead use potent programs that
match MY specific needs), not bloat it up even more (with crippled or
superfluous fluff)! Why doesn't everyone give you their stuff for free?
Well, do you work for your employer for free?

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

What if the government reinstated it's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft?

Actually, you can compress and uncompress files in XP and it uses a zip
format. A new packet writing standard called Mount Rainier,
http://www.softarch.com/us/products/WriteCDRW/mtrainierfaqs.html, has been
approved, is supported by all the major CD/DVD software manufacturer's who
are now replacing their previous packet writers with Mount Rainier and it
should be a part of future Windows operating systems but it was approved too
late for Windows XP and will not be a part of future XP updates. You'll
need to check with the manufacturer of your current burner to see if it is
compatible but most new burners are compatible with the standard. In fact,
assuming the Longhorn beta, code name for the next version of Windows,
begins some time next year, SP2 is probably the last major Service Pack for
XP so it is not likely to be incorporated into XP.

I have no idea if a DVD decoder will be included in the next Windows OS,
probably yes. During the development of XP there were a number of factors
mitigating against it. At the time, many of the DVD players in computers
did not conform to the standard used in commercial players, hence creating
the necessary software was problematic. Second, there may have been some
copyright issues. Whether or not you are aware of it, each time you
purchase a blank tape, a portion of the purchase price goes into a fund paid
to artists and other copyright participants as royalty. I'm not sure if
there is such a surcharge on commercial DVD players. However, even if there
isn't, there may have been such issues that might have required the paying
of a royalty on any OS sold with such a feature. This is only speculation
on my part but I believe the first issue I raised played into not including
such an option as part of the OS.

 

[Ken Blake]

In (e-mail address removed)

Hi. What if Microsoft added their own anti-virus, PDF
viewer, DVD decoder software and a fully functional
WinZip utility? Also add packet writing software like
InCd. Basically you could just install WindowsXP SP2 and
Office 2003 on your PC and that was it.

There are probably no two of us who use exactly the same set of
programs. We each have our own needs, our own ways of working and
our own preferences. For that reason, bundling too much software
into the operating system isn't, in my view, a good idea. It
would raise the price of the operating system, and effectively
take away choices from us.

As a single example, you want DVD decoder software; I don't, and
therefore don't want to pay for it to be bundled into the
operating system.

Moreover, doing as you suggest would probably get Microsoft into
trouble with the courts for monopolistic practices.