Microsoft, You Have Made Vista Hard to Develop For!
Posted on May 5, 2008, under Development, Operating Systems, Software.
I have learned to like, even love some things about Vista. That is not to say I think it’s perfect. It’s far from perfect. It’s unfortunate that it took Microsoft this long to implement some of the great features, and they still did not have enough time to implement things well; which is what makes Vista suck in it’s own right. It’s incomplete, it’s buggy, things were not thought through or over thought.
The one thing Microsoft had going for it, was it gave developers tools to make applications for its operating systems. Microsoft did not alienate past versions, something Apple is not afraid of. All this, and more, contributes to why it is largely adopted by businesses, and why you can find an application for just about anything you need on Windows. I am afraid that Microsoft has lost sight of this with Vista.
Vista is not easy to develop for. We are extremely behind with the release of NetGrid Studio, and the outstanding issues are Vista related. User Access Control is not only a nightmare for users, but for developers as well. You have to use specific API’s to "elevate" an application whenever you need to do something that could cause harm, like accessing certain parts of the registry. Which means you have to make a specific build for Vista, and make it seamless to the end user so they do not have to download a "made for Vista" version.
Apple got it right, granted they are built off of Linux and arguably do not have as much of a security problem because they are not as widely adopted; but non-the-less they got it right. Something as monumental and important as security with an Operating System should have been priority #1 for Microsoft making it easy for users and developers. I have not enjoyed making sure our applications are compatible with Vista. And do not even get me started on the ridiculous process you need to take in order to get your application certified "Vista Ready". The whole thing just was not thought out an implemented correctly.
I am a Windows user, and as much as I praise the things Microsoft has done I am hard on them as well. They should have split the Windows division from their online, Office, and IE teams like they did when making the XBox 360. Cut out the noise, and make a better product.
2 Replies to "Microsoft, You Have Made Vista Hard to Develop For!"
admin on May 6, 2008
I understand that it’s based off of BSD, but in the whole Linux vs. Microsoft camp, it’s easier to just generalize. I understand some people take offense to the Unix/Linux comparison.
radiantmatrix on May 6, 2008
OS-X is based on *BSD*, not Linux. It’s a small but important distinction — BSD has been around a lot longer, and has a proven security track-record.
Also, while it’s true that lower installed base is partly responsible for OS-X’s security, it’s also true that the security model, default configuration, and default behaviors of OS-X are simply more secure than Windows’.
This is partly because of MS’ commitment to be backwards-compatible, and partly because MS has lost its “small company” edge, while Apple has not (yet).
MS has been making large improvements in security, but they still have a way to go.