It's a preview party at Microsoft, but do you really want an invite?
(2024/01/11)
- Reference: 1704965409
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/01/11/microsoft_preview_habit/
- Source link:
Microsoft has a very long history, but the company's attention span seems to be shrinking, which is making it difficult to decide which products have a future and which might be shot behind the shed.
It's a longstanding problem for developers. While product development and tech updates were relatively stable towards the end of the last century, Microsoft has since moved the development goalposts so often and so quickly that keeping up with its moves can be a full-time job.
Some of the technologies, like Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), have found their way into open source, as others, like [1]Silverlight , have become obsolete.
[2]
Even one of the more recent technologies, .NET MAUI (Multiplatform App UI), is [3]attracting ire from developers who question the company's commitment to the platform.
[4]
[5]
However, it isn't just coders dealing with Microsoft's increasingly fickle ways. Mary Jo Foley at analyst Directions on Microsoft, has [6]warned of the company's tendency to leave things in perpetual preview. This is something we suspect it picked up from Google, whose Gmail [7]beta lasted five years .
Several on-premises legacy products have been in Microsoft's crosshairs for some time. And it makes sense. It is easier for the company to shift customers to subscriptions for cloud services than to deal with perpetual licensing.
[8]Europe's monopoly cops suddenly rather curious about Microsoft's $13B for OpenAI
[9]Microsoft pulls the plug on WordPad, the world's least favorite text editor
[10]What if Microsoft had given us Windows XP 2024?
[11]Windows keyboards to get a Copilot key – but how quickly will users jump?
Foley notes that Visio, Project, and Access could be among the products that Microsoft might scrap. "The rule of thumb: Don't invest in a Microsoft product in which Microsoft itself is lessening its investment," she said.
However, just as developers have learned over the years, Microsoft has a habit of rolling something out as a preview and never actually making it GA. After all, if you never reach GA, you never have to issue a Service Level Agreement (SLA).
[12]
Foley said: "We've found the longer a Microsoft preview, the less likely a technology will reach GA."
Of course, even if something reaches GA, there's no guarantee that all the services it depends on will be in the same state. And then there is the thorny issue of quality – only the company's most ardent apologists would insist that GA releases of Windows 11 are of release quality in the same way as earlier iterations.
A sceptic might also wonder if Microsoft's habit of throwing a product out in preview and moving on is more about sowing uncertainty in a given marketplace rather than a desire to make something commercially available.
[13]
Today's Microsoft is focused on AI. However, with many services carrying the preview tag and developers wondering where their next kicking will come from, enterprises and coders alike are treating the company's professed commitment to any given platform with caution. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/16/opensilver_silverlight/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/29/microsoft_net_maui_devs_unhappy/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/blog/user-beware-when-a-microsoft-product-preview-remains-perpetual/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2009/07/07/gmail_apps_google_beta_removed/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/09/ec_microsoft_openai/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/05/wordpad_off_windows_11/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/04/windows_xp_reimagined/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/04/windows_keyboards_copilot/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
It's a longstanding problem for developers. While product development and tech updates were relatively stable towards the end of the last century, Microsoft has since moved the development goalposts so often and so quickly that keeping up with its moves can be a full-time job.
Some of the technologies, like Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), have found their way into open source, as others, like [1]Silverlight , have become obsolete.
[2]
Even one of the more recent technologies, .NET MAUI (Multiplatform App UI), is [3]attracting ire from developers who question the company's commitment to the platform.
[4]
[5]
However, it isn't just coders dealing with Microsoft's increasingly fickle ways. Mary Jo Foley at analyst Directions on Microsoft, has [6]warned of the company's tendency to leave things in perpetual preview. This is something we suspect it picked up from Google, whose Gmail [7]beta lasted five years .
Several on-premises legacy products have been in Microsoft's crosshairs for some time. And it makes sense. It is easier for the company to shift customers to subscriptions for cloud services than to deal with perpetual licensing.
[8]Europe's monopoly cops suddenly rather curious about Microsoft's $13B for OpenAI
[9]Microsoft pulls the plug on WordPad, the world's least favorite text editor
[10]What if Microsoft had given us Windows XP 2024?
[11]Windows keyboards to get a Copilot key – but how quickly will users jump?
Foley notes that Visio, Project, and Access could be among the products that Microsoft might scrap. "The rule of thumb: Don't invest in a Microsoft product in which Microsoft itself is lessening its investment," she said.
However, just as developers have learned over the years, Microsoft has a habit of rolling something out as a preview and never actually making it GA. After all, if you never reach GA, you never have to issue a Service Level Agreement (SLA).
[12]
Foley said: "We've found the longer a Microsoft preview, the less likely a technology will reach GA."
Of course, even if something reaches GA, there's no guarantee that all the services it depends on will be in the same state. And then there is the thorny issue of quality – only the company's most ardent apologists would insist that GA releases of Windows 11 are of release quality in the same way as earlier iterations.
A sceptic might also wonder if Microsoft's habit of throwing a product out in preview and moving on is more about sowing uncertainty in a given marketplace rather than a desire to make something commercially available.
[13]
Today's Microsoft is focused on AI. However, with many services carrying the preview tag and developers wondering where their next kicking will come from, enterprises and coders alike are treating the company's professed commitment to any given platform with caution. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/16/opensilver_silverlight/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/29/microsoft_net_maui_devs_unhappy/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/blog/user-beware-when-a-microsoft-product-preview-remains-perpetual/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2009/07/07/gmail_apps_google_beta_removed/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/09/ec_microsoft_openai/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/05/wordpad_off_windows_11/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/04/windows_xp_reimagined/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/04/windows_keyboards_copilot/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZZ-KVhmsAApIVysfyA@@GQAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Google Workspace vs Office is a problem for them
andy 103
I'm posting this as somebody who isn't really a Microsoft fan - but in their defence...
I recently did an elearning course in Azure. We don't use it at our workplace but I was curious to learn about it especially seeing how frequently it comes up in job ads. For the most part I was genuinely impressed and think it does have a lot to offer.
I haven't used Windows in 9 years so can't comment.
But then what else is Microsoft known for? Office. I was quite shocked to find that there are something like 11 times more users of Google Workspace than Office. Is this actually true? If so then surely at some point they're going to ditch that. Is it just the worlds reliance on Excel keeping that alive?
Zippy´s Sausage Factory
Several on-premises legacy products have been in Microsoft's crosshairs for some time. And it makes sense. It is easier more profitable for the company to shift customers to subscriptions for cloud services than to deal with perpetual licensing.
FTFY
Acronym Meaning
Anonymous Coward
GA = General Availability?
There is a solution
Stop jumping like lemmings whenever Borzilla hitches up the skirt.
Give it time, like five years. Then go check if the product is still there, if it has been finalized, if it is actually useful. Get off the treadmill you don't control.
It is high time Borkzilla leans that, if it is not making useful product, it won't get the greenbacks.