Letters to Redmond
Happy Birthday, Redmond!
Some congratulations are in order. Plus, readers compare different versions of Windows 7.
Happy Birthday, Redmond!
Congratulations on the fifth year of running Redmond magazine and having none other than Steve Ballmer appear on the cover in celebration. The fifth anniversary is a landmark issue in many ways for the core community of what we call "Redmondites": the subscribers who read the magazine; the advertisers; and the staff who work on the publication.
First, the Redmond team owes so much to the subscriber base; they have made the whole venture possible through their steady, consistent and dedicated readership, and their feedback has helped guide the publication in so many ways.
Second, the advertisers. What more can be said? For a publication that's exclusively sponsor-driven there would be no Redmond without their unwavering support and commitment. We're all grateful and proud partners. Words can't describe how important our partners are and what a pleasure it has been to work with them over the last five years. Thank you.
Last, there is a core team of people who work at Redmond who deserve recognition and a big congratulations for the five-year anniversary and their tenure since the publication's inception: JD Holzgrefe, Dan LaBianca, Bruce Halldorson, Wendy Gonchar, Alan Tao and Brad Zerbel, plus others who have joined Redmond along the way: Danna Vedder, Katrina Carrasco, Lee Pender, Amy Winchell, Gladys Rama and everyone else on staff at 1105 Media Central who work so hard to get Redmond out into the market each month.
In summary, happy fifth birthday Redmond, and congratulations to the community of subscribers, partners and employees who have made Redmond the leading media brand that it is.
Matt Morollo
VP of Publishing
1105 Redmond Media Group
Disney Goof
In Doug Barney's recent column on Windows 7 ["7 on 7," Barney's Rubble, September 2009], he wrote: "When I work on cars or bikes, I'm the ultimate Mickey Mouse mechanic: a little duct tape and a hacksaw and soon that part fits just fine."
Just to pick a nit, but that more accurately describes Goofy, not Mickey Mouse. If you've ever seen Mickey's house -- and I have -- you'd know Mickey is all about minimalism and simplicity, the living definition of "a place for everything, and everything in its place."
On another note, I do like Windows 7. Where I work we're starting a Windows 7 rollout among our version of power users: our technology teachers. (I work in a K-12 school district.) We're also planning to roll out Windows 7 as soon as next year; we aren't waiting for Windows 7 SP1.
Ken Hansen
received by e-mail
Less Is More
In Doug Barney's recent blog ("Windows 7 Unfettered and Alive on Netbooks," Barney's Blog, Oct. 5, 2009), he asked if readers "see a true advantage in higher-end editions of Windows, like Ultimate, versus low-end versions."
For most consumers, the short answer is that they want eye candy -- and otherwise don't see an advantage.
Most consumers would find Windows 7 Starter to be just fine on hardware with less than 4GB of RAM (Windows 7 needs no more than 2GB for most consumers). That's why Microsoft has severely restricted the hardware on which it can be sold. There's no retail channel for Windows 7 Starter. Windows 7 starter won't allow any customization of wallpaper and it won't run Aero. I don't recall if Starter will do back ups or not, but that would be the only big issue for most consumers.
Marc
received by e-mail
From a price standpoint, Ultimate makes no sense. My clients, all small businesses, have not moved to Windows Vista, but they're looking at Windows 7. For them, I can't justify spending the additional amount for Ultimate.
Microsoft needs to simplify the options. Take us back to the days of Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 Server. I can almost justify one version of Home, but why two? What Microsoft fails to understand is the cost of maintaining these different versions. I can't believe that the company's transaction costs are higher with all these versions.
Thomas
received by e-mail
About the Author
This page is compiled by the editors of Redmond magazine from your letters. Write to us at [email protected] and if your letter is printed in the magazine, you'll be entered into a drawing for a free Redmond T-shirt.