Vista on Time -- This Time

• By Doug Barney
• 10/17/2006

If you're late to work four days in a row, but get there promptly at 9 a.m. on Friday, can you still claim to be on time? If you're Windows Vista, you can! This OS has been late more times than Dagwood Bumstead, but come November, Microsoft promises it will be there on time and with bells on. There will even be a version for Europe next month with all the stuff the EU objects to ripped out.

Vista's Strange Holiday Celebration
How can you party when you miss the party? For Windows Vista, the answer is to make so much noise, people actually think you're there! Microsoft, as I'm sure we all suspected, is working with OEMs to promote Vista-ready PCs and laptops this December, including Vista-ready games, productivity apps and hardware add-ons. What we're really all waiting for are coupons for free upgrades to Vista for any machine bought during the holiday rampage!

IBM Moves Sourcing Office Closer to the Source
IBM may have sold a big chunk of its business, the laptop business, to Chinese company Lenovo, but that doesn't mean Big Blue's balance of trade is off-kilter. Like any good Fortune 10 company, IBM buys billions worth of goods every year from China. And like any good company with its supply chain act together, IBM is inching closer to the source, moving its global procurement office from the mean streets of New York to the exotic avenues of Southern China.

Microsoft, which has a pretty rippin' supply chain of its own, is now moving aggressively into the supply chain software market with Dynamics. The only problem is figuring out which of the four supply chain solutions to go with!

Doug's Mailbag: Should We Put Bill on Capitol Hill?
A while ago, I proposed that we elect Bill Gates for our next president. Just when I thought my revolutionist ramblings had fallen on deaf ears, readers began sending in their opinions, some more tongue-in-cheek than others. Here's a healthy sample:

I'm not sure why, but I think you may be on to something. When my toilet broke last week, I didn't call the electrician. On that same logic, why should we trust a politician to fix something a businessman can most likely do better?
-Steve

Bill for president? Yeah, but you'd have to reinstall him more often than you think!
-Anonymous

Well, the good news is he wouldn't be easily bought by anyone in or out of Washington. And if a small country was being a problem, he could just personally buy them. Or better yet, give everyone in that country a free computer and that will keep them busy (applying patches and updates, checking e-mail, deleting spam, etc).

I wonder if a government that needed to be rebooted every four years would be any good. Clearing the government cache could be good. Clearing memory of old issues seems like it would be good, too.
-Russ

The United States already tries to act like it has a monopoly on the world, so Bill Gates should have no trouble stepping into the position. Who else is really more experienced today? Additionally, if he could get the finances of the country in line with those of Microsoft, then we might have reason to let the United States act like a monopoly. Personally, I'd like to see what a nonpolitician could do for this country.
-Anonymous

Great idea -- yet another power-mad bloody Yank with his finger on the nuclear button. What's his first act going to be? Ban Apple and Linux.
-Anonymous

The question is: Could he be elected? Think of the millions of people out there that were trained at an early age to believe that Microsoft is the evil empire. Sure, now he is a rational supporter of reasonable, viable approaches to solve large problems. He will, however, forever be associated with Microsoft. Yesterday, I wore one of my old Microsoft T-shirts to the market and someone really asked me if I wasn't a little afraid to wear it (I live in a techie county).
-Bettie

I've been telling my co-workers this same thing for years now. I think the man would do a terrific job and it doesn't matter which party he runs for -- I would vote for him and encourage everyone around me to do the same. He will run the United States like MSFT. He will eat countries like North Korea for breakfast, just like he did the technology companies that threatened MSFT. Go, Bill!
-Ron

Sure, Doug, I'll vote for Bill. But only if he runs as a Libertarian. It would be the best chance the Libertarian party ever had, and it would avoid Bill's having to pledge allegiance to the dregs of public policy offered by both major parties.
-David

I would vote for Bill. At least we know what he is capable of and he's been in the public eye for as long as most of the current politicians. Unlike some current politicians who couldn't make any company run, Bill has built a company that is now the world leader and shows no signs of falling to any competition. Yes, I would vote for him without even a second thought.
-Mark

You should maybe ask people to write in Bill's name on the ballots. I think I will. I would also like to see a worksheet as to where he might stand on today's issues, not one from the parties that leans toward what they think we want to hear. It would be all in fun, but from what I know of Mr. Gates, he seems like a very respectable person and that is a good start.
-James

I'd vote for him! I'm with you, Doug -- I'm tired of all of the career pols and their false promises and political bickering. The only people that the pols are looking out for are themselves. They don't give a damn about us, at least in my opinion. I have been of the opinion lately that all incumbents should be voted out, and new blood be installed to invigorate the government and let the pols know who they really work for.
-Rick

Great article on Bill Gates for president. I was just listening to public radio on the way in this morning, and there was a quick blurb of a speech by Bush. I realized how tired I was of hearing his speeches. I have a complete lack of trust for the current political regime -- not to say the Democrats are any better.
-Brian

OK. You got me. I also am shocked you received no response. But come to think of it, most techies are fairly apolitical. I'm with ya on this one. No foreign policy experience? That's OK. He'll bring in anybody he needs.

How's this for a ticket? Bill Gates/Wesley Clark. The general is also fairly apolitical (although he currently is a Dem), has experience defeating dictators (see Milosevic) and has a mind like a steel trap. Alas, it will never come to pass in our system of government. The days of a dentist (Thomas Jefferson) running for president are behind us, unfortunately.
-Kevin

I'd much rather see Robin Williams or someone else who's not a lawyer, businessman or politician run for and get into office. If you think about it, they couldn't do worse than some of the previous persons filling that office. It's a sad state of affairs, how this country started out with such wonderful ideals and a great document to back it up, only to get twisted and polluted. Let's quit 'playing politics,' get back to the basics and do what is right for the country, not just particular segments.
-Bruce

We could probably do much worse, and probably will, but if you're going with results-oriented people (and a frame of reference with which you are familiar) with technical backgrounds, you might consider William Halter (now of Akamai, I believe) or Jim Preissner (formerly a deputy commissioner at SSA). Both of these gentlemen were excellent in moving Social Security forward in the information technology area. SSA has over 60,000 employees and workstations and considerable mainframe power, and tends to be socially liberal and yet fiscally conservative.
-Charles

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