Windows 11 will be the new Vista (or Windows 8)

I've been using Windows 10 in production for about two years now - testing it since even before the official release. Early on, my impression was that it was comparable to Windows 7. Okay. Nothing too special, new or revolutionary. Over time, this impression has changed. With subsequent semi-annual releases, I encountered issues I've never had in Windows before, mostly various system errors and bugs that speak of low quality and bad design. Then, Windows 10 would occasionally undo some of my tweaks and options, wasting my time, and forcing me to tighten the screws ever more. All in all, my outlook isn't bright or happy. Bored and exhausted by the nonsense would be the best word. Now, Windows 11 is coming. As I've done many times in the past, I logged into my Insiders account and started testing, to see what awaits me. Right away, I found the experience quite dejecting. My early impression of Windows 11 Dev Build was mediocre at best, and it progressively got worse with each update. Different from Windows 10, though. What happened was, I found myself reliving 2011, when I tested Windows 8 and came to pretty much the same conclusions. To wit, this is what I think will unfold.

Maui Report – 15

Maui 2 was released a month ago, and since then new features, bug fixes, and improvements have been made to the Maui set of apps and frameworks; the following blog post will cover some of the changes and highlights from the last or so months of development. What’s new? Among many bug fixes that will be listed below for each individual app, some of the highlights include better support for client-side decorations aka CSD. Clip, the video player, is now working again on Android; MauiKit Controls now provide improved contextual menu actions and a lighter tab bar styling. Index, the file manager, can now also preview PDF documents, adding up to support for previews of text, video, audio and fonts file types; and translucency support is now embedded into MauiKit itself.

Overcoming the Challenges of Embracing Linux: a Different Perspective

After months of working at SUSE, my Jungle Green t-shirt was finally recognized at a store. “SUSE?” the gentleman asked, pointing at the large white letters. “Yes, I work there!” I responded, thrilled that I had the opportunity to engage in our mutual love of the chameleon, Geeko, “But I don’t work on the technology, I’m in Program Management.” “Well, let me ask you this – what is the operating system on your computer at home?” he asked, inquiring to my level of SUSE-ness. “Just the basic… Microsoft,” I responded. He continued, “I have a virtual machine with Slackware 1.0 I’m running, and I’ve been trying to get my hands on something old, openSUSE older than 5.3.” I breathed a sigh of relief when our conversation was cut short and he ran off to help another customer. Slackware? Virtual Machine? All terms I had just enough exposure to know what category they belonged in, yet not enough to carry a conversation. Despite the embarrassment, I knew I wasn’t alone. A 2020 study by the AnitaB.org Institute found that women make up 28.8% of the tech workforce. When considering open source technology, this number further shrinks down to the single digits. Nonetheless, the number of women becoming cloud native practitioners is growing. Recently, Lynne Chamberlain, CEO of SUSE Rancher Government Solutions, and Denise Schannon, Director of Engineering, joined special host Katie Gamanji for a special feature of OCTOpod in which they discussed their contributions to Linux, challenges they have faced and shared inspiring stories on how they’ve overcome those challenges to get to where they are today.