Came across this interesting bit from the Broken Windows Theory post of a Windows product manager (bold has been removed):

Vista is said to have over 50 million lines of code, whereas XP was said to have around 40 million. There are about two thousand software developers in Windows today. Assuming there are 5 years between when XP shipped and when Vista ships, those quick on the draw with calculators will discover that, on average, the typical Windows developer has produced one thousand new lines of shipped code per year during Vista. Only a thousand lines a year. (Yes, developers don’t just write new code, they also fix old code. Yes, some of those Windows developers were partly busy shipping 64-bit XP. Yes, many of them also worked on hotfixes. Work with me here.)

Lest those of you who wrote 5,000 lines of code last weekend pass a kidney stone at the thought of Windows developers writing only a thousand lines of code a year, realize that the average software developer in the US only produces around (brace yourself) 6,200 lines a year. So Windows is in bad shape — but only by a constant, not by an order of magnitude. And if it makes you feel any better, realize that the average US developer has fallen in KLOC productivity since 1999, when they produced about 9000 lines a year. So Windows isn’t alone in this.

Only 6,200 lines of code a year? Whoa. Suddenly I feel productive, even above average. :) I wonder he got this number… (6,200 seems awfully small.) Wikipedia has an article on LOC, but nothing about the national average. Hmm…

Technorati Tags: Windows, Vista, programming

Google Spreadsheets is almost out. You can send in your e-mail to be notified when it comes out. This is very cool. :) Goodbye, Excel. It was nice knowing you.

Now I just need to get cracking on Beyond so there’ll be a good Web 2.0 genealogy app out there…

Technorati Tags: Google, Excel

On the dev server here at work, I discovered today that we have the Office 2007 beta install. So I installed it on my Windows box, and it’s actually kind of cool. The ribbon (the menu replacement) is slick, although definitely different. :) (But it’s a good kind of different.) I’ve only played around with it for five minutes (both Word and Excel), but it feels fast, and the context-based selection stuff is good. For example, when you select text, it brings up a little dialog near the mouse so you can quickly change the formatting if you want.

Anyway, I don’t intend to review it, so just let me say that it’s a step up.

Oh, yesterday I got my first glimpse of Windows Vista Beta 2 (in real life). I’m glad they’ve finally gotten rid of the Duplos look, at least for the most part — the window controls (in the upper right corner of each window) are still a bit tacky. But the taskbar is sleek and beautiful. Lots of eye candy. Still nowhere near OS X, but it’s better than XP.

Technorati Tags: Windows, XP, Vista, Office 2007

John Dvorak writes about the Eight Signs Microsoft Is Dead in the Water:

For the past year or so, this is what I’ve been telling people in private. Now that there appears to be some sputtering by both the stock and by those who defend Microsoft I think it might be high time to explain my position.

Let me preface by saying that Microsoft is not about to stop making gobs of money. It’s just that there is virtually nothing interesting or exciting happening (with the lone exception of the X-Box360) with anything the company is doing….

Compare what is going on at Microsoft to Apple. And now Apple is piling on with new TV commercials ridiculing all the viruses and security issues you buy when you buy a Windows-based PC. Microsoft advertising ironically highlights dinosaurs.

It’s a great read, and Dvorak has a lot of really good points. Sorry, Microsoft. Better luck next time.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, John Dvorak