15GB is probably far more than just the OS. There's plenty of media shipped with all versions Windows: including all the wallpapers, themes, documentation...
Windows also copies all microsoft compliant device drivers for purposes of plug and play and/or convenience.
When you add all of that up, it doesn't take much math to figure out why the space requirements increase with every windows release.
the downside of this is, that we're probably going to see more performance hungry applications with "full screen user interfaces
I highly doubt it. Writing a non-entertainment app that runs exclusively in full-screen is product suicide. I wouldn't be surprised to see options to running apps that way though.
I'm predicting more people switching to Linux as well
Or they simply won't upgrade from XP. Microsoft typically supports 3 generations back of their software. That means one generation beyond Vista before Windows 2000 even falls off the support map.
Linux has a long way to go to become as user friendly and idiot-proof as windows is. And by the time they do so, it will run about as efficiently and consume as many resources as Windows does.
Yes, you're right it's probably a silent irony of the OS, full of security holes, just like any other Window OS.
You mean every OS. Even the most sound operating system has security issues is misconfigured. I read somewhere recently that OSX has just as many, if not more security problems as Windows. The only real difference is... not as many people care.
The best targets are the ones with the most visibility and utilization. OS's outside of Windows do not really have the luxury of that double edged sword.
Windows also copies all microsoft compliant device drivers for purposes of plug and play and/or convenience.
When you add all of that up, it doesn't take much math to figure out why the space requirements increase with every windows release.
the downside of this is, that we're probably going to see more performance hungry applications with "full screen user interfaces
I highly doubt it. Writing a non-entertainment app that runs exclusively in full-screen is product suicide. I wouldn't be surprised to see options to running apps that way though.
I'm predicting more people switching to Linux as well
Or they simply won't upgrade from XP. Microsoft typically supports 3 generations back of their software. That means one generation beyond Vista before Windows 2000 even falls off the support map.
Linux has a long way to go to become as user friendly and idiot-proof as windows is. And by the time they do so, it will run about as efficiently and consume as many resources as Windows does.
Yes, you're right it's probably a silent irony of the OS, full of security holes, just like any other Window OS.
You mean every OS. Even the most sound operating system has security issues is misconfigured. I read somewhere recently that OSX has just as many, if not more security problems as Windows. The only real difference is... not as many people care.
The best targets are the ones with the most visibility and utilization. OS's outside of Windows do not really have the luxury of that double edged sword.