Why Microsoft Sucks

[MJ DeMarco]

I don't know why I still use a PC other than resistance to change.

This month alone I have wasted probably 5 hours with computer issues. Microsoft's website sucks a$$ and might as well be written in Chinese. I've wasted countless hours trying to fix website errors that rear their ugly head only in IE6.

Download this, update this, reboot that. I had to download MS IE 8 for development reasons (I am loyal to Firefox) and within days, I had MS Update nagging on my taskbar incessantly "Updates are available" to fix "security flaws".

Not a week goes by whereas I can escape not having to do "critical" updates. Obviously "critical" at Microsoft comes every few days. I can't imagine having a critical crisis in my life every few days, but at Microsoft, it is like a bowel movement.

Then today, I find this article about Bill Gates' experience with his own website. Here is a link to the email ...

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/141821.asp

From: Bill Gates
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM
To: Jim Allchin
Cc: Chris Jones (WINDOWS); Bharat Shah (NT); Joe Peterson; Will Poole; Brian Valentine; Anoop Gupta (RESEARCH)

Subject: Windows Usability Systematic degradation flame

I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don't drive usability issues.
Let me give you my experience from yesterday.

I decided to download (Moviemaker) and buy the Digital Plus pack ... so I went to Microsoft.com. They have a download place so I went there.

The first 5 times I used the site it timed out while trying to bring up the download page. Then after an 8 second delay I got it to come up.

This site is so slow it is unusable.

It wasn't in the top 5 so I expanded the other 45.

These 45 names are totally confusing. These names make stuff like: C:\Documents and Settings\billg\My Documents\My Pictures seem clear.

They are not filtered by the system ... and so many of the things are strange.
I tried scoping to Media stuff. Still no moviemaker. I typed in movie. Nothing. I typed in movie maker. Nothing.

So I gave up and sent mail to Amir saying - where is this Moviemaker download? Does it exist?

So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated.

They told me to go to the main page search button and type movie maker (not moviemaker!).

I tried that. The site was pathetically slow but after 6 seconds of waiting up it came.
I thought for sure now I would see a button to just go do the download.

In fact it is more like a puzzle that you get to solve. It told me to go to Windows Update and do a bunch of incantations.

This struck me as completely odd. Why should I have to go somewhere else and do a scan to download moviemaker?

So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. (Not) just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.
Doesn't Windows update know some key to talk to Windows?

Then I did the scan. This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff.

This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.
So I did the download. That part was fast. Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn't use it for anything else during this time.
What the heck is going on during those 6 minutes? That is crazy. This is after the download was finished.

Then it told me to reboot my machine. Why should I do that? I reboot every night -- why should I reboot at that time?

So I did the reboot because it INSISTED on it. Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state.

So I got back up and running and went to Windows Update again. I forgot why I was in Windows Update at all since all I wanted was to get Moviemaker.

So I went back to Microsoft.com and looked at the instructions. I have to click on a folder called WindowsXP. Why should I do that? Windows Update knows I am on Windows XP.

What does it mean to have to click on that folder? So I get a bunch of confusing stuff but sure enough one of them is Moviemaker.

So I do the download. The download is fast but the Install takes many minutes. Amazing how slow this thing is.

At some point I get told I need to go get Windows Media Series 9 to download.
So I decide I will go do that. This time I get dialogs saying things like "Open" or "Save". No guidance in the instructions which to do. I have no clue which to do.

The download is fast and the install takes 7 minutes for this thing.

So now I think I am going to have Moviemaker. I go to my add/remove programs place to make sure it is there.

It is not there.

What is there? The following garbage is there. Microsoft Autoupdate Exclusive test package, Microsoft Autoupdate Reboot test package, Microsoft Autoupdate testpackage1. Microsoft AUtoupdate testpackage2, Microsoft Autoupdate Test package3.

Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable? The file system is no longer usable. The registry is not usable. This program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up.

But that is just the start of the crap. Later I have listed things like Windows XP Hotfix see Q329048 for more information. What is Q329048? Why are these series of patches listed here? Some of the patches just things like Q810655 instead of saying see Q329048 for more information.

What an absolute mess.

Moviemaker is just not there at all.

So I give up on Moviemaker and decide to download the Digital Plus Package.
I get told I need to go enter a bunch of information about myself.
I enter it all in and because it decides I have mistyped something I have to try again. Of course it has cleared out most of what I typed.

I try (typing) the right stuff in 5 times and it just keeps clearing things out for me to type them in again.

So after more than an hour of craziness and making my programs list garbage and being scared and seeing that Microsoft.com is a terrible website I haven't run Moviemaker and I haven't got the plus package.

The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind. I thought we had reached a low with Windows Network places or the messages I get when I try to use 802.11. (don't you just love that root certificate message?)
When I really get to use the stuff I am sure I will have more feedback.

Glad to see Bill Gates experiencing the bull shit millions of others endure everyday.

The only question left is when and where I will buy my new Apple computer.

 

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[Bilgefisher]

MJ,
I don't feel your pain since I do not program, but what I see is a very strong linux push because of microsoft's failures. As you stated in another post, customer trumps all. Linux has 100% customer service since its maid by the customers.

 

[rsant]

and because vista sp1 screwed up my audio. Re-installed drivers a couple of times, rebooted 46 trillion times, still the same sh1t. pr0n is no good without audio.

 

[Jito]

I switched to Apple 3 years ago. I still have my powerbook g4 and it runs great.

I bought a top of the line dell xps system a few months back and returned it almost immediately. Vista was awful.

 

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[Bilgefisher]

That said, Apple *does* make some very nice computers...

I can't argue with that. Use to exclusively use an apple. I broke down when I got frustrated trying to find programs for them. Never once had an apple break down on me. The ol' apple IIE still works.

 

[ricerocket63]

This thread is right up my alley..

I have been supporting MS and Linux systems since the 90's, and working on computers since the mid 80's, and let me tell you, on a 24x7 shop, how infuriating MS products can be at times... I should not have to reboot my OS to install a patch for my browser. :bgh: That is just insane behavior, but since they own the market, people are just used to it..

Linux can be useful, and more, if you take the learning curve with it.. I look at it like this, you have to invest some time in something to see some benefit, and get some ROI...

I am an Open Source | Free Software fan, which is an interesting dichotomy with my capitalist side... However, a lot of people make a lot of money using Free Software...

 

[hakrjak]

Microsoft has certainly hit a new low with Vista... Being somebody that works in the IT world 24/7 though, I can honestly say that they aren't the only ones writing absolute crap software and passing it off for millions of bucks. Citrix Systems comes to mind as well, since anything they release with a .0 behind it's release number is completely unusable and so full of bugs, it shouldn't even be in BETA. By the time they get to a .5 version, it's semi usable -- but then they are already upselling you to the next version and ending support that you've paid for already, for all of their existing products.

After over 15 years in this business, I can honestly say that I've learned 1 thing:

I hate computers

- Hakrjak

 

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[Allthingznew]

There are more and more programs being written for Macs. And if you have an intel Mac you can run windows on a virtual machine for the few programs you can't find a Mac equivalent for. I can actually surf and download using Safari and if it's a windows only application I can drag it into my parallels virtual pc, which runs xp, vista sucks, and it copies to my windows desktop . Best of both worlds!

 

[Yankees338]

There are more and more programs being written for Macs. And if you have an intel Mac you can run windows on a virtual machine for the few programs you can't find a Mac equivalent for. I can actually surf and download using Safari and if it's a windows only application I can drag it into my parallels virtual pc, which runs xp, vista sucks, and it copies to my windows desktop . Best of both worlds!

Yeah. I've heard about that. Does it slow down your computer at all for other apps?

 

[AlwaysCurious]

I am an Open Source | Free Software fan, which is an interesting dichotomy with my capitalist side...

Same here

If we come to software that sucks, I immediatly think of Lotus Notes which is ridiculous to use. Even MS Outlook is superior by magnitudes...

But regarding Linux I have to disagree, it is not necessary to compile anything nowadays. I use Ubuntu at home and am quite satisfied with the simple and reliable update mechanisms. No compiling. No rebooting. And more software than I could ever test in a lifetime, though I have to admit that most of it is in beta status.

BTW is that Bill Gates mail authentic? Wow!

 

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[WheelsRCool]

I am an Open Source | Free Software fan, which is an interesting dichotomy with my capitalist side... However, a lot of people make a lot of money using Free Software...

Being for free-software and open source doesn't mean you are anti-capitalist (though some are). Hacker Eric S. Raymond talks about this in his book "The Cathedral and the Bazaar." One way open-source can help is for example non-software technology companies that make technology requiring software. There are also some large open-source software companies as well.

There are generally two groups of open-source software folk, the strict anti-capitalist types, and then the more prevalent open-sourcers who don't have a problem with people making money from open-source.

 

[Allthingznew]

Yeah. I've heard about that. Does it slow down your computer at all for other apps?

Only if you're trying to do a bunch of stuff at once. My Parallels pc boots up in seconds while it takes my Dell at least a minute or more. Granted, I don't have Norton on the Mac which is a huge plus, but I hate waiting for the computer to load up to use it. (on the Norton, I have a virus protection software that runs on the Mac, not parallels itself, and it protects both pc's from virus attack at the same time. No, Mac's don't have a real need for virus protection yet like windows machines do, but there are some out there and it made sense to protect both.)

I don't have the issues that Bill's email mentions or any others I used to deal with on a windows machine. Apple doesn't suck! :eusa_clap:

 

[Banthaman]

For those interested ..

Linux is NOT Windows

I've been a huge Fan of Linux ever sense red hat 7.0 (roughly 2001 when I got it) and lately virtually MS free now using Ubuntu Linux 8 (hardy heron). I love Linux and use it well , it doesn't mean its for you. Apple is very impressive and also Unix (free BSD) based with professional support . Frankly, it just works Vista works about as well as a man needing a crane lift out of his house running a triathlon. But whatever you really perfure.

 

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