Microsoft Deserves Our Scorn

I bought my son a new laptop computer. He has an older HP that is pretty much falling apart. It's slow, the keys either stick or require a really long, strong press to respond, and the right button on the keypad only works about half the time.

I've had good luck with Dell laptops, so I decided that was the way I wanted to go. I considered a Mac because that's what they use in his school, but there's still a huge cost difference between a PowerBook and basic Windows laptop - especially since prices have seemed to really drop lately at Dell.

I have not switched to Vista at either work or home, so I'm only slightly familiar with it. However, there's no easy way to buy a new laptop without it being pre-installed. I guess you can make a special request at Dell, but it costs extra and they "officially" recommend you go with the newer operating system.

I fired up the new laptop in order to check it out and do a little bit of configuring before I turn it over to him. Of course I turned on Windows Update to see what happens.

CRAP! Here's a brand new laptop computer, turned on for the very first time, and it immediately needs 18 updates that comprise over 54MB of downloaded data! What is up with that? How long did Microsoft work on - and delay the release of - Vista? They wanted to make it perfect, right? They wanted it to be THE upgrade everyone has been waiting for. Secure. Bullet-proof. Right and tight. Then why the heck, right out of the box, do I need 18 critical updates? Could it be this product is total crap?

In what other industry would you buy something BRAND NEW and accept that it is so totally defective? If your new TV wouldn't get all the channels, would you keep it? If your new car needed 18 things fixed when you go to pick it up, would you be happy? Why is it necessary for there to be an entire branch of the computer software industry just to fix things that are wrong with the world's major operating system? Anti-virus programs, system optimizers, disk defraggers, firewalls, spyware removers, adware eliminators. I know there are lots and lots of really bad people out there who will do anything to break into someone's computer or simply spread their spam, but why does it seem so easy and why is it so hard for Microsoft to prevent it?

It's no wonder that Apple - and now Linux - are making such headway with the world's computer users. But Microsoft's near monopoly on operating systems will take a long time to unseat, if it can ever be done. There could easily be a worldwide computer meltdown before enough people wise up and dump this horribly incompetent product.

I've read that sales of Vista have been drastically less than what Microsoft anticipated or predicted. It's no wonder, since most of us have made a sort of working peace with XP. They came up with the idea of telling IT people that the reason they should switch is because it costs less to support Vista than XP - to the tune of about $1000 a computer per year? What? Don't they see the absurdity in this? XP sucks, but Vista sucks less, so switch, people, switch. Besides, we don't have enough money. Make Bill Gates the richest man in the world...oh, wait, too late.

Yes, Microsoft deserves our scorn. They sure as heck have mine!