No one’s immune to Microsoft Windows hell - not even Bill Gates

MacDailyNews.com ^ | June 25, 2008

[HAL9000]

"For the opening piece in our series on Gates leaving daily life at Microsoft, one goal was to give a clear picture of the Microsoft co-founder's role inside the company, as a gauge of the impact his departure will have," Todd Bishop writes for The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Microsoft Blog. "As part of that, I went back through the internal e-mails turned over in the antitrust suits against the company, looking for new insights into his personality."

Bishop found a doozy, which also happens to illustrate perfectly why Mac users have such disdain for the "Windows experience." If you've ever been subject to Windows, you'll recognize just how typical an example the following email provides. In his full article, Bishop reports what Gates said last week when he asked him about the following message:

---- Original Message ----
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 Updale 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.

Full article, in which Bishop reports what Gates said last week when he asked him about the email, here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Tomek" for the heads up.]

MacDailyNews Take: Here are some of the words that Bill Gates used to describe his "Windows experience" in a single email: disappointed, backwards, unusable, totally confusing, strange, pathetic, completely odd, weird, scary, crazy, slow, garbage, not usable, crapped up, crap, absolute mess, craziness, terrible, and lack of attention. That sums it all up nicely, doesn't it? And this was XP, the ancient OS that the unenlightened today want to inflict upon themselves for years more in order to avoid the Vista morass! For Windows-only users who've stumbled here via Google News and other points. Welcome! The moral of the story: Get a Mac.

[HAL9000]

My Thinkpad has better quality and far greater value than a Mac Powerbook, and I don't have to dual-boot my OS in order to be able to use the software that I want to use!

Setting aside the value proposition of Mac software for a moment, I am certain that Apple equipment is more durable than Lenovo. I have an Apple computer that I bought in July 1978, nearly 30 years ago. It still works as good as new, even after it's banged-up condition from traveling around the world a couple of times. Your precious Chicom-owned Lenovo is basically a disposable computer, and it will be in the junk pile in the not-so-distant future, while older Macs will still have several years of useful life.

On your dual-boot complaint, it's baseless. With software like Parallels and VMWare, Macs can run both Mac OS X and Windows concurrently, and users can switch to either OS instantly. The main problem with running Windows on a Mac is the need to do a bunch of unnecessary crap like running anti-virus software and all of the other Windows nuisances that Mac users normally don't have to tolerate.

[HAL9000]

And I just remembered the time when Mrs. HAL9000 ran over her PowerBook when she was backing out her Cadillac. The screen was cracked, but it booted up and we recovered all of the data through the network port. Try running over your Lenovo and see if it will boot up.

In a couple of instances where I had problems with Apple hardware, they've sent a free replacement - even though my equipment was out of warranty. That's not their normal policy, but they are generally reasonable about keeping their customers happy. I doubt that Lenovo would do that.

[rivercat]

So you’ve had problems with your Mac. I’m terribly sorry to hear that. On the other hand, my sister’s out-of-warranty Thinkpad’s power supply stopped working and Lenovo overnighted her a free one.
I can’t compare your Cadillac story since I’m not dumb enough to put my laptop down where someone can run over it with a car.

[Dumpster Baby]

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

Check out my new sig line.

:^)

[rivercat]

Though I wasn’t happy when IBM sold their Thinkpad line to Lenovo, it makes very little difference since there aren’t any American made computers anymore.
So you still have an Apple II? You want to talk about my Thinkpad as a pile of junk? What do you do, turn it on and listen to the disc drive spin? I can see it now... HAL9000 turns on the Apple II, watches the green screen boot to a floppy disc, puts his hand on the disc drive to feel the vibration, and sighs deeply at its wonderfulness...just like Obama Girl staring at Obama.

[Southack]

"In his candid writings, Bill Gates states the obvious: Windows is barely usable."

Thinking that would miss what was unsaid...Gates had to bypass MS Customer Service to send that email directly to the relevant team leaders.

[antiRepublicrat]

and I don't have to dual-boot my OS in order to be able to use the software that I want to use!

I have only one program I need Windows for. For that I have the dual-boot set up for long sessions where speed is necessary, or I use it in VMWare when convenience is more important. The rest of the programs I want to use are Mac. I have found equivalent or better (mostly better) for all of my old PC software.

That one program is Visual Studio, and I only need it to maintain my .NET software. On the flip side, I'd have no option for Mac development if I just had a PC.

[rivercat]

Can’t find drivers for programs I need to run.

Programs don't use drivers. Hardware uses drivers.

he can’t get the darn thing to even interface with a new HP printer.

He must be pretty dumb, or not have it plugged in. Besides, that's HP's problem, not Microsoft's problem.

[rivercat]

I wish they’d port Visual Studio and the .NET Framework to Mac and Unix. I do development in both Java and C#. Visual Studio and the .NET Framework have moved light years ahead of Java and it’s various IDEs.

[Big Giant Head]

The main problem with running Windows on a Mac is the need to do a bunch of unnecessary crap like running anti-virus software and all of the other Windows nuisances that Mac users normally don't have to tolerate.

I'm a new Vista Computer owner. I've had it for two weeks, and I haven't installed any firewall, anti-spyware, anti-virus, anti-cold-and-flu ANYTHING.

I'm still waiting for that proverbial 10 seconds to virus thing. THis is a fascinating experiment.

[HAL9000]

So you still have an Apple II? You want to talk about my Thinkpad as a pile of junk? What do you do, turn it on and listen to the disc drive spin? I can see it now... HAL9000 turns on the Apple II, watches the green screen boot to a floppy disc, puts his hand on the disc drive to feel the vibration, and sighs deeply at its wonderfulness...just like Obama Girl staring at Obama.

I'll probably just run "HELLO WORLD" on it.

My old Apple II is probably worth more than your Lenovo. It's a collectors item, a rare, low-serial number, Rev. 0 model, part of the first batch made.

But you've missed the key point: Apple's equipment is generally more durable and designed better than the competition.

[antiRepublicrat]

Visual Studio and the .NET Framework have moved light years ahead of Java and it’s various IDEs.

OTOH, the more I get into Objective C and XCode, the more I wish Windows could use that.

[rivercat]

But you've missed the key point: Apple's equipment is generally more durable and designed better than the competition.

Yes, their marketing department is the best. They've certainly got you believing it! ;)

[HAL9000]

Yes, their marketing department is the best. They've certainly got you believing it! ;)

Apple has had some flops too, no question about that. But their current product line is stronger than ever. I try to base my opinions about Apple and other brands on experience rather than marketing.

[Tunehead54]

Reply later ... have to reboot ;-)

[HAL9000]

OTOH, the more I get into Objective C and XCode, the more I wish Windows could use that.

I've never gotten around to checking gnustep, but it has a Windows installer. It hasn't really kept up with the advances in Cocoa, but the Objective-C and the basic framework should be usable on Windows. I don't know what it uses for an IDE.

Apple announced some interesting new developer tools at WWDC: the LLMV compiler to replace gcc, and the SproutCore JavaScript framework. They are open source projects, so they should be available on Windows too.

[HAL9000]

I don't know what it uses for an IDE.

It's got one: ProjectCenter