When BillG bashes Windows XP
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Just go there and enjoy.
At least someone knows.
IMO, TRWTF is that Bill Gates has nothing else to do than using MovieMaker. ..
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Wait till he tries to delete something in Vista.
On a side note I'd give my left testicle to see the look on his face if one of his employees mailed him back telling him to install Linux.
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Wow, that is funny. I still find it hard to believe that he wrote it, given how the rant is done, but I guess maybe he purposesly writes these kinds of emails this way so that his managers can see things through the perspective of the target audience? I mean, I am sure that he knew how to deal with some of the issues he encountered, but he may have been trying to channel the psyche of an end-user.
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I love this email. It's from a CEO who obviously cares very deeply about the quality of his company's product and is railing on his managers for letting it slip through. I've also been pissed about the problems he expressed (trying to find MS downloads, dealing wtih Windows Update's shitty web-based UI, the hotfixes going into "Add/Remove programs") and I'm glad somebody high up (the highest up, actually) took note and called his employees out on it. I haven't used Vista enough to know if these problems have been fixed, but the general move in UI design MS has pursued in the last several years has been positive. Not only are these things problems for end-users and for those of us who act as tech support for friends and families, they are annoying to experienced users, too. There is no reason this stuff should not be simpler. I'm glad that Bill Gates was as hands-on as he was and that he wasn't afraid to call bullshit when he saw it. I hope the company will continue doing well after he leaves and that there will be similar rabble-rousers to take his place.
Also, I don't see why Bill Gates wouldn't use MovieMaker. It's a product his company makes and if I was founder and CEO of a software company you better believe I would use every piece of software we shipped.
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@Wam said:
IMO, TRWTF is that Bill Gates has nothing else to do than using MovieMaker. ..
Actually, I thought TRWTF was that he went online to buy the Plus package. I mean, not implying that Bill Gates ought to be cheap or anything, but given that he runs the company, wouldn't he already "own" the software?Maybe this is more evidence that he was merely doing QC and approaching this from the viewpoint of the end-user.
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@Wam said:
IMO, TRWTF is that Bill Gates has nothing else to do than using MovieMaker. ..
Yeah god forbid the guy is a normal human being and uses software as a tool, huh?
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@WeatherGod said:
Actually, I thought TRWTF was that he went online to buy the Plus package. I mean, not implying that Bill Gates ought to be cheap or anything, but given that he runs the company, wouldn't he already "own" the software?
No, the corporation owns the software. He owns stock in the corporation. They are not equivalent. It would be theft for him to take a copy without paying.
@WeatherGod said:
Maybe this is more evidence that he was merely doing QC and approaching this from the viewpoint of the end-user.
I would assume he's always approaching things with end-users in mind. It's what any good developer does and he is the most successful developer in the world, so he probably always keeps an eye on that kind of thing. He was also notoriously hands-on with the tech and his managers.
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Many of the complaints in that e-mail are actually about the Microsoft website, not Windows.
When it comes to his complaints about Windows, TRWTF is that the guy who founded the company apparently has absolutely no influence on how things are done. It's been over 5 years since he worte that and things have only gotten worse (ie, Vista)
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@morbiuswilters said:
No, the corporation owns the software. He owns stock in the corporation. They are not equivalent. It would be theft for him to take a copy without paying.
Assuming that he analyzes tools on some level, that would be the same as charging you for a copy of the software tool that you are developing. Or charging everyone in QA for a copy too. I don't look at this as stealing.
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Wasn't Movie Maker shipped as part of Windows XP?
I have it here on the work computer under Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Movie Maker, and I'm fairly sure its been there since I upgraded to XP.
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@Michael Casadevall said:
Wasn't Movie Maker shipped as part of Windows XP?
Windows Millennium Edition, actually; though I don't remember which part of the menu it was in. 8=]
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I can't say I ever used ME, I went from NT Workstation at home right to XP. but I just find it odd that he's complaining movie maker is missing when it comes on a standard install. At the very most, he'd have to use WIndows Setup to manually add it.
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Maybe he was referring to WMM 2.0, which was a downloadable update for XP's 1.0. This also explains the Windows Update stuff he's talking about.
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Makes sense. Wish the article had included that little detail so it made a little more sense to me.
I do agree the web-based Windows Update, and manually downloading updates from Microsoft's site has always been a pain. Automatic Updates helps, but it only displays hotfixs and such; if you want to see all available upgrades, you still have to use the site (I heard this changed in Vista, but I don't know for sure).
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In Vista there are no hotfixes in the Programs area. They new have there own section. Also Windows Update is now built in to windows and does not use internet explorer.
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@tster said:
Also Windows Update is now built in to windows and does not use internet explorer.
Oh great, so now I have to pay the Micro$oft Tax if I want to access Windows Update.
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You still had to pay the tax using the old method. It just happens VIsta made it an actual application. And last I checked, even pirated copied of XP/Vista can still download security updates even if they fail to pass WGA or have not been activated yet.
