Desktop·25,129 discussions

Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Locked

In ten words or less, complete the following sentence: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I’ll start with “…build a super-lean version of Vista for old PCs.”

Just once, I’d like to see a Windows release aimed at the existing install base, rather than designed to force an upgrade to bigger and better hardware. Either that, or they should just buy Intel and quit posturing like the two companies *aren’t* colluding to keep the compulsory upgrade cycle going.

Topic

release something worth using.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

.

… remove apps from the OS.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

There’s no technological reason why an OS needs an un-removable browser, e-mail client, IM client, mysterious folders that reappear instantly when deleted, etc. Include them by default if that’s the way your business model works, but include an option to remove them and don’t make them integrated components of the OS.

… and remove ashtrays from cars?

In reply to … remove apps from the OS.

How are you affected by the mere existence of something on a x-gigabyte disk?
I hate ashtrays in cars, I don’t think that such a thing is vital for the core functionality of a car. It even takes some space, which is limited in most cars, which I would rather use to store something else.
But I never heard that people called out load for the capability of removing an ashtray.

I even think quite the opposite about something like the IE and how it’s integrated. Instead of wasting megabytes of (always scarce) memory for all these nice applications coming with their own super duper runtime environments (plural!) I am always happy if I get some software which does NOT eat up all system resources for itself.

.. but what if its a crap ashtray…

In reply to … and remove ashtrays from cars?

I think you missed the point. Its about choice. I HAVE to have space and resources used up because part of my OS is running IE. But Firefox (IMHO) is a better browser so that is the one I use and thus more resources are used up. The same with mediaplayer – I use mediamonkey which is much better for my requirements but I can’t get rid of the resource being hogged by mediaplayer.
Operating Systems should be just that. They are the plaform which applications run on top of. They should be made as fast and secure and as reliable as possible. Adding all the extra stuff makes this aim harder and harder to achieve.

I wish

In reply to .. but what if its a crap ashtray…

M$ would just create a core OS

Everything else should be an add-on and not necessarily from M$. Like a motherboard, you buy the board, and you choose what video card you want on it. M$ should create a core OS and you can add whatever browser you want, whatever office product you want and they should all play nicely. Not like the time M$ purposefully forced Netscape to run at half speed by not allowing it to load as a 32bit app. We haven?t forgotten your pass ills M$ and you seem to be slipping up again, core example, WGA!

Don’t make me b-slap you!

It Can be, very easily and more stable too

In reply to I wish

All MS needs to do for this reality is to add the programs as programs, and not core OS functions. There will be several big changes if this is done
the system(s) will be more secure, as the OS isnt running them as core apps.
program crashes should result in more recoveries and less BSOD
if you dont want that program, but another one, it can be uninstalled easily (if installed in the first place).
there can be a menu selection for the programs that will be installed along with the OS.

I have no problem with MS bundling lots of software when I buy the OS. But, I would prefer to be able to uninstall (fully) any application that I deem fit to, or not even install it in the first place.

true about stability

In reply to It Can be, very easily and more stable too

Have you tried the products from LitePC? (www.litepc.com) Becasue of a job change, I haven’t used any of their products since 98Lite. I was amazed how at the difference in performance and stability between over a regular 98 install.

This was at the same time that Microsoft was testifying in court that it would be too difficult to remove the IE from Windows 98. At the same time, on the website of the guy who came up with 98Lite, he explained how he did it using functions already built into windows, supplimented by three files from a windows 95 install disk.

Vist the U.S.A. then…

In reply to … and remove ashtrays from cars?

“But I never heard that people called out load for the capability of removing an ashtray.”

Here in Amerika the proverbial automotive ashtray (and cigarette lighter too!) are now a thing of the past. Political Correctness in action. Good luck trying to FIND a new car here with an ashtray built in as in days of old.

Why not?

In reply to … and remove ashtrays from cars?

Why not make the same space modular, so smokers can have ash trays where non-smokers have additional space for parking change, cell phones, beverages or buttons to control some other luxury feature of their Batmobiles.

It’s more like a crappy radio you can’t replace

In reply to … and remove ashtrays from cars?

The ashtray is more like Notepad; it’s there and every car comes with one but it’s a small thing and can at least be used to hold your change.

This is more like the car having a crap quality radio that the owner can’t replace when 90% of drivers listen to music. If your car is running, chances are that you have music going. You can’t replace the crappy radio that comes bolted into the car though or the engine, steering, brakes and seatbelts won’t all work together.

The radio always seems to have static in the background even when playing a tape or dvd and other drivers can tune into what your listening too. You can add a better quality second radio and speaker system into your car but only in addition to the existing radio and speakers (which only work together of course). This will also cost you some trunk space to hid the bigger components like a disk changer and base box.

(Edit for Addition):
” I am always happy if I get some software which does NOT eat up all system resources for itself”

I boot up winXP and I’m idling at 350 meg ram used. I open a website in IE and my ram jumps to 690 meg ram used. What part of “NOT eat up all system resources” does that fall into?

Make an OS that does what it supposed to do

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

a) Allocate recources EFFECIENTLY
b) Use APIs properly
c) Non-interated apps
d) Security security security!
e) Remove the need for pointless gee wiz features if the user doesn’t want them!

hire me

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

So I too can make big money.

I really wish MS would…

In reply to hire me

… make replacement CD’s available at NO CHARGE once you’ve purchased original software.

(Yup – lost an install CD, and had to buy a whole new MS Office after a major crash. MS would not issue replacement CD’s to me, despite knowing the regis/serial numbers. Ugh…

wouldn’t you want to retain your credability?

In reply to hire me

I can’t imagine going to school reuinions and admitting that I now work for MS only to see old friends back away like I was carrying plague.

Besides, developers don’t earn much at MS; you’d have to backstab your way up the corporate ladder into executive or board of director levels.

Built in Driver support

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Build in driver support for existing products of the previous 5 years. Even if they work with vendors to produce workable drives it is the responsible thing to do.

Why should a machine and cards that work fine with Win Server 2003 choke under W2003 R2, let alone Vista and longhorn?

Stop making life so difficult

In reply to Built in Driver support

for people like me,who are constantly asked,what version of Vista will suit my companies needs?
Surelly,there should just be,Vista Server,Vista Desktop,and Vista Gold,for all over-five-year systems out there.All should be dual 32,and 64 bit compatabile.

RE: stop making life so difficult..

In reply to Stop making life so difficult

well if MS stopped making our lives difficult there would be no need for us tech support/PC repair people 😉

I would submit a seperate replay to the original thread but anything i had to say was already said by others.

wouldn’t that be awsome though; a service industry instead of support

In reply to RE: stop making life so difficult..

The difference is subtle but imagine a competition driven computer service industry instead of a support industry thriving off the bad programming of the market leader.

apps currently running

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I really wish Microsoft would…. make an OS where one could easily find out, and any given time, what apps are currently running (or loaded on start up), how to get those apps that are not necessary to quit running and how to know which apps are important and which are not.

But what about MS IM?

In reply to apps currently running

What about that…huh…if we could find it and kill it…then it couldn’t eat resources anymore and THEN where would we be…

I’ll tell ya…In a bad world my friend…A world where I can actually get rid of MS IM is a world I don’t want to live in…

sounds like you need to do some research

In reply to apps currently running

You can easily find these thing by:
1) use MSCONFIG.
2) use the registry editor to edit the {run} key under HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION.
Be careful deleting things if you don’t know what they are. IF you need help determining what is running and what shouldn’t be, use a tool like Hijackthis or StartupList. http://www.merijn.org/downloads.html
This info is easy to find if you know where to look.

Please tell us

In reply to sounds like you need to do some research

How do you stop MS IM and remove it forever (without having it magically re-install)?

Yup…that’s right…you can’t…

which one?

In reply to Please tell us

windows messenger or msn messenger?
For windows messenger:
Windows Messenger 4.5 or later versions on a Windows XP Home Edition-based computer or on a Windows XP Professional-based computer

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Note This method prevents programs that use the Messenger APIs from using Windows Messenger. Outlook 2002, Outlook Express 6, and the Remote Assistance feature in Windows XP are examples of programs that use these APIs and that depend on Windows Messenger.

1. Start Registry Editor. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit.exe, and then click OK.

If the following registry subkey already exists, go to step 6:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Messenger\Client
2. Click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key. Type Messenger for the name of the new registry key, and then press ENTER.
4. Click the following registry subkey: key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Messenger
5. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key. Type Client for the name of the new registry key, and then press ENTER.
6. Click the following registry subkey: key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Messenger\Client
7. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. Type PreventRun for the name of the new DWORD value and then press ENTER.
8. Right-click the PreventRun value that you created in step 7, and then click Modify. In theValue data box, type 1, and then click OK.
9. Quit Registry Editor.

No, it doesn’t uninstall it, but it does keep it from running.

Userfriendly OS ?

In reply to which one?

In many of the linux/windows discussions linux is always accused of being user unfriendly, whereas Windows is intuitive and anybody can manage it.

I’d like to see my mother do the above easy removal of an unwanted piece of SW, and I’ll cross my fingers when she boots the PC afterwards.

Why isn’t there simply an ‘uninstall’ button in the add/remove SW panel ?

Easy, no?

In reply to which one?

Plus that doesn’t mean it won’t come back during updates.

The problem here is that Windows is “easy,” yet I can’t even turn off MSN without regedit!! How easy is that?

actually it won’t come back when the keys are gone

In reply to Easy, no?

as far as MSN, just use the uninstaller.

It is only the security-hole-Windows Messenger that you have to hack out.

I agree; one of the big problems with the windows family is that they look easy. That gives a false sense that “anyone can do it.” IMHO this is entirely misleading. To use any computer system, you need to have a modicum of intelligence.

The thinking “I’d like to see my mother do the above easy removal of an unwanted piece of SW” is erroneous. Would you trust anyone to fix something about which they had limited knowledge and expect things to go smoothly? IF they follow the instructions AND there are no unforeseen events (like a power outage during an uninstall {yesterday}) then the process is straight forward.

The comment I made is that “This info is easy to find.” I made no allusion to how easy, safe or smart implementing said info might be.

An analogy

In reply to actually it won’t come back when the keys are gone

The analogy I came up with is Windows is kind of like ice skating in a swamp.

As long as you are gliding along on the surface every time is fine, but the second you have to go below the surface?

As long as you have enought spare CPU, memory and drive space, you have no idea what is down there. And most people don’t care so long as nothing trips them up and send them crashing through the surface.

Have look at this web page

In reply to actually it won’t come back when the keys are gone

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_messenger_remove.htm

Remove Windows Messenger

Help with windows xp

The file sysoc.inf

Change
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
To
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7
(Take out hide)

Then try Add/Remove Windows Componets
You will see a new Windows Messenger at the bottom.

So your “simply uninstall process” includes editing the registry then?

In reply to which one?

You had a point with “seeing all running processes” – crtl+alt+del then “T” for Task Manager. Yup, you can see most running processes easily.

As for removing them, you lost it at “open registry editor”. Why is it not a checkbox int he add/remove Windows components?

found this…

In reply to Please tell us

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_messenger_remove.htm

and found this…

In reply to Please tell us

Click Start > Run and in the Open: box type the following command (press OK when done):
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection%windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove

http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/tune-05.html

or:

http://www.broomeman.com/support/wsdsblwm.html
or:

Removing Messenger from computers WITH Service Pack 1 installed:

1) Click on Start, Control Panel
2) Double click on Add or Remove Programs
3) Select Add/Remove Windows Components
4) Uncheck Windows Messenger
5) Click Next
6) Click Finish
7) Restart your computer

http://www.pchell.com/support/removemessenger.shtml

and another….

In reply to Please tell us

this one seems to cover all the bases:

http://www.cezeo.com/tips-and-tricks/windows-messenger/

Let me know how you make out.

..easily find?

In reply to sounds like you need to do some research

You can easily find these by….

I guess it depends upon what you mean by “easily.” I think that if I gave it a bit of time, I could figure out how to use MSCONFIG and other behind-the-scences Windows features, but I would probably have to break out my book and do a little bit of reading. But have my wife figure it out? No Way!

No, I mean something really easy. Have a windows feature that makes it clear cut exactly what is running, why, how to stop it from running, etc. etc. Is this too difficult for Windows?

I open up the windows task manager (having to know that pushing ctrl, alt and delete at the same time gets me their) and I see 20 apps that come up, of which 18 are in some sort of abbrebiation that I have no clue as to what they mean. I am asking myself…. Do I need all 20 of those apps running? I have no clue. I have no clue as to what those apps are and what the consequences are of deleting them?

By now you would think that microsoft could make windows a little bit more intuitive in this regard.

David

easily find the info yes

In reply to ..easily find?

This isn’t to say that just anyone should try and become a tech.

By easily I mean just what you’ve said. With a little effort, you can figure it out. If I tried to get my wife to do that? Here comes the sledgehammer…..

Forget intuitive – try some initiative

In reply to ..easily find?

and dont be afraid to ask for some help. That’s what sites like TR are all about.

The answers to all your questions are out there. Ignorance is no excuse. I got my first job in IT support by being honest with the boss that I knew very little about anything but was willing to learn.

Trial and error, help files, google searches, TR, support.microsoft.com, the list is endless. Take the time to expand your sphere of knowledge mate.

Don’t wait for the mountain to come to you 🙂

Try this little tool

In reply to ..easily find?

Process Explorer
Download it from Microsoft on this page
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/ProcessExplorer.mspx

More Utilities on these pages
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Processesandthreadsutilities.mspx?wt.svl=featured

Sorry but I need 12 words. :)

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

[b]Makes some thing that works the way that they claim it will.[/b] :^0

I’m so sick and tired of [b]Undocumented Features[/b] what any other decent company would call [b]Faults[/b] that I find them very hard to live with. :0

Col ]:)
Edited because I keep forgetting that you now have to use 0 instead of O

. . . release all its software under the BSD license.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I’d love to see what could be done with Windows application compatibility and the like by open surce *x hackers if the Windows source were opened up.

oh, right

In reply to . . . release all its software under the BSD license.

like that is going to happen —- Not in our life time.

s/would/think/

In reply to oh, right

You might notice that the thread title says “I [b]wish[/b] Microsoft would”, not “I [b]think[/b] Microsoft would”. I don’t really expect it to happen any time soon, either.

Noooooooooooo

In reply to . . . release all its software under the BSD license.

Some hack would put in a back door

ANOTHER back door

In reply to Noooooooooooo

MS products don’t already have back doors????

No they dont

In reply to ANOTHER back door

Those are myths created by people who hate M$

Oh? Then why is third-party “security software” NECESSARY?

In reply to No they dont

And every IT Guy around will tell you that third-party security software IS necessary when running Windows on the Internet.

Security ?

In reply to Oh? Then why is third-party “security software” NECESSARY?

Dont be silly
Nobody needs security

That’s why I need 3rd party AV, anti-spyware, firewall, etc

In reply to No they dont

Ya, no holes at all in MS OSes.

AV, anti-spyware, firewall

In reply to That’s why I need 3rd party AV, anti-spyware, firewall, etc

Nobody needs them
Its just fiction anyway

What you say!?

In reply to AV, anti-spyware, firewall

Some one set us up the bomb!

jmgarvin

In reply to AV, anti-spyware, firewall

Careful you will lose a finger
Don?t use the b word
I don?t want them to find me
They look for that word
Got to be careful who you talk t?
.
.
Who are you?
Who do you work for?
You people are evil
Do not talk to me
Do not read my replies
I know who you are

Death to the infidels

And like all such flaws in Open Source

In reply to Noooooooooooo

That backdoor would be easily identified and removed to continue hardening the program.

MS will never release it’s OS under the BSD license or any other Open Source but it really would be in the customer’s best interest.

Dont hold back

In reply to And like all such flaws in Open Source

Tell me what you really think
And be serious
I may think you like Open Source software
When you really love windows and M$

hehehe.. nice

In reply to Dont hold back

25’ish years of using MS products leaves one a little less than impressed with the quality available from a billion dollar company.

I do truly think that the FOSS development model is in the end user’s best interest where the closed development model employed by MS is only in the interest of MS and investors. One looks down towards the little peopel, one looks up towards the rich minority.

I’ll still explore Vista when license fees for Ultimate eventually come down into the remotely resonable range for such a product. I’m not deadset against MS products just for the same of “sticking it too the man.”

I also think that a company who dares to call itself the market leader in research and innovation should be able to do far better than they choose to do. At minimum, FOSS may force MS to produce a quality product. At maximum, MS who replaced IBM may be replaced for the very same reasons IBM was. Either way, it’s in the end user’s best interest rather than the current state of user lock-in and wizbang marketing which only serves the invenstor interests.

Don’t mistake me for an ideology driven religious nut though, I’m firmly of the Open Source camp interested in technical merits. When MS provides an OS that stands on it’s own technical merits with the best interest of the user in mind; I’ll happily and openly premote it also.

I have decided

In reply to hehehe.. nice

to avoid the MS verses OSS debate if I can

It always gets stupid
In 10 years it will all be different anyway

I did like apotheons joke about M$ and BSD license
So I joined the fun

This is SO going in my .plan with my 32k of ASCII art

In reply to Noooooooooooo

NT

realize

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

that people bash Microsoft for good reasons.

Well

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I think they are doing just fine. You do it!!

stop being a hydra-like behemoth

In reply to Well

eom

Provide a ‘One User Option’

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

My current installation of WinXP requires two ‘Administrator’ accounts, a ‘Default User’ account, and an ‘All Users’ account. I’m the one and only user. Why do I need all these @#%&(& files and/or shortcuts cluttering up my hard drive.

yes

In reply to Provide a ‘One User Option’

Provide a ‘One User Option’
My current installation of WinXP requires two ‘Administrator’ accounts, a ‘Default User’ account, and an ‘All Users’ account. I’m the one and only user. Why do I need all these @#%&(& files and/or shortcuts cluttering up my hard drive.

Nice one. That would be great.

I really wish Microsoft would . . .!

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

make an OS that worked like Mainframe OS’s.

I mean it would make sense if Microsoft was trying to make work for itself. But for crying out loud there are a lot more individuals that use Windows and they don’t have computer experts at their beck and call. And when the experts do corrections for the individual user at a cost of anywhere from $100.00 to $125.00, not a likely scenario that an individual will do that.

create something that people would LIKE!

In reply to I really wish Microsoft would . . .!

If Micro$oft did something for the normal computer user that is
USEFUL and DESIRABLE, then Customers would not want to go
somewhere else like MAC OS X or Linux

Original thought

In reply to create something that people would LIKE!

The history of the corporation indicates it is incapable of original ideas and would prefer to buy ideas or meld them or just outright copy them and fight the owner in court.

..turn everything OFF by default.

In reply to I really wish Microsoft would . . .!

Then there should be a first run screen that says something like the role choice for servers. “What are you going to use this PC for?”, then have a menu of choices that allow you to decide what needs to be turned on, such as file and print sharing (hackers!), auto updates(craaash), local FireWall (do you want to use another?), WITH BRIEF EXPLANATIONS of why you would or wouldn’t. It could even be at a very high level, like “1-Play Solitaire”, “2-Use Email”, “3-Network gaming with Spam relay and DDOS Zombie distribution server”, “4-Run fully integrated secure web services with back end database distributed over wireless”. Please don’t make #3 the Default. OK, realistically there are some things that need to be turned on, MS ARE getting better, and I’m sure the MS programmers can agree on reasonably safe compromises. Just don’t give me whole new holes for (potentially bug infested) services I might never use or even be aware of (as a dumb user that is, not me, I know it all… almost). EG Wireless Zero Configuration – I don’t have any wireless kit for desktops in my organisation, so why should it be turned on? Just to slow my new higher spec machines back down again? But then us techies wouldn’t need to know it all. Is that enough?

Mature their business

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

1. Separate apps from OS.
2. Port apps to other OS platforms.
3. Deprecate the notion of a “registry”. Use a simpler platform ambivilant method for storing application specific configuration/environmental profile information. The “.ini” worked well in the past. It never broke.
4. Embrace established standards rather than bastardize standards that do not provide for interoperation. (Yes, Active Directory is universally standard, right? as long as it is Windows contacting it).
5. Create a port of Linux. Look what happened when they came out of denial and embraced the internet. I believe they could greatly improve the user interface where the common non-tech type could use it at home.

Have a stable operating system

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Really, the constant upgrade cycle means that they didn’t get it right the first time.

There needs to be a certain amount of standarization and stability. The software should not be significantly changed, just improved periodically. And whatever version it is should talk to all the previous versions.

I always love it when a new version of whatever comes out, and the general attitude is “Yeah, we sold bizillions of copies of ‘x,’ but it really sucks and is now obsolete.” Why don’t they have a press conference and say “Sorry suckers! You bought our defective merchandise!”

Discontinue its “Get the Facts” campaign.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Perhaps create something fun and original – like those new Mac ads.

Quit adding features to OS that nobody wants.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

…go to a modular architecture that uses a small base module. Plug in any other options you want. Nothing built in.

edited for typo

Um, what I meant to say, was “ditto”.

In reply to Quit adding features to OS that nobody wants.

I expounded at excruciating length, without adding any substance to your very concise post. I apologize.

😀

…stop charging for each client i connect to the server.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

i understand that microsoft software is the best around, but why did they have to get greedy and stick their grubby little hands where they shouldn’t be. when i discovered that they charge just to connect a computer to a server, i was saddened. i am forced to switch to apple servers :). a killer server with unlimited client connections for under $4000. how could you beat that? microsoft can’t.

Make Windows OS more affordable!

In reply to …stop charging for each client i connect to the server.

How come you can buy a full PC with Windows XP Pro for $399 but to buy a copy of Windows XP it costs $199? Microsoft charges a pittence for Windows to OEMs, Government, and Academic clients but reams the rest of us. One would have to presume that Vista will follow the same money making path.

And worse…

In reply to Make Windows OS more affordable!

When you get it preinstalled you can’t say ‘NO’ to the EULA and get your money back. Higway robbery or tax ?

LMAO

In reply to And worse…

could you imagine getting a refund for rejecting pre-installed crappy OS’s. i would love it.

Free gift with …

In reply to And worse…

shafting.

You can say “no” and get your software tax back

In reply to And worse…

It’s a pain to do though and you’ll get what the OEM paid for the license; 50$ or so.

http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=07/01/03/227237

your right

In reply to Make Windows OS more affordable!

i can understand the wholesale mentality, but i don’t like paying $199 for an OS with so many holes. try again microsoft.

Remember when an MS OS cost 40$?

In reply to Make Windows OS more affordable!

I belive that ended with the hiding of Dos behind a Win95 makeup kit.

:^0 “makeup kit”! You crack me UP!

In reply to Remember when an MS OS cost 40$?

Now, we have the hiding of DDOSes behind a Cartoon Network makeup kit!

“i understand that microsoft software is the best around”

In reply to …stop charging for each client i connect to the server.

The most proliferant around in the desktop market specificaly; you betcha!

The “best” around based on technical merits; bahahahahaaa.. eeehahahahaaa..

Funny, I “understand” that Elvis Presley was abducted by aliens…

In reply to “i understand that microsoft software is the best around”

from Vega Omicron.

:p

No that was his twin brother

In reply to Funny, I “understand” that Elvis Presley was abducted by aliens…

Elvis lives in new york and works in a record store

How do you do the smiles in your replys
They are great

DigitalAI: TechRepublic’s emoticons guide is at this URL

In reply to No that was his twin brother

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-22_11-5269527.html

I really wish Microsoft would

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

solve the memory leak issue for its apps.

They may not remember how

In reply to I really wish Microsoft would

It leaked out

I really wish Microsoft would

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

delimit # of pages Publisher allows you to create.

Go back to Windows 95 and refine it.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I was perfectly happy with Win 95 and could run the internet with a 486 DX 100 and 48 MB RAM.

The primary reason I moved on (there is no such thing as an upgrade in the MS family) was that AV stopped supporting 95. Then AOL tech support kept hassling me because I was still using the very simple and stable version 4, which they “no longer supported.”

And finally of course the move to USB. The install disc for 95 B stated: “With USB support,” although I understand it did not in fact do so, but they must have been close to it.

Without the internet, I could run Win 95 on a 486 DX 66 and 8 – 16 MB RAM — and a jolly sight faster than the resource hogging Win 98.

The problem is of course that from the time IBM permitted clones, the hardware and software industries have been symbiotic.

We live in a capitalistic economy which depends on ever increasing production. So new hardware is released that permits higher specs for software, and software is released that will only run on these higher specs.

In point of fact most of my Win 95 software will install and run satisfactorily on XP, as will some Win 3.1 software.

In like manner, every year the car manufacturers have to release new models to ensure that most people “keep up with the Jones.”

I think that the IT industry in general is the most money-oriented industry that ever existed.

I drive a 1982 Volvo. It is a beautiful car to look at and to drive, but it is wearing out. I would like to be able to buy a brand new car of the same model and keep it well maintained. The same could be said for any number of models by various manufacturers which reached a peak in design before being replaced by something that was often inferior.

Yesterday I saw an original Ford Cortina GT. Now that was a well designed car. It won the rugged around Australia rallies two years in succession. What was it replaced with? An ugly monstrosity with poorer performance.

Well I do go on but I really hate being trapped in a society where good products are replaced by inferior products in so many instances.

So give me back Win 95, refined and with USB support, and I will be happy.

Great Idea

In reply to Go back to Windows 95 and refine it.

What a great idea. Take Win 95 and/or 3.1, add USB support, wallpaper, and drivers for the latest hardware. I liked 95/3.1.

sign me up

In reply to Go back to Windows 95 and refine it.

i’d gladly return to the wonderful windows 95.

Security?

In reply to Go back to Windows 95 and refine it.

I don’t know – I don’t think I’d want to put a 95 machine on the net any more – it’d be completely virus-ridden in minutes…

Besides – if you’re looking for the Win95-vibe, try any Linux distro and load up IceWM on it – it has a 95-esq feel to it – it runs pretty low on resources – and of course you’ve got the up-to-date driver set that comes with Linux (plus the enviable security)…

Give that a try…

thanks for the reply

In reply to Security?

i will look into that

No problem

In reply to thanks for the reply

You’re welcome

I’d be glad to!

In reply to Go back to Windows 95 and refine it.

[i]So give me back Win 95, refined and with USB support, and I will be happy.[/i]

Alert the presses, I agree with you! Call it “NT 4.0” for all I care, but I don’t need anything not available in 95, nor have even the slightest desire for any of Microsoft’s subsequent “improvements”, with the possible exception of the universal serial bus. That one is pretty cool, but not worth the data security risks that have accompanied the dot-com bupkus. Not close.

…patch the OS without needing a reboot

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Most of my UNIX systems can sustain patches to filesets without needing a reboot/IPL. Many patches can be applied without having to shut down any applications, even on a production system. The first thing you get told when installing most things on a Windows system is to save your work and exit all applications.
This aint very productive but perhaps not a big issue for single user. Imagine though, the impact of installing company wide patches to Microsoft systems that require everyone to reboot and encouraging them by placing immovable annoying popups on their screen.
Arrgggghhh.

patching OS

In reply to …patch the OS without needing a reboot

I entirely agree wih you. Building up a group of servers for automated process control & HMI over 2 years has meant manually tracking all the Hotfixes in each machine and only installing during out of operation hours ( normally operate 24/7 ) all because of this reboot issue. When you try and add some hotfixes using script commands to prevent reboot you find that some of your processes and services screw up. This goes for the workstations as well but these are not so critical. This whole system has no allowed access to external networks or internet so everything has be downloaded separately, AV Checked, installed in an offsite machine to prove it first before introduction to network machines. Now Server 2003 & XP has had so many fixes that it is now settling down we can now look forward to starting the cycle all over again with Vista etc. If my dept costed its MS support time for support for buggy software then MS would be paying us to use it.
If I had similar problems with my new motor car, by now I would have sued the motor company sucessfully with a settlement of some sort. With MS we just have to suck it. They have a lot to learn about customer support and public relations.

I really wish that Microsoft would…

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

1: clean up ALL of its code bases to eliminate the bloat.

2: clean up ALL of its code bases to improve security.

3: stop opening up more holes while attempting to patch others.

4: REALLY make its licensing vehicles easier to understand and use.

5: stop branding new versions of the OS for every conceiveable installation scenario (e.g. the almost dozen proposed Vista editions)

Stop Using the Registry for Application Settings

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

For those of you old enough to remember DOS or wise enough to use an “-IX” operating system you know how easy it is to move an application from one machine to another… just copy the application folder!

With Windows an application is scattered all over the place and the configuration settings are buried somewhere in the registry. This makes recovery or fail-over of a bad server a slower, more complex process than it needs to be.

INI files INI files

In reply to Stop Using the Registry for Application Settings

I’ve heard of their returning to ini-files 🙂
Back to the good old day’s of edit-ing scripts 😀 😉

Wasn’t that bad, was it. Just 1-place for every program. For all the users on that system even a different set of ini-files. etc …ect

Rob

Devil’s Advocate

In reply to INI files INI files

What is to stop people pirating the software if it is easy to copy from one computer to another?
A common phrase I have heard is “It doesnt cost the company anything because I wouldnt have it if i had to pay for it”. I think these people should be looking at what they do with it, rather than do they have it in the first place. Relating this back to the original post, MYOB had a good system where the program is mobile, but the database (which is a single file on the drive) is not. Moving the database to a different computer required calling and getting the new licence key. No registry settings, and a simple .INI file for startup options.
Could we get something like this from Microsoft’s non-OS products?

:-)

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

…be considered as just another business entity, looking for profits.

Yeah!

In reply to :-)

10-4. Leave them the heck alone. They’re doing what most other companies DREAMED of doing.

If they where not 90% of the general use computer market

In reply to Yeah!

Then absalutely. Being the monopoly player in the market means they have a responsability to the market though. Also, with the billions of dollars profit each year, is a little more budget for quality assurance really going to hurt that profit margin so much?

“I really wish Microsoft would…”

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

start to distribute new Apps or OS’es on memory sticks

give me ten seconds worth of their revenue

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

or more.

reinvent themselves – lots of suggestions

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

they are a behomoth.

they are expensive.

even their newest products are inundated with bugs and security holes. (that’s 11 but who’s really counting.)

realize that the mac’s new ad campaign is killer.

people are tired of technet

and to touch base on the thread starter

hello… “if you build it, they will come”

my personal rant – i am so tired of lifecycle i could just spit – but there isn’t any money in building something that will last.

More Power

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Provide more features for power users.

The ultimate power user tool for Windows

In reply to More Power

format /y c:

(kaheee.. I couldn’t resist that one)

Money Makers

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Sorry took me 14 words. Always have too much to say!!

‘STOP charging extortionate prices for software, when most free OS software is much better.’

Burn in hell

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Burn in hell

My Clients Cant Afford Windows XP What Am I Sapposed To Do?

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Lower Their Prices
I Have Clients who Say I Cannot Afford The Product ID But I Need Windows XP Am I Sapposed To Provide It At My Expense? It’s not Going To Happen As A Tech How Can I Build A System For 350 & Provide A Legal Windows Disc? Fact Remains I Cannot!!! So Now I’m Stuck I Always Try To Push The Legal Software But What Am I To Do When A Client Says I Dont Have It!!!!!

Simple

In reply to My Clients Cant Afford Windows XP What Am I Sapposed To Do?

Like anything else in life, if you can’t afford it, you don’t get to have it or use it.

What is this garbage that everyone has a right to have what they want whether or not they can/choose to pay for it.

Everything belongs to everyone

In reply to Simple

It’s called “communism”.

Adopt Java

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

..and dump C# and .NET!

Figure out how to boot the OS in 5 seconds

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

If you had told me 20 years ago, when I was running a 4.77 MHz 2-floppy drive (no hard drive) 640KB RAM PC-XT with a 7.14 MHz Turbo Switch (Wow!) that we’d be running stations now with multiple GHz CPUs and a typical 512 MB of memory and 120 GB of storage, and YET, we’d still have to wait 3 minutes for the darn things to finish booting, — well, I would have said you were crazy. Silly me.

deactivate startup services maybe

In reply to Figure out how to boot the OS in 5 seconds

just a thought, after installing windows, i noticed it had tons of unnecassary background services running (like telephony). i deactivated them all and my box seems to boot faster.

Your windows box boots in 5 seconds?

In reply to deactivate startup services maybe

Wow. I tried that, and got nowhere near that sort of result.

so sorry :(

In reply to Your windows box boots in 5 seconds?

i installed sp4 and ie6 w/ sp1, and now my box is back to starting up slowly. no idea what to do now, takes like 10 minutes or so.

vs. the quest for speedy desktop search

In reply to so sorry :(

Mr. Method – I feel your pain! 🙁

I read a very interesting opinion piece the other day in one of the trade rags that pooh-poohed the race to “own” desktop search. The author pointed out that very few users actually need high powered search on a regular basis; that making desktop search that easy would foster poor document management habits; that proper tagging (similar to what we experience with our music applications) would be a better step towards documents easy to find down the road; and that desktop search may serve up the same morass of excess results that Internet search currently does.

Yes, it would be real cool to find things quickly. Yes, it would be great to be able to sort and filter and group and yadda yadda. But would it be as great an innovation as giving us computers that turn on instantly?

Personally, I would happily limp along finding things the old fashioned way for a few more years – in exchange for a PC that booted instantaneously.

Besides – just think how much energy would be saved when people no longer have to keep their stations booted for availability.

It’s baffling to me that the big boys of OS (Microsoft, the Linux crowd, Apple, Sun) don’t realize what a boon this would be.

Hmmmmm…

Flash memory will get there

In reply to vs. the quest for speedy desktop search

Its faster than hdd
Up to 512 GBytes now
Price is very high but dropping
Turn on your pc and its ready
No waiting for shut down or startup
Hurray

mm.. yummy Flash drives

In reply to Flash memory will get there

I can’t wait. I didn’t upgrade from the Palm T5 to LifeDrive specifically *because* the LifeDrive used a spinning platter drive instead of Flash (and that ment giving up the built in Wifi).

Build a world class ERP system

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I really wish that Microsoft would build a world class ERP system to compete with the likes of SAP and Oracle. Their serious entry into this arena would encourage some real competition in what is currently a stagnant field. Their customer focus would also be appreciated here. TCO of ERP systems should also come down.

Why

In reply to Build a world class ERP system

Can you name anything that got a lower TCO when MS came into it ? I did the maths once, and dumped MS AND the PC as it was far too expensive to run – but cheap to buy. The fur-lined mousetrap.

Try running SAP in House

In reply to Why

Try running SAP in house. This is costing my IT department a fortune in expensive consultancy. I now need to find additional consultants/staff in handle the SAP to Networking side (BASIS). To handle custom developments/programming I need ABAP programmers/consultants (my existing Java/C programmers are useless) and to handle business configuration I need SAP configuration experts/consultants. Say what you like about Microsoft (a lot of it is deserved) but a least MCAD/MCSEs are two a penny and are of a fair quality compared to some of the expensive SAP consultants I have had in. SAP?s platform agnosticism comes at a price and that price is lots and lots of consultancy fees. To boot the users hate the SAP system (especially the UI side) and it has not been able to deliver on any of the efficiencies promised . Even a lightweight Microsoft developed (as opposed to acquired) solution would be preferable to the situation my IT department find themselves in at the present.

Release Windows 3.1 for todays hardware!

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Can you imagine how fast Windows 3.1 would be on a 3Ghz processor with 3-4 Gigs of RAM..!
No extra software included.. just a base OS without all the built in media players, zip utilities, fax viewers, network services, etc. etc..
I could install only what I want/need and nothing else!…
sweeeeet.

Added:
Or how about something that resembles the Palm OS
ZZZOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM

Tried that

In reply to Release Windows 3.1 for todays hardware!

Not with Windows 3.1 but with IBM WarpConnect. Talk about a flyer….

Stop using the market as beta testers

In reply to Tried that

Wishful thinking, eh?

Dos boots in about a half second

In reply to Release Windows 3.1 for todays hardware!

I threw it on a VM and it booted in about half a second. Heck, you could run win3.11 and the underlying OS off a ram disk. If my 3.11 disketts hadn’t rotted out, I’d give you a boot time from power down through to GUI layer over Dos.

Shrink baby shrink

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I just need a lillte user interface like my ipod.

I wish

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I really wish Microsoft would focus on improving and securing its OS

Realize “Yes to all” AND “No to all” can BOTH be choices

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Wouldn’t it be nice if they let you easily replace 8 files missing out of 2,500 in a directory without CLI. While I like CLI’s – try explaining them to the average user.

Would you like to overwrite existing files?

Buttons:
“Yes to all” ****AND**** “No to all”

So simple and obvious – must by why they missed it – they were too busy working on “Microsoft Bob”.

LMAO

In reply to Realize “Yes to all” AND “No to all” can BOTH be choices

i would’ve thought they implemented that by now

how to choose “No to all”

In reply to Realize “Yes to all” AND “No to all” can BOTH be choices

Microsoft didn’t miss it. Hold down the [Shift] key while choosing [No] to choose “No to all”.

Sweet

In reply to how to choose “No to all”

I’ve never heard that one but it works perfectly. Thanks for the tip…

make a concurrent licensing model available for all their products.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

We use several vendors (BaaN and PTC just to name two) that implement a concurrent license model. They have a license server that runs on a UNIX/Linux/whatever machine, you buy however many licenses you think you’ll need (and can add more when/if you need to) and the license server tells you when you’re out. Very simple.

You can install the software as many times and places as you want and it just can’t run without a license. I wish Microsoft would figure this out because it would greatly simplify their IRS-like licensing hoops that one has to jump through to be compliant and then you still never know if you did it right (just like calling the IRS – one person will say one thing and the next person you talk to will say something else).

I’ve asked for this because we all know that the possibilty of them using a GPL or BSD license is so much of a fantasy that it isn’t even worth a second thought. Neither is the possibility of completely ridding yourself of all Windows installations in your organization. Sure, you might lose a lot of connectivity if your license server goes down, but that’s a whole lot better than some jerks at the BSA coming in and bending you over just because you are one license short on Office or something equally stupid.

make their certifications worth $omething

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Five tests for $500, and passage meant a big fat salary increase again would be a start.

publish all undocumented settings once and for all

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I’m really tired of constantly having to find new facts & tips about Microsoft OSes from everyone except Microsoft.

Don’t get me wrong, I truly appreciate all the tips and knowledgebases out there and have even contributed to them myself.

However, I continually come across awesome tips at little known sites or from sources that most people have no idea exist. Take this tip which I obtained from Lockergnome (pasted below my comments). Something like this should be easily located on Microsoft’s web site. I’m sure I can find it now on Microsoft’s site now that I know what to search for. But the point is that no one knows to look for these solutions as they remain hidden, unpublished, unsupported, and somewhat exude an “easter egg’ quality. Why so much mystery and why is so much of the Window’s OSes undocumented yet available to end-users when they do find them? Seems as though Microsoft would WANT to publish as much information as possible to keep the users as happy as possible. Tweaks such as this (and there seem to be many like it) would go a long way…

Published TIP from LockerGnome’s site:
Microsoft reserves 20% of your available bandwidth for its own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc.) Here?s how to get it back:

Click Start / Run
Type: gpedit.msc
This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:

Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Network / QOS Packet Scheduler / Limit Reservable Bandwidth

Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the ‘Explain’ tab:

“By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default.”

So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO. This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%.

demonstrate an understanding of IT reality

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

So, for example, detail the consequences of the shiny new CD, not just have you load it in the drive and wait for wonderful things to happen. Even better, provide facilities to control what happens, under the theory that it’s your company’s computer, not the software vendors’.

Provide better system management tools; it’s inexcusable that we still run out of disk space on a server and can’t run a utility to localize where it all went.

Be embarrased that it can be easier to rebuild the server from the ground up than to fix the problem in the server, and correct this.

Stop expecting an IT department to suddenly be able to support a new version of Windows the day it releases, because suddenly that’s all you can buy.

Stop doing all the things that IT has to spin its wheels to overcome before getting back to what the execs expect of us: to support the business and add value.

Source code

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Open it’s source code that that we can all help to put it right.

LMAO

In reply to Source code

i think they’d rather wait till one of their bugs costs businesses money before they fix it. you do know how busy they are making medial player 11 and all 🙂

” … drop off the face of the earth.”

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

And that’s the truth!

A no-brainer

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

make its developers use the apps they sell to users.

turn itself off, ceasing creation of bad software!

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

The old addage, turn it off, and back on again seem to overpower pc useability at times. It would be nice if Microsoft would stop spanning out in so many directions until they actually gat the bugs out of software that everyone is being forced into use/upgrade to. Releasing new versions faster than the print press can cool off from the last event is not anyway to secure the future electronic-based world.

go ahead and take over the world.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Uncle Bill is a god!

oh please

In reply to go ahead and take over the world.

you have to be omnipotent to be a god. and we are all far from that.

…

oops, were you being sarcastic?

Backwards Compatibility

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Forget Windows ME and before.

Get rid of the backwards compatibility all the way back to the days of DOS 1.0. Keep Windows 2000 & XP compatibility, but I bet you could shrink the size and resource requirements of Windows Vista by 2/3 if you did that.

Will things break? Absolutely. Is that bad? I don’t know that it’s “bad” – it’s certainly PAINFUL, at least short-term, but I’d say it’s probably a pretty good thing long-term. Especially if you’re a developer. 🙂

At the very least you reduce the requirements of the OS and you remove crutches and breakpoints in it, as well.

quit

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

wasting CD+Rs with their trash.

I really wish Microsoft would…

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

…quit setting a release date for their products. That way they are not rushed to push a product that is buggy.

MS Fix anything

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Fix there OS none of them works right. To many bugs.

Remake Win 98 SE.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

They could prepare it for 64 bit processors, include a really good registry cleaner (because we’d surely need one) and do whatever they can about continuing its security updates. The point of this is that we keep getting more powerfull PCs and they keep running slower. Time to change that.

I really wish Microsoft would…

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

explode

Stop putting US IT workers out of work.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Just this week I talked to an Indian consultant who Microsoft recruited from an University in India brought him to Redmond and taught him all about the latest BizTalk technology on their dime. Then they sent him on his way to displace another US IT worker in consulting engagements. Why couldn’t a US IT student have received the same training and done just as well?

too close to home

In reply to Stop putting US IT workers out of work.

The US IT student already knows MS history too well and wants nothing to do with them. 😉

I really wish Microsoft would start offering a cash-back program

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

a ‘lil incentive here – cash-back/rewards programs; not like a little bit spread arround could hurt their bottom line-eh…
seriously, over a 3 year period….just how much cash are you responsible for funneling into MS thru your own buying &/or recommendations..?…alot eh-
ummmm, am I the only one who thinks they should just get their own freakin’ PC mfg. and see how they do as the ‘stand-alone’ company ! 🙂 :- 🙁

No you’re not and MS does

In reply to I really wish Microsoft would start offering a cash-back program

But first you have to join up as a MS [b]Certified Partner[/b] and then if you want you can get involved in all sorts of [b]Deals[/b] that MS offer ranging from discounts on the OEM Product that you buy to a 25% kick back for every Software Assurance license that you sell as well as Volume licensing. They also offer you a major discount if you sign up to be a MS Only shop.

Not to mention the [b]Action Pack[/b] that you can buy for your own computers.

Col

oops-my mistake :)

In reply to No you’re not and MS does

thanks for the info !!

I really wish Microsoft would…

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I really wish Microsoft would…

…not do evil.

Like there’s ANY chance of that!

…just stop!

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

From their beginnings w/only Steve and Bill, the “borrowing” of IBM-DOS through the buying up the little competing companies w/the great ideas, MS is not all that. Sending out buggy versions of Win each time, to force buting of fixes or next versions is incredulous. Who of us REAL geeks could, or would, do such mediocrity?

“I really wish Microsoft would…”

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Hire Me!!! I am a Graphic/Web Designer

MS

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I really wish Microsoft would fess up to being a greedy monopoly that creates mediocre products for the teeming masses to suck up like a narcotic.

Give executable names that make sense

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I use to program in RPG which restricted me to only 8 characters in any variable name. But, man. I do a process list and look at the process’s running and have no idea what I am looking at.
My philosophy of if in doubt, throw it out usually don’t work when I try to stop run away process’s in ms.
Shoot, I even like Microsoft.

Dan

Stop moving menu items around

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

As a software trainer/tech support specialist, I would like MS to stop playing with the location of menu items. Sheesh! It’s enough trouble trying to teach users how to use the new version and convince them the good far outweighs the bad without the menu items being moved from place to place. (especially with outlook account and server items)

I’m testing Office 2007 and I actually had to go to help to find out how to insert a section break in Word (I feel so degraded), it wasn’t under the insert breaks area (which would have been the most logical place).

I wonder what else they’ve moved!

i agree

In reply to Stop moving menu items around

sometimes clients think i don’t know what i’m doing when i can’t find a menu item because the latest version is different. really frustrating.

Strange

In reply to Stop moving menu items around

as this is one of the all-timers when the debate is about switching from Windows to another OS, or from MS Office to OpenOffice/StarOffice. Normally it is stated that the small differences in the UI between MSO and OO are so steep an obstacle that it nullifies any costsavings in the future.
The difference between Linux and Windows makes it impossible for anybody without a computer science degree to make the switch, althoug a decent OS should be invisible to the user.

Microsoft are the worst when it comes to changing thing for no apparent reason than change, and the worst when it comes to breaking their own programming rules. Try f.inst to move the underlying window when MS update is running, or move the Outlook windows after opening the window for replying to a mail. Not to speak of the icons in the system tray, absolutely no rules. Right-click, left-click, single-click or double-click to open. Completely a mess.

I really wish Microsoft would…

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Slip off the edge of the planet and give some honest companies a go…So bill gates gives a fortune to charities…Yes and gets it all back in tax relief.
Always ask why?

Microsoft Office 2003

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I really wish Microsoft would allow students to download Microsoft Office 2003 Pro to their own pc for free.

“I really wish Microsoft would…”

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

incorporate the graphics recolor function in PowerPoint into Publisher, Word and other Microsoft Office products. It is silly to have a well designed function in one application and not have it available in all applications.

Standardise File Locations

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Under Tools Options in all Office products have consistent User, Workgroup, and Startup folder options.

… stop creating that damn Windows Virus !

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

KSS KSS KSS …

What’s the difference between Windows and a Virus ?

The virus works ! Not Windows !

lol

In reply to … stop creating that damn Windows Virus !

total agreement. recently, i can’t shutdown windows without explorer.exe throwing an error.

why would clicking around break an OS.

I have a small request

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I would like to see added to the drop down list when shutting down Windows a “Restart in Safe Mode” instead of trying to hit F8 at the right time during start up.

yerp

In reply to I have a small request

i’d love that feature, sometimes i get distracted and have to restart yet again

I’ll add this to the wanted Suggestions

In reply to I have a small request

At the next MS Road Show or the next MS Partners Meeting whichever comes first.

Col

Thank You Hal

In reply to I’ll add this to the wanted Suggestions

I appreciate that.

I see…

In reply to I have a small request

Just as when the PC came around the power button was onthe back, because you powered up once a day. Then came Windows which froze for no apparent reason all the time, and it was too difficult to reach back and flip the powerswitch, so it was moved to the front of the cabinet.

Now you want the ‘restart in safe mode’ included in the shutdown dialogue. Restart in safe mode should be a very seldom used option. Naturally this fantastic stable and safe OS behaves well all the time. Not?

I’d like to see Microsoft create an OS that just works, manages the interface between hardware and applications – and nothing else. The rest is applications.

Have you ever

In reply to I see…

had to troubleshoot a PC that has a virus, trojan or adbot. With some of these you have to be in safe mode to get rid of them. These are not the product of Microsoft but some idiot who has nothing better to do than destroy other poeples PC’s.

I agree. Here’s a work-around…

In reply to I have a small request

I added Safe Mode and Safe Mode with Networking options to the boot menu.
That way, I can use an arrow key and the Enter key when it boots to select Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking or Recovery Console as options rather than the default OS.

In case you need it, here are the steps:
http://tinyurl.com/2hrcgw

But, I agree. I wish ya didn’t have to come up with all the ‘work-arounds’ to overcome Windows shortcomings.

Make the core OS truly protected.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

After a while windows starts slowing down and acting up. You can do some housekeeping and the like, but eventually the only way you are going to get the system running at it’s best is to wipe out the Windows (maybe even reformat the hard drive) and reinstall.

If I want to give up my current configuration and start over, WHY CAN’T I normally do this by just creating a fresh user account?

Does practically every program need to load something at boot up? Should any program be allowed to without user or admin approval?

Almost no program seems to keep all of the program files in a single directory. Almost every software program you load now seems to spray files all over the place.

The Windows doesn?t seem to be protected from anyone but the user and the FTC.

…

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Implode so their guts won’t blanket the globe.

Go away!

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Enough said.

Stop forcing meaningless “upgrades” under the guise of “improvement.”

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

The day will come when your computer will be unuseable because you didn’t get a “critical” windows update… which is only required because a previous update is maiciously waiting for the next improvement to come along.

I really wish Microsoft (Word) would

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

design a WAYYY more user-friendly mailmerge process. Every new release makes it more difficult to explain to users.

Let me work as I wish

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

with multiple static (not virtual) desktops (my choice of background per desktop, my open folders, my open files) which can be restored very easily after reboot, easy links between desktops, properly customizable ‘icons’ eg using pictures.
This was possible with Evolution Interface, but this cannot be purchased now, sadly, and was for Win98, only limited working in WinXP.
Now that was something!!!!!!!!

Charge True Exchange Rate Prices For Products In The UK

In reply to Let me work as I wish

The “Beast of Redmond” continually denies any involvement with the ridiculously-high, over-inflated, grossly-inadequate, so-called, exchange rates between Dollars US, and Pounds Sterling (GB for the uninitiated).

In some cases we, the crud of the M$ consumers, end up paying more for some products than all the “lucky” people in The U S of A, because the “lucky” people don’t have to bear the costs of transportation and import duties that all us saddoes do, over here in the UK. What is NEVER accounted for is that most of the M$ products don’t actually get put on a 747 and flown over here. They’re mastered and boxed and distributed HERE!

So where all this fascinating “import duty” comes into the pricing equation, I am at a loss to understand.

With regard to UK domestic pricing of M$ products, Bill G is becoming as (un)believable as George W.

man up and lose the God complex.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

All your programs are belong to us. 😀

Stop treating it’s customers like theives !

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Dump WPA forever.
(Hint: if you are currently running Vista DO NOT update your BIOS!!)

Get rid of the CALS

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

We just finished a study of Lotus Notes versus Exchange/Sharepoint/Outlook. Functionally, while the systems work differently, they both fill all the functions we need. Basically it came down to a cost decision. MS was much lower on the basic cost of the software – until you factored in the Client Access Licenses. Because of the high cost of these, the final number for MS was nearly 3 times the cost of implementing Notes! Even when we re-ran the numbers to get away from high-cost “enterprise” level licensing, the MS solution was still much higher than the IBM solution. Bottom line? We’ll be recommending a Notes installation. Really, it’s a no-brainer.

Steve G.
County of San Luis Obispo

…leave the Linux community alone & LEARN from said community!

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

There’s all kinds of things M$ can learn from Linux. Like how NOT to treat it’s paying users as criminals!…for ONE thing 😉

The problem here is MS learning!!!

In reply to …leave the Linux community alone & LEARN from said community!

see MS does not like to learn, instead they like to imitate, steal, and buy out anyone with an original idea. If they cant do these, then they involve the lawyers to hold companies in court for many years.

MS and Learn is a wish only. I doubt I will ever see it!

Quite true in deed…however,

In reply to The problem here is MS learning!!!

a question was asked which lead me to give [b][u]MY[/u][/b] ‘answer’ just as others have. 😉

…fish, or cut bait.

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I wish Microsoft would fish, or cut bait.

Each “new” operating system contains too much “backward-compatibility” cruft, and too little real improvement over the [b]core[/b] of the one before it — they all have no core, or a core that pales in comparison to the magnitude of its cruft! The difference between those I’ll leave as a matter of perspective, in the “eye of the beholder”.

I’ve used Windows as my primary personal operating systems since 3.11 for workgroups until Windows XP. I understand generally that the reason that many of the specific wish-list items above have not [b]yet[/b] been implemented is “backward-compatibility”. There were already “trade-offs” visible to a novice user (me) in 1994 when I got my first PC for college. The GUI was running “over” a DOS kernel, Windows 95 made different compromises to backward compatibility, and so on.

What I would like to see is Microsoft pick a streamlined kernel to provide the functions truly intrinsic to an operating system, and nothing else. Backward-compatibility to any specific app can be provided by a “module”, which each individual customer is free to install, or to not install, depending on our specific needs for backward compatibility with our software. And before anybody complains that these “modules” will require too much effort for Microsoft to be able to provide those modules with acceptable profit margins, that is the kind of work that should be offloaded to the third-party vendors, and not used as an excuse by Microsoft.

There is no excuse that I will accept for having bloat in my OS for software I don’t use, nor even [b]want the option to use[/b], but that is what Microsoft has been delivering, from Windows 95 (my second Microsoft operating system) until XP, the last one I will ever buy, or use on a machine I own.

I finally made the switch, which has turned out to be final, in 2005. I had two computers, and installed Linux on the slower of the two, a 2.2GHz desktop, on a trial basis. Windows allegedly has greater hardware requirements, so I gave it 3.2GHz, and found that I still noticed the system hanging more frequently for routine, Internet-appliance type tasks. Both got 2GB of RAM and very comparable hard disks by all performance measures. I have not yet encountered any important work that Windows does [b]as well as[/b] Linux did, even though Linux used lesser hardware, so a few months ago I switched the installed operating systems to leave Windows installed at home only on my lesser hardware, with vastly diminished expectations. It is still in my home mainly to play DVD’s, and hypothetically, in case of work I can take home without hauling the laptop from the office. That just isn’t happening enough to justify calling the Windows box more than an overdressed doorstop.

I’m about to transfer my mp3s to my Linux machine, and leave my Windows box to do the one thing that I don’t want to do in Linux: serve as DVD video player. ATI did fine work on the Multimedia Center software included with their TV Wonder and All In Wonder video adapters, and I don’t feel like making my Linux computer “Windows-compatible”, nor monkeying again with the various Linux modules that allow tv tuner functions with ATI hardware. I can attest that it’s doable, but I won’t say it’s worth the effort, for a computer that is primarily to serve as an entertainment center. Since they aren’t offereing a refund and the functionality is already there, I’ll keep playing movies in Windows, and use Linux for more marketable learning purposes, such as network security and web server maintenance. I’m really impressed by the ease of use of squid, and the range of iptables.

Microsoft has lost my business, but could have kept it by providing the aforementioned efficiency & leanness before I learned enough of computing (still not much at time of writing, but enough to be disgusted!) to conclude that their new release strategy is essentially ridiculous, and not based on any sound computing or programming principles. An operating system is defined by the abstraction layer it provides to control the system hardware. Including, or “bundling” other applications is fine with me, as long as they are included [b]as applications[/b]. But Microsoft provides them as part of the operating system itself, impossible to really remove, which both consumes resources and leads to security vulnerabilities associated with zero-value, unused programs, and that I cannot tolerate. A side effect of the modularity I described above would be that [i]de facto[/i] security for end users would be easier for the Microsoft programmers to deliver with [b]reasonable[/b] efforts, and that is the primary motivation for my switch to Linux. I choose not to discuss that in detail here though, but only to say that having identified the overarching programming theory (or rather, lack thereof) which has been the ongoing reason for Microsoft’s total inability to provide “security out of the box”, that I’m not buying it — EVER AGAIN.

You may all ready know this

In reply to …fish, or cut bait.

So dont get angry
It is possible to run more than one os
On a single computer
Just switch to windows for any software
That needs windows

(Chuckle) Yes, I did already know that.

In reply to You may all ready know this

Didn’t get angry!

🙂

I’ve used dual-booting in the past, but now find it unnecessary. I have no further need for Windows. It’s a doorstop.

Nice to know

In reply to (Chuckle) Yes, I did already know that.

You didnt waste money on a second pc
just for windows
I feel sorry for the people who do

a VM is even better

In reply to You may all ready know this

Games and the few things that can’t get hardware access through the VM get run under native Windows boot.

Anything else that needs the win32 libraries get’s run under a Virtual Machine.

The other 95% of what I do with a computer “just works” under the real OS I’m primarily booted into.

Open up their file/disk formats and APIs

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I think the number one condition for dropping the old antitrust lawsuit should have been a firm committment that from a date certain, the entire software community would know the totality of what the Office and Windows Development Teams know about (1) the Windows API, (2) Office file formats, and (3) NTFS metadata formats. I’ve used Linux for many years, and Open Office is pretty good — but it cannot open absolutely every Office file, and Linux cannot with absolute safety write to NTFS partitions, because in both cases developers must reverse-engineer Redmond’s secret formats.

“… release an OS that forces people to consider their options.”

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

Behold, my wish was granted.

Vista has driven more people to consider Linux, OS X and the rest, than anything else I have seen so far.

What were they thinking?

Most people will, of course, stick with MS but don’t start the punters thinking or you never know what they might do.

The next OS had better not do the same or the trickle might become a stream.

Stop telling Congress there is a shortage of skilled IT labor

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

in the USA to justify your wanting to flood the IT market with cheap H1-B labor. Yes Billy, you are selling out the same country that made you the man you are today.

But but…there are no skilled US workers

In reply to Stop telling Congress there is a shortage of skilled IT labor

At least that are willing to work for peanuts.

You thought I was serious, didn’t you 🙂

Will work for food…just not peanuts….LOL

In reply to But but…there are no skilled US workers

Throw in a couple of 48oz porterhouse steaks, baked potatoes, and Dom Perignon wine and maybe I’ll think about it.

Give MS certified pros the time to learn the product

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

instead of expiring the certification exams too soon and forcing corporations to upgrade every time you have an itch to flood the market with a so called “New and improved version of Windows”. I’m in favor of change, but for crying out loud, slow the hell down and let people get accustomed to the current version before pulling the plug on it.

I think my suggestion to choose a friggin’ kernel would address that:

In reply to Give MS certified pros the time to learn the product

You’re right. MS Certs have the shelf life of brown bananas, man. It’s ridiculous. If they had a solid, functional core [b]technology[/b] (other than the i386 architecture on whose coattails they ride!) the techs who specialize in Microsoft would have a plausible path to learn the technology in their current job descriptions, then learn a bit more and [b]get ahead[/b] in their careers.

Just a thought …

The entire certification program is nothing more than revenue generation

In reply to I think my suggestion to choose a friggin’ kernel would address that:

MS doesn’t want anyone to learn their products…period! And just when one spends an arm and a leg achieving certification, MS expires the product and requires recertification for a new toy they throw into the market (read Vista and Longhorn). Companies are feeding this stupidity by demanding that job applicants have years of experience for a new product that has only been publicly available for a few months. Who in the hell are they trying to hire…Bill Gates himself? Jeeez!

Oh I love that

In reply to The entire certification program is nothing more than revenue generation

Recruiters are already asking for 1 year of Vista experience…uh…ya, lemme get on that.

What really kills me is that MCSE has turned into a marketing test rather than a technical test. Too many of the question focus on silly things (like setting up XPs firewall or turning on/off Windows Updates). You can always go right if you answer the question in a way that makes MS sound like they are secure, stable, and 100% pure awesome…

Good times.

Oh, the only certs worth anything anymore are the certs with a practical to make sure the user actually knows how to USE the product. Jeez…

It’s not just MS Cert Exams but Novell and others as well

In reply to Oh I love that

They want you to know things “their way” and answer the questions in accordance to how they want you to know it. For example, I don’t know one person in IT today that will waste their time setting up a Windows 2003 RRAS server to do a VPN connection. That’s what Cisco VPN concentrators are for, but MS is stubborn on wasting an entire friggin section on the 70-293 exam just on that. Novell exams used to be very interactive and really tested a candidate’s knowledge of the product but lately, they’ve morphed into typical marketing exams that expect you to answer the questions the way Novell wants you to. I have to say that the new MS exams do have a lot more simulations and real world scenario based questions, but the marketing nonsense is still in there. It’s just too bad that certifications have lost their prestige in the past decade when the NT4 paper certs were running around and botching up systems. Employers now should care more about actual work experience and the ability to troubleshoot instead of how many certs one has achieved.

what of those with neither?

In reply to It’s not just MS Cert Exams but Novell and others as well

I’m always interested to hear points of view on this topic. What would you recommend to those who have neither paper certs nore recent work placement experience but who do have the skill and keep up to date through work outside of professional titles? In my case, I’ve the skill and experience but have no recent experience on paper since moving to a new town without being able to break into the IT industry there. Every IT manager I talk to eventually asks; “how are you not working in IT?”

EXACTLY! M$ cert$ not the only ones…

In reply to The entire certification program is nothing more than revenue generation

…that are [b][u]JU$T[/u][/b] $[b][u]m[/u][/b]$[b][u]o[/u][/b]$[b][u]n[/u][/b]$[b][u]e[/u][/b]$[b][u]y[/u][/b]$ grubbing with
so called [i]Certifications[/i] that are
totally meaningless. 😐

The auto industry has it’s equal in
it’s “ASE” testing. Those tests ask the
same question over and over again in ways
that take and English major a week to
figure out the puzzle presented by each
question and then the answer has to be
worded just so! Those tests are about
things that [b][u]NOT[/u][/b] been on
vehicles in several YEARS! Each “test” and
subsequent taking of said test co$t$ at
lea$t $60 a pop!!!

“MONEY MAKING machine” is [b]
[u]CORRECT[/u]!!!!![/b]

And I’m sure that other industries have
their ca$h cow [i]testing proceedures[/i],
too. 😉

Edited: To fix syntax errors, etc. X-(

I REALLY wish they would bring back their awesome commercials

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4915875929930836239&q=windows+386&total=94&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Sell Windows 2010 in modules

In reply to Ten words or less: “I really wish Microsoft would…”

I guess the “Basic” module would be just an “operating system” — hardware/user interface is essentially what an operating system “is”, as long as we’re all using a reasonable definition of “is”.
:^0
Then, we could buy the “IIS” module or the “firewall” module, and quit griping about Service Packs and Tuesday patches to “modules” we haven’t bought & installed.

[Author]

Replies