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Windows: A perfect summary for Windows
Wed, 11 Apr 2007

It is difficult to sum up everything that is MS Windows in one word or phrase. "Damn" would be one way, but "Mostly Harmless" would be another. Today I choose to describe it with a simple scenario that happens to me every couple weeks -- frequently enough that I can say its bit me dozens of times, but not so frequent that I've bothered to hack the OS to not do it.

Imagine you're working away with a dozen applications open in one form or another. You head downstairs to make lunch, or head out to the doctor, or go buy a coffee, or whatever. Upon return, you find a nicely rebooted machine. The reason is simple -- MS offered an update, and you wisely had the machine set to auto-download. Further, rather than be pestered every day, you set it to auto-install updates. For, being a Windows box, you bloody well need the patches. So "yes" I'd like auto-downloads, "yes" I'd like auto-installs if they're passive. No, I do not want "auto reboot" .. wtf genius defaults to the worst possible option? Its akin to highlighting the "Yes" button by default, in the "do you wish to format your hard disk and destroy all data" type box.

Really, its the whole mentality summed up -- when MS wants you to reboot they pop up a dialog that out of the blue starts capturing all your inputs mid-typing, and defaults to rebooting your machine in a few seconds if you're not there looking for it. Thats the MS way -- not to think it through whatsoever.

So today, I went down to check on the baby, and a few mins later.. yep, no more open applications. Thanks again Bill, for the lost data!

Aside; a friend brings up the interesting question -- if they're remaking every movie from the 60s and 70s.. when are they going to remake Star Wars? Obviously, Lucas mucks with it every year anyway, so thats a moot point. But, he asks.. when will they dare to remake The Godfather. Scary times, is when.

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