Windows XP
Ahh, October is here, the leaves on the trees are fallen, there is a crispness to the air, and a strange foul stench. What is this foul stench? Why, it’s the release of Windows XP. Microsoft’s latest attempt at a marketing ploy to control all home computing. It certainly is not a new operating system. From what I can tell it is windows 2000 with a four year old’s interpretation of Mac OS X aqua. (Windows 2000, by the way, was 4 years late. It was supposed to be Windows 96 or 97, but they could not get it to work.) With all the marketing hype around XP, this is why I will never buy or USE Windows XP:
1) Childish interface changes. The default widget sizes are an insult to my intelligence. (What’s a widget? They are the X, Minimize, Maximize, and other assorted small parts that surround every graphical window.) I am not blind, and I am not 4 years old. I don’t want happy blue and green, I want a professional looking system. Before you start to whine “you can change it” the other 2 interfaces included, Platinum (a TOTAL rip off of OS X) and the Green Thing are really not much better. I use KDE 2.2.1 with a light marble theme. It is quite subtle but very attractive to look at. The biggest bitch I have with the interface is I can not move the “Start” button. With KDE, I have it the dead center, to minimize mouse travel, plus I can add as many “Start” buttons as I want and I can move the clock from the lost lower right hand corner to anywhere I want. Can Windows XP do this? I know it is a minor thing, but it lets me know it is my computer, I can put the buttons anywhere I damn well please.
2) Lack of compelling features. Other than the new interface, bundled photo and movie editing software, I don’t see much more value in the system. I know it is supposed to be more stable, but didn’t Microsoft say that for Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 98se, Me, NT, and 2000? Are they telling us that they sold us shoddy software, and now we should upgrade? I have already spent hundreds of dollars on previous upgrades, but apparently they were all crap? They must be since BILL GATES stated there is no DOS, 16 bit Windows, or Windows 95 in Windows XP. Back to compelling features, I can download and edit all my Photos in Linux using GIMP and Kamera. If I want to edit a movie, I can use Broadcast 2000.
3) Restricted content. In the new Windows XP, you CAN NOT record MP3s at a rate greater then 56Kb/sec. 56K MP3 sound like a cheap radio. If you want full (128K) recording, you HAVE to use Windows Media format. Windows Media is a restricted format, meaning you can not trade any songs unless you have the digital rights to it. I understand the copyright owners’ rights, but I believe you should at least be able to make copies of your music and keep it on your hard drive in a non-proprietary format. On my own computer I can store my music, at a full bit rate, in MP3 or OGG format (OGG is an open source alternative to MP3s.). I have no restrictions to where I store the music, and what device I store them on. I do not use Napster or Gnutella, so I want to be able to store my music in the format I want. Windows XP does not offer this.
4) Task oriented menus. This goes back to the fact that Microsoft thinks its users are morons. I know I need to use a word processor to write a letter. When I am in the word processor, I know how to properly write a business letter. I do not need a ‘wizard’ to help me figure out how to do it! I do not need a happy dog to tell me how to do something. I have been using computers for 15 years. It is insulting to experienced users and condescending to new users.
5) Massive system requirements. Despite what Microsoft says, the new operating system will not work well unless you have at least a Pentium II or III class processor running at 500Mhz with 256MB of RAM. I know computing is cheap, but do we need millions of more computers sent to the landfills this year, just so you can edit and mail pictures of your dog fluffy a little easier?
6) Unknown long term plans of Microsoft. We all know that they are planning the .NET thing, whatever it is. In three years, will Microsoft force existing users to pay up or have their computers shut down remotely? Don’t think they can’t do it. If they refuse to activate your operating system, you can only use XP if you use an illegal “Crack”. If bin Laden exploded a 20 megaton nuclear device in Redmond, WA, will your OS still work? Can you risk it?
7) The Activation Scheme. This is the thing I hate the most about Windows XP. When you first use XP, you have to activate it by contacting Microsoft by Internet or Phone. The say that no personal information is taken, but I believe that about as far as I can throw a city bus. If they don’t get you there, they REQUIRE you to sign up with their Passport service. Well, technically it is not required but it asks you so many times, you might as well do it to get rid of it. Ever try to get rid of Windows Instant Messenger in Windows Me? It’s worse than that. Somehow entrusting my personal information to the service which is based on Hotmail is just plain frightening. Their track record on security, especially Hotmail has been unforgivable. I used to use Hotmail, for the BS mail, but MICROSOFT WILL NOT ALLOW MY LINUX COMPUTER TO LOG INTO THEIR SERVICE ANYMORE!!! That’s right, if you use Linux, you can’t use Hotmail or anything on MSN. Now that’s not abusing a monopoly…sure. I do hope this company rots.
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