The funny thing is that Microsoft spends way more on advertising than Apple.
But Microsoft still finds it difficult to communicate to the consumer.
I think the problem is that culturally Microsoft is a company driven by engineering values. And engineers (bless them) are not really in tune with what consumers want. Sony are another company where engineers get too much rope.
Microsoft needs to have product development led by designers. And then have its engineers implement those designs.
C.
Agreed.
However I think the Microsoft advertising guys are actually quite good at their job. They got the word out about the product brilliantly. The trouble is that there was no market for a social networking dumb-phone that was priced like a smart phone. Ever.
The whole KIN team did a great job at creating a very interesting and relatively innovative product that nobody actually wanted to buy.
Product development led by designers would be a start. As would a proper end-to-end marketing solution that starts with them finding out what consumers actually want before they spend 2 years coding.
They would do well to get the analytics guys that worked on Windows 7 to offer their input on the Microsoft mobile strategy, however I suspect Ballmer would be loathe to have his top minds doing anything else but tending to the cash cow.
Maybe they'll turn it all around with WP7. It certainly looks interesting at this point.
If your software sucks under Win7 then shouldn't you have a word with the developer to upgrade it for the OS? Do you complain to Apple when your 3rd party stuff doesn't work properly in the latest version of OS X?
From what I understand, every major CAD & CAM software has this problem. This is in contrast with the old CAD software that I had, which run under Windows 3.11 / Win 32S and still ran reliably under Windows XP SP3, which is roughly three kernel transitions vs. maybe one from XP to Vista/7.
Quote:
You can have the Control Panel work in the "Classic" mode by the clicking the link in CP that tells you it's possible.
It's not the same thing though, the items are renammed, it's a little harder remember what everything is when dealing with three different computer operating systems on any given day. Maybe if all I did was Windows 7, I would be fine.
Quote:
If notifications p!ss you off, turn them off. Why moan about something that you can control?
I can control that to a limited extent, but I would also lose any benefit from it. I was asking for more fine-grained control, I didn't see any good way to do that on a program basis.
Quote:
If you get blank screens, then your hardware is at fault, not the OS.
The chipsets are bog standard Intel. If MS can't get it right with a standard issue Intel-based product, then why should it be my problem? The computer isn't from a small-time brand either. I've seen this from another major brand's computer using a different Intel chipset too.
Quote:
If that's the best you can do to dump on Win7, you're desperate, I use Windows for about 25% of what I have to do and I figured out that stuff in the first hour of using it, without the manual.
I use Windows for most of my work. From what I see, I see negligible benefit and only problems.
Quote:
The problems you experience are either fictitious or you are not a very adaptable soul Jeff. Good luck when you get your next remote control.
If insulting the user is supposed to be the way to convincing the user that Microsoft product is great, then I don't think it's a good argument. I generally don't accept that kind of argument for Apple products either. I was able to switch all my software and data and user habits to an Apple OS a lot more quickly.
Don't confuse the inability to sell a product with a lack of innovation or ability to create a good product.
Xbox, Tablet PC, Media Center, Windows smartphone, Microsoft Surface, and Xbox 360, Zune, Windows Live services, Azure, Visual Studio, Windows Home Server, SBS, Sharepoint, Exchange and now KIN and I'll even throw in Kinect etc etc are all good products and\\or innovative for their time.
What they seem to lack from the consumer perspective, is the ability to find where these products fit into the market. Apple got around this with their big winners (iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad) by creating a brand new market.
You should say they don't have the DNA to capitalize on their creativeness.
I would disagree. MS is a sales and marketing machine. One of Gates biggest strengths lay in his ability to convince people that they needed what he had to sell, regardless of it not being the best of breed.
"If you can't make it good, at least make it look good" -Bill Gates.
That is what their DNA is made up of.
Some of those products you listed could be considered innovative, but not many. XBox has certainly been successful, but is just another game console. Surface is interesting, but really seems to be a rough implementation of what Jeff Han was already working on, except theirs uses cameras to determine touch point and movement (cameras? wtf?). Tablet PC seems to simply be a Windows laptop that uses a stylus, Zune was just an iPod wannabe, etc.
Sometimes, they do have some good ideas. Their implementation often sucks. As for their inability to sell some of these dogs, I guess it could be failure in sales and marketing. Or it could be a failure to create a compelling enough product or 'innovating' in areas that just don't make sense. Seriously, who wants a 'Social' phone? How freaking useless is that, when any smart phone can keep you just as in touch and not be embarrassing to use?
However I think the Microsoft advertising guys are actually quite good at their job. They got the word out about the product brilliantly. The trouble is that there was no market for a social networking dumb-phone that was priced like a smart phone. Ever.
They would do well to get the analytics guys that worked on Windows 7 to offer their input on the Microsoft mobile strategy, however I suspect Ballmer would be loathe to have his top minds doing anything else but tending to the cash cow.
Maybe they'll turn it all around with WP7. It certainly looks interesting at this point.
The branding of Microsoft products is just inexplicable. They need to re-think how products are identified to allow customers to understand what they are getting.
The XBox is a good recognisable product. It's actually cool. So why not identify all media / gaming and youth products with X-box based branding?
Windows is about desktop computing. So using the Windows brand on a phone is just crazy. The new WS7 phone does not even have any windows on its interface. It does not have any Windows UI elements either.
In the UK, the most popular IM service is Microsoft's. But people still call it "MSN" because the Windows Live Messenger name hasn't stuck. It's just the wrong name. I have never heard anyone say "I am on Windows Live Messenger"
Perhaps it would have been better to use the Hotmail branding?
From what I understand, every major CAD & CAM software has this problem. This is in contrast with the old CAD software that I had, which run under Windows 3.11 / Win 32S and still ran reliably under Windows XP SP3, which is roughly three kernel transitions vs. maybe one from XP to Vista/7.
It's not the same thing though, the items are renammed, it's a little harder remember what everything is when dealing with three different computer operating systems on any given day. Maybe if all I did was Windows 7, I would be fine.
I can control that to a limited extent, but I would also lose any benefit from it. I was asking for more fine-grained control, I didn't see any good way to do that on a program basis.
The chipsets are bog standard Intel. If MS can't get it right with a standard issue Intel-based product, then why should it be my problem? The computer isn't from a small-time brand either. I've seen this from another major brand's computer using a different Intel chipset too.
I use Windows for most of my work. From what I see, I see negligible benefit and only problems.
If insulting the user is supposed to be the way to convincing the user that Microsoft product is great, then I don't think it's a good argument. I generally don't accept that kind of argument for Apple products either. I was able to switch all my software and data and user habits to an Apple OS a lot more quickly.
I use an Intel chipset on my PC, and have never had a problem...have you tried updating your drivers?
And why are you using such old SW? Some SW doesn't work under 7, like at work, we use XP Mode for some of our LC/MS instruments. MS added that for a reason, and if you don't have 7 Pro, there's always something like VMware or VirtualBox (which works better than Virtual PC IMO).
I hardly ever see UAC prompts either. Only if I'm installing something, or mucking around with a system setting. In that regard, I find it no different that what OSX or Linux does. Wish their was a 'sudo' type command in CMD, but alas.
I agree the Windows Control Panel is a complete mess, but I just use the search in the Start Menu for everything now. I just don't think it will be as easy as OSX's System Prefs, but that's Windows.
OSX isn't Windows, and Windows isn't OSX, but neither of them are hard to use anymore, although each have quirks. (I hate Finder for example).
Maybe you shoulda posted this picture back in 2005, change "iPad" with "iMac," and replace the Adobe to HP or Dell. Might have gotten a little more laughs. These days Google is the new Microsoft to Apple community. Amazing how fast you guys are willing to turn off on something just because of what the CEO or Company says (same goes for Adobe nutjobs).
I bought an initial holding of MSFT and AAPL. Then I noticed that the AAPL CEO was a genius while the MSFT CEO was a buffoon. I immediately sold all my MSFT stock and loaded up with AAPL to the gills. That was when AAPL was at 45 while MSFT was at 33. Best stock call I ever made. AAPL allowed me to ride out the Bush-Greenspan recession with very little pain. For that, I will forever be grateful to Mr. Steve Jobs.
I use an Intel chipset on my PC, and have never had a problem...have you tried updating your drivers?
I updated right away, and checked about every month. Unfortunately, Dell doesn't have an easy system to keep drivers updated. It seems like a new update as of like last week or new settings made it a lot better.
Quote:
And why are you using such old SW?
Because it still does the job I need it to do very well and I'm very efficient when using it, the workflow is pretty efficient. Also, each major release costs more than the combined value of every Windows license I've ever bought. Apparently this software still works fine under 7 too, it just requires running administrator mode, that's all, tripping afowl of the UAC.
Quote:
Some SW doesn't work under 7, like at work, we use XP Mode for some of our LC/MS instruments. MS added that for a reason, and if you don't have 7 Pro, there's always something like VMware or VirtualBox (which works better than Virtual PC IMO).
I've not had good functioning with virtualization with this program. 7's XP mode works well enough, but there's this very crude UAC system that allows me all of four settings and doesn't appear to offer a whitelist for a handful of specific programs, so either I get notifications on every launch of those two programs that I wish I could give special exceptions to, or set it for no notifications, which I don't think is a good idea.
Quote:
OSX isn't Windows, and Windows isn't OSX, but neither of them are hard to use anymore, although each have quirks. (I hate Finder for example).
I'm well aware of that, quirks in both platforms can get pretty irritating, I tend to use Windows for certain things, and the Mac for other things. However, XP seems to have fewer obstructions to smooth operation than 7. There are advancements in 7, but I'm not really convinced that it's worth it just yet.
The chipsets are bog standard Intel. If MS can't get it right with a standard issue Intel-based product, then why should it be my problem? The computer isn't from a small-time brand either. I've seen this from another major brand's computer using a different Intel chipset too.
From what I see, I see negligible benefit and only problems.
There has to be something amiss with the actual computers, not the general nature of the hardware, unless the machine is below the spec required to properly run the OS. My experience is that Win7 has had no issues with hardware or third party software since the RC release, 32 and 64 bit.
In the half dozen PC systems we operate from Atom CPUs to i-series, the sole issue that is repeatable is problematic upgrades where there's more than a single bootable volume attached to a particular system.
In the main, hardware driver updates take place automagically as they're released and need no user input to facilitate.
All Win systems have things about them that bug me but those are personal preferences I have. Win7 has thus far been faster and requires less maintenance than any previous release so your experience is vastly different to mine.
Your last line quoted above seems to sum up why you have a downer on what is a very good OS. Perhaps you're 'seeing' what you want to see?
There has to be something amiss with the actual computers, not the general nature of the hardware, unless the machine is below the spec required to properly run the OS. My experience is that Win7 has had no issues with hardware or third party software since the RC release, 32 and 64 bit.
In the half dozen PC systems we operate from Atom CPUs to i-series, the sole issue that is repeatable is problematic upgrades where there's more than a single bootable volume attached to a particular system.
In the main, hardware driver updates take place automagically as they're released and need no user input to facilitate.
All Win systems have things about them that bug me but those are personal preferences I have. Win7 has thus far been faster and requires less maintenance than any previous release so your experience is vastly different to mine.
Your last line quoted above seems to sum up why you have a downer on what is a very good OS. Perhaps you're 'seeing' what you want to see?
Most of the stuff I was complaining about were nuisances, not problems, but they seemed to be unnecessary ones. I guess I'd have no idea how reliable the OS is, the computer and OS hasn't given me reliability problems, just (IMO) unnecessary nuisances. The speed wasn't a problem except for one clunk in the UAC notification screen. But XP hasn't given me much for reliability problems either, some nuisances, but I knew how to turn off most things that were nuisances. Google was showing me outdated ways to turn lots of the fluff off, I gather several controls were moved a lot between Vista, the 7 betas, release candidates and the actual release, and some controls were renamed in that period too. It seems like a problem of poor design to get a run-around setting up my preferences.
Now, my challenge is to get my 7 notebook to access my network drives on a server computer, something that works (sometimes clumsily, but it does work) on OS X Tiger, Leopard and Windows XP. As much as I don't want to play computer administrator, I really don't want to play network administrator, getting those platforms to cooperate was bad enough, especially when file sharing should be a simple enough of a concept though subtle differences in protocol implementation and configuration can confound the best of efforts.
I take a cruise to Mexico and this is what happens. That's actually too bad. \ There were some aspect of KIN that were really cool like the timeline of your social activities and content.
This doesn't give consumers too much confidence in Microsoft products as this has happened before with Microsoft ditching Plays4Sure for the Zune. Microsoft needs to be more confident in its product releases and not release if in doubt. They just wasted a boat-load (don't know really but suspect easily a hundred million) on the KIN's development and marketing. That's one more nail in Ballmers coffin.
Most of the stuff I was complaining about were nuisances, not problems, but they seemed to be unnecessary ones. I guess I'd have no idea how reliable the OS is, the computer and OS hasn't given me reliability problems, just (IMO) unnecessary nuisances. The speed wasn't a problem except for one clunk in the UAC notification screen. But XP hasn't given me much for reliability problems either, some nuisances, but I knew how to turn off most things that were nuisances. Google was showing me outdated ways to turn lots of the fluff off, I gather several controls were moved a lot between Vista, the 7 betas, release candidates and the actual release, and some controls were renamed in that period too. It seems like a problem of poor design to get a run-around setting up my preferences.
Now, my challenge is to get my 7 notebook to access my network drives on a server computer, something that works (sometimes clumsily, but it does work) on OS X Tiger, Leopard and Windows XP. As much as I don't want to play computer administrator, I really don't want to play network administrator, getting those platforms to cooperate was bad enough, especially when file sharing should be a simple enough of a concept though subtle differences in protocol implementation and configuration can confound the best of efforts.
Networking on 7 isn't any different; either browse through the network tree in Explorer, or map the network drive. It can't be a domain problem, because you can still access those, as long as you have a valid domain account, as I used to do that all the time with my personal laptop when I was working for my university's IT dept.
If there is a particular issue, I could probably figure it out if I knew more specifics.
Networking on 7 isn't any different; either browse through the network tree in Explorer, or map the network drive. It can't be a domain problem, because you can still access those, as long as you have a valid domain account, as I used to do that all the time with my personal laptop when I was working for my university's IT dept.
If there is a particular issue, I could probably figure it out if I knew more specifics.
I can find the drive alright in Explorer. The network drive won't accept the user name and passwords that should be valid for the drive. This isn't a terribly advanced network, I'm probably not much more advanced than a home network. There isn't a domain server unless that's built-in and done automatically by one of the computers.
Comments
It's a compare-and-contrast type thing.
C.
Ok, that works
[...]Bill Gates needs to come back to MS as CEO for a few years.
Perhaps he can forge some partnerships with Apple to help it succeed better[...]
That would be sooo 1997-reversed!!!
The funny thing is that Microsoft spends way more on advertising than Apple.
But Microsoft still finds it difficult to communicate to the consumer.
I think the problem is that culturally Microsoft is a company driven by engineering values. And engineers (bless them) are not really in tune with what consumers want. Sony are another company where engineers get too much rope.
Microsoft needs to have product development led by designers. And then have its engineers implement those designs.
C.
Agreed.
However I think the Microsoft advertising guys are actually quite good at their job. They got the word out about the product brilliantly. The trouble is that there was no market for a social networking dumb-phone that was priced like a smart phone. Ever.
The whole KIN team did a great job at creating a very interesting and relatively innovative product that nobody actually wanted to buy.
Product development led by designers would be a start. As would a proper end-to-end marketing solution that starts with them finding out what consumers actually want before they spend 2 years coding.
They would do well to get the analytics guys that worked on Windows 7 to offer their input on the Microsoft mobile strategy, however I suspect Ballmer would be loathe to have his top minds doing anything else but tending to the cash cow.
Maybe they'll turn it all around with WP7. It certainly looks interesting at this point.
If your software sucks under Win7 then shouldn't you have a word with the developer to upgrade it for the OS? Do you complain to Apple when your 3rd party stuff doesn't work properly in the latest version of OS X?
From what I understand, every major CAD & CAM software has this problem. This is in contrast with the old CAD software that I had, which run under Windows 3.11 / Win 32S and still ran reliably under Windows XP SP3, which is roughly three kernel transitions vs. maybe one from XP to Vista/7.
You can have the Control Panel work in the "Classic" mode by the clicking the link in CP that tells you it's possible.
It's not the same thing though, the items are renammed, it's a little harder remember what everything is when dealing with three different computer operating systems on any given day. Maybe if all I did was Windows 7, I would be fine.
If notifications p!ss you off, turn them off. Why moan about something that you can control?
I can control that to a limited extent, but I would also lose any benefit from it. I was asking for more fine-grained control, I didn't see any good way to do that on a program basis.
If you get blank screens, then your hardware is at fault, not the OS.
The chipsets are bog standard Intel. If MS can't get it right with a standard issue Intel-based product, then why should it be my problem? The computer isn't from a small-time brand either. I've seen this from another major brand's computer using a different Intel chipset too.
If that's the best you can do to dump on Win7, you're desperate, I use Windows for about 25% of what I have to do and I figured out that stuff in the first hour of using it, without the manual.
I use Windows for most of my work. From what I see, I see negligible benefit and only problems.
The problems you experience are either fictitious or you are not a very adaptable soul Jeff. Good luck when you get your next remote control.
If insulting the user is supposed to be the way to convincing the user that Microsoft product is great, then I don't think it's a good argument. I generally don't accept that kind of argument for Apple products either. I was able to switch all my software and data and user habits to an Apple OS a lot more quickly.
Don't confuse the inability to sell a product with a lack of innovation or ability to create a good product.
Xbox, Tablet PC, Media Center, Windows smartphone, Microsoft Surface, and Xbox 360, Zune, Windows Live services, Azure, Visual Studio, Windows Home Server, SBS, Sharepoint, Exchange and now KIN and I'll even throw in Kinect etc etc are all good products and\\or innovative for their time.
What they seem to lack from the consumer perspective, is the ability to find where these products fit into the market. Apple got around this with their big winners (iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad) by creating a brand new market.
You should say they don't have the DNA to capitalize on their creativeness.
I would disagree. MS is a sales and marketing machine. One of Gates biggest strengths lay in his ability to convince people that they needed what he had to sell, regardless of it not being the best of breed.
"If you can't make it good, at least make it look good" -Bill Gates.
That is what their DNA is made up of.
Some of those products you listed could be considered innovative, but not many. XBox has certainly been successful, but is just another game console. Surface is interesting, but really seems to be a rough implementation of what Jeff Han was already working on, except theirs uses cameras to determine touch point and movement (cameras? wtf?). Tablet PC seems to simply be a Windows laptop that uses a stylus, Zune was just an iPod wannabe, etc.
Sometimes, they do have some good ideas. Their implementation often sucks. As for their inability to sell some of these dogs, I guess it could be failure in sales and marketing. Or it could be a failure to create a compelling enough product or 'innovating' in areas that just don't make sense. Seriously, who wants a 'Social' phone? How freaking useless is that, when any smart phone can keep you just as in touch and not be embarrassing to use?
Agreed.
However I think the Microsoft advertising guys are actually quite good at their job. They got the word out about the product brilliantly. The trouble is that there was no market for a social networking dumb-phone that was priced like a smart phone. Ever.
They would do well to get the analytics guys that worked on Windows 7 to offer their input on the Microsoft mobile strategy, however I suspect Ballmer would be loathe to have his top minds doing anything else but tending to the cash cow.
Maybe they'll turn it all around with WP7. It certainly looks interesting at this point.
The branding of Microsoft products is just inexplicable. They need to re-think how products are identified to allow customers to understand what they are getting.
The XBox is a good recognisable product. It's actually cool. So why not identify all media / gaming and youth products with X-box based branding?
Windows is about desktop computing. So using the Windows brand on a phone is just crazy. The new WS7 phone does not even have any windows on its interface. It does not have any Windows UI elements either.
In the UK, the most popular IM service is Microsoft's. But people still call it "MSN" because the Windows Live Messenger name hasn't stuck. It's just the wrong name. I have never heard anyone say "I am on Windows Live Messenger"
Perhaps it would have been better to use the Hotmail branding?
C.
From what I understand, every major CAD & CAM software has this problem. This is in contrast with the old CAD software that I had, which run under Windows 3.11 / Win 32S and still ran reliably under Windows XP SP3, which is roughly three kernel transitions vs. maybe one from XP to Vista/7.
It's not the same thing though, the items are renammed, it's a little harder remember what everything is when dealing with three different computer operating systems on any given day. Maybe if all I did was Windows 7, I would be fine.
I can control that to a limited extent, but I would also lose any benefit from it. I was asking for more fine-grained control, I didn't see any good way to do that on a program basis.
The chipsets are bog standard Intel. If MS can't get it right with a standard issue Intel-based product, then why should it be my problem? The computer isn't from a small-time brand either. I've seen this from another major brand's computer using a different Intel chipset too.
I use Windows for most of my work. From what I see, I see negligible benefit and only problems.
If insulting the user is supposed to be the way to convincing the user that Microsoft product is great, then I don't think it's a good argument. I generally don't accept that kind of argument for Apple products either. I was able to switch all my software and data and user habits to an Apple OS a lot more quickly.
I use an Intel chipset on my PC, and have never had a problem...have you tried updating your drivers?
And why are you using such old SW? Some SW doesn't work under 7, like at work, we use XP Mode for some of our LC/MS instruments. MS added that for a reason, and if you don't have 7 Pro, there's always something like VMware or VirtualBox (which works better than Virtual PC IMO).
I hardly ever see UAC prompts either. Only if I'm installing something, or mucking around with a system setting. In that regard, I find it no different that what OSX or Linux does. Wish their was a 'sudo' type command in CMD, but alas.
I agree the Windows Control Panel is a complete mess, but I just use the search in the Start Menu for everything now. I just don't think it will be as easy as OSX's System Prefs, but that's Windows.
OSX isn't Windows, and Windows isn't OSX, but neither of them are hard to use anymore, although each have quirks. (I hate Finder for example).
Wasn't all of the data recovered eventually?
This is not true.
Customer/Users lost data, permanently.
I was one of those customers.
I lost 4 years of pics. I think the only pics that were not lost were those still on the device.
I would have also lost my Address Book if I reset my device during the outage.
That's not the point. Yes it was ...
That is not true.
It would be best not to spread false rumors or accounts of the final outcome.
Sorry, but Microsoft's failures should stand forever, not be covered up by people who are not well-informed.
I know why they killed kin. They just announced the new ipad killer lol:
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/6702/ipadkiller.jpg
Maybe you shoulda posted this picture back in 2005, change "iPad" with "iMac," and replace the Adobe to HP or Dell. Might have gotten a little more laughs. These days Google is the new Microsoft to Apple community. Amazing how fast you guys are willing to turn off on something just because of what the CEO or Company says (same goes for Adobe nutjobs).
I use an Intel chipset on my PC, and have never had a problem...have you tried updating your drivers?
I updated right away, and checked about every month. Unfortunately, Dell doesn't have an easy system to keep drivers updated. It seems like a new update as of like last week or new settings made it a lot better.
And why are you using such old SW?
Because it still does the job I need it to do very well and I'm very efficient when using it, the workflow is pretty efficient. Also, each major release costs more than the combined value of every Windows license I've ever bought. Apparently this software still works fine under 7 too, it just requires running administrator mode, that's all, tripping afowl of the UAC.
Some SW doesn't work under 7, like at work, we use XP Mode for some of our LC/MS instruments. MS added that for a reason, and if you don't have 7 Pro, there's always something like VMware or VirtualBox (which works better than Virtual PC IMO).
I've not had good functioning with virtualization with this program. 7's XP mode works well enough, but there's this very crude UAC system that allows me all of four settings and doesn't appear to offer a whitelist for a handful of specific programs, so either I get notifications on every launch of those two programs that I wish I could give special exceptions to, or set it for no notifications, which I don't think is a good idea.
OSX isn't Windows, and Windows isn't OSX, but neither of them are hard to use anymore, although each have quirks. (I hate Finder for example).
I'm well aware of that, quirks in both platforms can get pretty irritating, I tend to use Windows for certain things, and the Mac for other things. However, XP seems to have fewer obstructions to smooth operation than 7. There are advancements in 7, but I'm not really convinced that it's worth it just yet.
The chipsets are bog standard Intel. If MS can't get it right with a standard issue Intel-based product, then why should it be my problem? The computer isn't from a small-time brand either. I've seen this from another major brand's computer using a different Intel chipset too.
From what I see, I see negligible benefit and only problems.
There has to be something amiss with the actual computers, not the general nature of the hardware, unless the machine is below the spec required to properly run the OS. My experience is that Win7 has had no issues with hardware or third party software since the RC release, 32 and 64 bit.
In the half dozen PC systems we operate from Atom CPUs to i-series, the sole issue that is repeatable is problematic upgrades where there's more than a single bootable volume attached to a particular system.
In the main, hardware driver updates take place automagically as they're released and need no user input to facilitate.
All Win systems have things about them that bug me but those are personal preferences I have. Win7 has thus far been faster and requires less maintenance than any previous release so your experience is vastly different to mine.
Your last line quoted above seems to sum up why you have a downer on what is a very good OS. Perhaps you're 'seeing' what you want to see?
There has to be something amiss with the actual computers, not the general nature of the hardware, unless the machine is below the spec required to properly run the OS. My experience is that Win7 has had no issues with hardware or third party software since the RC release, 32 and 64 bit.
In the half dozen PC systems we operate from Atom CPUs to i-series, the sole issue that is repeatable is problematic upgrades where there's more than a single bootable volume attached to a particular system.
In the main, hardware driver updates take place automagically as they're released and need no user input to facilitate.
All Win systems have things about them that bug me but those are personal preferences I have. Win7 has thus far been faster and requires less maintenance than any previous release so your experience is vastly different to mine.
Your last line quoted above seems to sum up why you have a downer on what is a very good OS. Perhaps you're 'seeing' what you want to see?
Most of the stuff I was complaining about were nuisances, not problems, but they seemed to be unnecessary ones. I guess I'd have no idea how reliable the OS is, the computer and OS hasn't given me reliability problems, just (IMO) unnecessary nuisances. The speed wasn't a problem except for one clunk in the UAC notification screen. But XP hasn't given me much for reliability problems either, some nuisances, but I knew how to turn off most things that were nuisances. Google was showing me outdated ways to turn lots of the fluff off, I gather several controls were moved a lot between Vista, the 7 betas, release candidates and the actual release, and some controls were renamed in that period too. It seems like a problem of poor design to get a run-around setting up my preferences.
Now, my challenge is to get my 7 notebook to access my network drives on a server computer, something that works (sometimes clumsily, but it does work) on OS X Tiger, Leopard and Windows XP. As much as I don't want to play computer administrator, I really don't want to play network administrator, getting those platforms to cooperate was bad enough, especially when file sharing should be a simple enough of a concept though subtle differences in protocol implementation and configuration can confound the best of efforts.
http://9gag.com/photo/27965_540.jpg
Crass and moronic.
This doesn't give consumers too much confidence in Microsoft products as this has happened before with Microsoft ditching Plays4Sure for the Zune. Microsoft needs to be more confident in its product releases and not release if in doubt. They just wasted a boat-load (don't know really but suspect easily a hundred million) on the KIN's development and marketing. That's one more nail in Ballmers coffin.
Most of the stuff I was complaining about were nuisances, not problems, but they seemed to be unnecessary ones. I guess I'd have no idea how reliable the OS is, the computer and OS hasn't given me reliability problems, just (IMO) unnecessary nuisances. The speed wasn't a problem except for one clunk in the UAC notification screen. But XP hasn't given me much for reliability problems either, some nuisances, but I knew how to turn off most things that were nuisances. Google was showing me outdated ways to turn lots of the fluff off, I gather several controls were moved a lot between Vista, the 7 betas, release candidates and the actual release, and some controls were renamed in that period too. It seems like a problem of poor design to get a run-around setting up my preferences.
Now, my challenge is to get my 7 notebook to access my network drives on a server computer, something that works (sometimes clumsily, but it does work) on OS X Tiger, Leopard and Windows XP. As much as I don't want to play computer administrator, I really don't want to play network administrator, getting those platforms to cooperate was bad enough, especially when file sharing should be a simple enough of a concept though subtle differences in protocol implementation and configuration can confound the best of efforts.
Networking on 7 isn't any different; either browse through the network tree in Explorer, or map the network drive. It can't be a domain problem, because you can still access those, as long as you have a valid domain account, as I used to do that all the time with my personal laptop when I was working for my university's IT dept.
If there is a particular issue, I could probably figure it out if I knew more specifics.
Networking on 7 isn't any different; either browse through the network tree in Explorer, or map the network drive. It can't be a domain problem, because you can still access those, as long as you have a valid domain account, as I used to do that all the time with my personal laptop when I was working for my university's IT dept.
If there is a particular issue, I could probably figure it out if I knew more specifics.
I can find the drive alright in Explorer. The network drive won't accept the user name and passwords that should be valid for the drive. This isn't a terribly advanced network, I'm probably not much more advanced than a home network. There isn't a domain server unless that's built-in and done automatically by one of the computers.