I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

I have said this lately?

I friggin' hate Windows. I've used Microsoft's pocket-picking software/"waste of brain capacity" since version 3.2. I have a new Vista laptop right here on my desk and the only reason I haven't chucked the boat anchor (well, it's kind of light for one, but I digress) out my second floor window (aim for the concrete pad, baby) is that I don't own it. It's a part of my council work and is owned by the Village.

Yesterday I purchased a USB2 Flashdrive to do some backups and file tranfsers. So, I thought, I would transfer one of my many photographs of the Village to use as the background image (instead of the generic one I have now) from my Mac to the Windows machine. After at least 8 dialog boxes on the windows machine, I can't get the drive to mount because I don't have the proper driver software. It's a cheap generic (okay, Pliny Memory) USB2 Flashdrive. Friggin' eight dialog boxes to get a "Nope, sorry, can't do that."

Know what I needed to do to get it to work on my Mac? Plugged it in to a USB port. That's it. No dialog boxes, no configuring the system, nothing. Plugged it in. Showed up on the desktop. Copied my files to it. Three seconds and I'm using it.

Windows, five minutes and I can't use it. Windows sucks rocks. Rocks from the bottom of a real scummy pond.

Don't tell me, "Well, hook up to the internet (BTW, after three hours I still can't get the machine to see my wireless network, want to hear how long it took me with my Mac?) and download the drivers." It's a friggin' USB2 Flashdrive. It's not like I'm configuring a video capture firewire device.

6 comments:

Todd Wheeler said...

"Well, hook up to the internet ... and download the drivers."

Even better, there probably aren't any drivers yet. There seems to be a collective "F- Y-" to Microsoft from many software vendors. Just speculation, however, based on a half-dozen anecdotes I've heard/experienced.

Dan Berlyoung said...

I once heard Windows described as an insecure child that tells you whenever it does something right. "I see a network," "I've mounted the disk you inserted," "I see new hardware," "I've mounted it!" (Well, the last one was wishful thinking.)

Anonymous said...

There's a reason why I haven't upgraded from XP to Vista yet. Vista is still FAR too buggy. It's sad that almost every single one of Microsoft's OSs are never 'stable' on the initial release and you end up having to wait until two or three Service Packs have been released to make it worth using the new OS. And then, it's still buggy and glitchy and a royal pain in the ass. Just another reason why I'd ideally like to grab a Mac that will simultaneously run Windows.

Steve Buchheit said...

Todd, one of those intermittable dialog boxes was the "insert the CD that came with your device." Hello, cheap USB Flashdrive, bought it out of an "impulse" (next to checkout) bin. No CD, store branded device, no drivers on the site. I don't blame many of the device makers. How long has it been since Windows was supposed to be "Plug and Play"?

Dan, yeah, I've seen those. :) "Lookie, lookie, I found the disk you inserted. Did you want to see what was on it? Nope, sorry, can't do that."

Jim, that was my comment when Council approved the laptops, "Can't I get mine with Windows XP?" We've only had them for 6 months and already we've had to upgrade the system twice. At the last "Windows Training Session" I brought my Mac Laptop and surfed (all I needed was a password to our wireless router, less than a minute and I was cookin' with gas) while I waited for the Windows Certified Technicians to work through all the bugs people had (all the laptops are the same brand name and configuration).

So I have a feeling I'll have to have our Certified Technician there to help me get the machine to see the Flashdrive. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

My favorite was this diatribe about Windows 95:

"A 32-bit extension of a 16-bit graphical shell of an 8-bit operating system coded for a 4-bit processor by a two-bit company that can't stand one bit of competition" (or alternatively "...doesn't care one bit about its users"

Perhaps your first job needs to be to convince the powers that be to use Linux. No USB madness with the penguin either. Plug it in and go.

It's probably too hard to convince them to sell all the new lappy's and buy MacBooks.

Steve Buchheit said...

Ken, you just wouldn't believe the mountain crossing that would take. We finally just upgraded the Village computers from DOS two years ago (seriously, DOS, it ran out payroll and expense programs) to Windows (government budgeting and expense reporting programs requirement). I've been using my Mac for my Council work ever since I started there. I've taken my laptop in to meetings. When we were rolling out the program I said we should standardize on Macs. And them brimstone fell form the skies.

And now, since we've completed the computer roll-out to the council, and upgraded some office systems, for a grand total of $12000, it is the Number 1 criticism of council (how much we spent on computers). Seriously. Letters to the editor criticisms for doing this.

Hell, last week I approved POs for more than that amount (concrete etc). It's like hearing how people feel NASA shouldn't be funded, until you find out that of the actual tax dollars collected (not including all the borrowing), NASA takes less than a cent from each dollar.

Oh well, perception is everything.

So, I guess if I really don't want to be re-elected this fall, I should push the Mac or Linux thing. :)