Why Does Windows Still Suck?

[Marquis_de_Carabas]

There's a Mark Morford piece here (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/02/04/notes020405.DTL&nl=fix) asking that exact question.


There is nothing else like this phenomenon in the entire consumer culture. If anything else performed as horribly as Windows, and on such a global scale, consumers would scream bloody murder and demand their money back and there would be some sort of investigation, class-action litigation, a demand for Bill Gates' cute little geeky head on a platter.

Here is your brand new car, sir. Drive it off the lot. Yay yay new car. Suddenly, new car shuts off. New car barely starts again and then only goes about 6 miles per hour and it belches smoke and every warning light on the dashboard is blinking on and off and the tires are screaming and the heater is blasting your feet and something smells like burned hair. You hobble back to the dealer, who only says, gosh, sorry, we thought you knew -- that's they way they all run. Enjoy!

Linux gets barely a mention, Mark Morford being an Apple devotee, but it's a highly amusing (if you like the guy's style, which I do) read nonetheless.

[AndersAA]

He has a good point... it seems they focus more on holding the monopoly (by buying patents and breaking compatibility with their own products, forcing people into upgrades) than actually making usable and stable software.

[ljunyi]

Never really liked to use Windows since I started learning Linux.

All along the years, new versions of Windows are popping out but security is from worse to worst.

[machiner]

It's all about the FUD...and:

nobody ever went broke underestimating the stupidity of the american consumer.

Windows succeeds because of flash...it's whiz-bang. Sure - we know better...but tell some typical american consumer that:

with windows you just plug something in and it works.
with linux you have to work at it.

On the truth scale of 1-10, those statements each garner a 3...doesn't matter - they were told about windows first - big $$ were spent hyping it up...

you can't compete with glitz. I'm ok with it, I no longer support windows and slowly people are asking me about linux. Good for them.

People still bought Chryslers and Fords in the 1970's. THey sucked - but they still sold.

It's important to have commonality and reference points in society. People bought ****** cars because even bad press is press - they had HEARD of the products.

People still buy and suffer windows. Poor schmucks -- screw 'em - they cannot think for themselves anyway. Let 'em burn.

[BWF89]

It's because when people hear the word PC that automatically think Windows and they don't think theres anything else to run on your PC.

I am helping combat this by not refering to games as computer games. I use the phrase "Windows games" instead.

[AndersAA]

personally I use the phrase wintendo a lot, actually gotten a good group of people refering to wintendo now too ;)

[BWF89]

Know your operating systems
Linux = for servers & geeks
UNIX/BSD = for servers & uber geeks
Macintosh = for graphic design & cool/creative types
Windows = for playing solitare

[Marquis_de_Carabas]

Know your operating systems
Linux = for servers & geeks
UNIX/BSD = for servers & uber geeks
Macintosh = for graphic design & cool/creative types
Windows = for playing solitare

What about cool, creative geeks? I'm not saying I qualify but 'tis an aspiration :)

I don't know if you caught any of the Linux User & Developer series Artists and Hackers (I don't even know if you get Linux User & Developer in the States) but I found it fascinating. Artists (whatever the artform) are always wanting to push the boundaries, and FLOSS allows that in a way proprietary systems can never do.

Even on a more basic level, the Complete Guide To Digital Audio states that in just a few years Linux could offer a perfect audio studio solution.

I may be an idealist, but I don't think it will be too long before anything you want to do with a PC can be done best with FLOSS.

[Jspired]

Interesting article. Thanks for the link!

[miho]

When I can program useful things on a Powerbook, then I'll think about getting an apple computer. Till then I'll use a GNOME-based distro of Linux.

[dizzie]

It's because when people hear the word PC that automatically think Windows and they don't think theres anything else to run on your PC.

The phrase "Windows PC" slipped my mind, when i read that :-&

[krusbjorn]

that article sounds more like an Apple advert. he seemed to have a hard time expressing how glorious Apple is. they are in for the money and nothing but it, just like every other multi-national company, call me communist or taliban if you want (yeah, someone from the US actually asked me if most swedes were talibans, once ;)).

[msgyrd]

You know, I'd agree with the author of the article. OS X offers almost everything good that BSD or linux does, plus the whiz-bang effect of windows. If it weren't for years of software purchases (and ultimately, compatibility issues) already made by consumers, I would wager OS X would already have a better foothold in the market. It is much better at plug and play, is undeniably the best looking OS out of the box, way more stable than windows, and has the same ability for games, if only the consumer base was there (refering to Doom3, World of Warcraft, and other games that run just as good as windows counterparts). Is still the standard for graphics and video editing, and the OS even comes with awesome free tools for video and dvd creation tools. If you're a *nix junkie, the command line is readily accessible on OS X, and it's just a step further to run X11 apps, or forwarding an X11 app over ssh onto the desktop from a server, without VNCing an entire desktop over OS X.

If Virtual PC from MS ever gave users a decent emulated windows box on a mac, I think many people would switch to macs in a heartbeat. The cost difference is very little for the average person, unless you're buying a powermac g5, which isn't really targeted for the average consumer, the mini, the imac and the ibook are. Also, software upgrades on a mac are much cheaper, and the computer's life expectancy (before obsolesence) is a little longer, which also changes the long term cost of the computer.

As for linux, progress is still to be made, but, Ubuntu, FC3, Mandrake, and Linspire are all good efforts in converting the masses. We already have more desktop users than Apple, and it's continuing to grow.

[ctt1wbw]

When I can program useful things on a Powerbook, then I'll think about getting an apple computer. Till then I'll use a GNOME-based distro of Linux.


You can put Yellow Dog on a Powerbook. Plus Ubuntu has a PPC version.