Computer nonsense

Two words: Vista stinks. Hubby has a new laptop with Windows Vista, and aside from the onboard diagnostic tools, I can't think of anything nice to say about it.

It bears mentioning that I am not a gamer. I play the occasional game on the computer, but they are mostly of the pinball/rollercoaster tycoon types that have little in the way of combat or need for networking with other users. I generally use my computer for writing and surfing the Net. I use it for e-mail and watching old Duran Duran videos on YouTube.

When I got my new computer at work in 2005, I upgraded from 98 to XP. Although I really liked 98, XP is a good OS for my needs. Notice, I said "my needs." Other tech-heads and geeks may scoff at this idea. And for their needs, XP may not be the best thing. But it works nicely for me.

I like important features to be in the same places when I want them. Vista scatters them all over creation. As a matter of fact, I like having stability so well, that when I got my new computer, I changed all the display settings to the "Classic Windows" version. That way, I know where everything is and it looks like how it is supposed to look. I griped in an earlier blog about XP's cartoonish graphics, but even those are better than the tiny little icons on Vista. At least the user could see the cartoons!

Man, the ganja in the Microsoft offices in Seattle must be going from "Maui Wowee" to "Toledo Window Box." Those dudes are trippin', and not in a good way. For the Home Basic version of Vista, are all the security precautions REALLY that necessary? Having to click on an authorization box every 5 minutes is a productivity killer.

I read in the techie mags that the reason for all this is that MS is trying to copy the best of the MAC OS. Trouble is, I don't like Macs. I own a PC because I like PCs. I've used Macs and find them frustrating beyond words. Some people I know have called the OS "elegant." I call it "clunky." Macs are just not my favorites.

My advice to the gadget gurus in Seattle is to allow users to configure their own OS. WOW! What a concept! Without a bit of programming knowledge, we could shop for what we want. MS could offer the basic Windows, and users could then choose what features they wanted. Don't need the graphic-intensive features of Vista? Don't install it! You like the "Classic" visuals from Windows? Install them! Want a "widgets" option? Just click the box. I mean, who am I buying my computer for? Am I buying it for other gamers? People in my office? Bill Gates himself? No, friends and neighbors, I'm buying MY computer for MY use, and to meet MY individual needs! So, there are bound to be features on Vista I neither need nor want, nor do I even care about them. Call a make-your-own OS Windows Buffet, Windows Cafeteria, Do It Yourself Windows. I don't care. But it should be more open platform for 2 reasons: I might want to play older games, and second, having to upgrade software so frequently is for the birds. It goes from being good old-fashioned capitalism to being little short of coercion.

So Bill, listen up. Your new OS stinks. It's ugly. It's inefficient. I don't like it and MS laid a great big egg with this OS. Spruce up XP some more and allow us ordinary computer users to work in peace and stability!