[Updates 02/23/2005, 11/20/2006 - fixed spelling errors]
I'd like to think that I'm reasonably level headed. It is part of my nature to analyze a situation before making an precipitated response that I might regret. Of late I have found myself having to bite my tongue and not respond in an almost defensive posture on issues that are not even personally directed nor personal in nature (come to think of it, they might be, slightly just to try to make me mad).
My tenure with Microsoft (now a few years past) was one of the most evocative and eye-opening experiences in my professional career. One the biggest messages that I gained from joining ranks with Microsoft was passion. The vast majority of those with which I worked had an intense passion; passion for success, passion for technology, a raw, intense passion. It was in many ways exhilirating...I absolutely loved it.
Prior to joining the company I had been a developer / trainer that specialized in the tools and technologies that Microsoft published. For several years I was thus employed.
A few years ago, while I was with Microsoft, I attended the wedding of my cousin and her husband. As we were performing the customary task of going through the line to greet the bride's and groom's respective families and to congratulate the couple I came upon some other cousins (same family as the bride, of course). I made to shake their hands and instead of the complimentary 'thank you for coming' or 'good to see you', the following exchange ensued:
Cousin: "Hey, Aaron, you work for Microsoft, right? With Windows XP?"
Me: "Uh, yeah"
Cousin: "It sucks! Worst software ever. It broke all my programs."
Needless to say, I was a little taken aback. I guess I should have known than rather that having greeted my cousin and her new family warmly, I should have been preparing a comeback or a defense for such an imminent and predictable attack - of course! I was at a wedding, what else would I be thinking about? I don't accurately recall my response except that I committed to talk to them afterwards and see if I could help them out of their predicaments. I should have seen that one coming, though, because that particular cousin has always treated me (especially) and my family with a certain disdain and disrespect.
As it turns out, the problem wasn't with Windows XP, per se, but rather with a particular Math application that was designed to work on Windows 98. Something in how Windows XP was created broke compatibility (even attempting to run the application in a Windows 98 emulated environment didn't work). Therefore, Windows XP was crap and the worst thing to come out of Redmond. As an aside, I have personally run Windows XP since Beta 2 (when it was the required OS for MS employees) and have seen 2 crashes in total. Yes TWO. It has been the best desktop operating system that I've worked with bar none. The server OS's (e.g. Server 2003) has been even better. Heh, the guy at the computer store the other day suggested that my server's hard drive crashed because I wasn't running Linux. It crashed because I was running Windows Server 2003.
Ok, that was a little bit of a segue, but it brings me to my point of defensiveness. It is difficult not to take attacks on Microsoft semi-personally, though my affiliation has always been somewhat peripheral (as an evangelist, proponent, consultant, trainer, developer, etc).
I frequently deal with individuals that have absolutely nothing but negative to say about Microsoft's products. I have yet to hear a single sentence of praise, appreciation, or respect for a single thing. The negative comments are quite literally every 3rd or 4th sentence uttered. Such comments are invariably directed at Microsoft's poor decisions and are very rarely accompanied with any semblance of a solution; it's just a gripe session.
I simply bite my tongue and don't respond unless it's to offer a solution (which 95% of the time there is one), I let these individuals have their fun griping, for apparently there's fun in it.
Evidently, Microsoft has made all the wrong assumptions on a clean install of the operating system; that, as users, we must go through the drudgery of customizing our systems to undo all of the bad things that Microsoft assumed we wanted because we are not the typical 'dumb, brainless, idiot' user that was profiled when Microsoft performed its user testing is madness!
- How could Microsoft assume that I'd EVER want to have a CD autoplay when I insert it in my drive!!? Bad Microsoft! How dare they assume that!
- How dare they assume that I want 'My Documents' to store my files!? Come to think of it, why do I need the stupid directory anyway? No! I don't want to save my files in 'My Documents'!
- ...and many more
I guess the real intentions of Microsoft are laid bare: They want to make life harder on everyone by assuming certain behaviors; assumptions that were made based off of their spending of billions of R&D dollars annually.
I am somewhat of an advanced user of Windows and, upon installing a fresh system, will go through my little routine of flipping all the switches. For example, I like to show hidden files (how could they assume I wouldn't want to see them?), to disable Simple Sharing (if you don't know how security works you shouldn't use the computer!), and change my resolution settings - plus much more). In all, I probably take about 20 minutes configuring my system to the way I like it. If something comes up later that I forgot to change or hadn't yet done, I'll fix it rather than curse Microsoft for making my life so hard. Sure, some of the software that Microsoft has published in the past has some gaping holes in terms of functionality and security. It's these same individuals that gripe about all of these oversights and weaknesses yet still insist on using these older applications. I am happy to see the progress the MS has made with the likes of Windows XP SP2 and the various server platforms.
In fact, I have a novel idea: Why not try to work WITH the system rather than AGAINST it? Rather than curse Microsoft everytime the Save Dialog appears on 'My Documents' as the default, and begrudgingly navigate away to C:\Files\blah to save the file, CHANGE the folder to which My Documents refers and use it the way 90% of the applications out there are designed to function? If Microsoft is making your life hard, change it...or perhaps rethink the way you're using software. Please don't constantly yell at your computer because the application you're using (not the OS) has decided to do something a particular way.
These individuals dread having to install a utility (such as TweakUI) in order to make system settings changes (Why can't you change these settings within Windows itself rather than having to install ANOTHER program). How ironic that the question never even arises if one must install the same type of utility on a different, non-Microsoft system (such as Linux).
Personally, I have found that the VAST majority of the decisions made in the base applications are sound and spot on. The software that comes out of Redmond is designed to enable just about ANYONE to accomplish their tasks without having to understand all of the nitty-gritty details of HOW it works. Rather, IJW (It Just Works). Sure, once you need to step beyond the routine, simple tasks your knowledge needs to be expanded. You may need to learn something new to accomplish that out-of-the-ordinary task. Perhaps you need to disable on option here or enable another option there - but the switches are available. Generally, if the software isn't working the way I'd want it to work, I find that I'm trying to get it to do something for which it was not designed. Maybe I don't fully understand why it was designed that way in the first place. There are times I'm at odds with the decisions anyway, but that is the exception, not the rule.
I find it interesting, too, that the same individuals that routinely curse Microsoft for one bad decision will not reciprocate the same attitude against a piece of software not from Redmond in which the same 'bad decision' is made. It's as though the blinders are on and it is just Microsoft that is pure evil.
All of this isn't to say that I LOVE Microsoft. I really appreciate the software that is developed on campus; were it not for Microsoft, I'd probably be a farmer, or a professional trampolinist, or a gypsy, or a Jedi Knight (though that might still be cool) and not a software engineer. Microsoft has some of the most intelligent people working on their software, and I'd like to believe that they know what they're doing. This is not to say that I blindly accept the food they feed me...I'll test it out and come to my own conclusions. I, for one, praise the likes of Raymond Chen, for example, for enlightening us on why things are the way they are. 99% of the time there is a reasonable explanation. I think the software they create is DANG good, and I'm proud to work with it and not against it.