Why I still hate Windows

Those who have discussed computers with me over the years know all too well my vehemence towards Microsoft. Those who were in my circle of Mac-using friends have been, perhaps, a little dismayed by the fact that my vehemence had lessened a great deal in the last year. Several factors contributed to this:

1. My love for XBox Live
2. Windows 7
3. Accepting my fate of never being able to move people away from Windows at work
4. Microsoft Security Essentials
5. The Kin phone debacle (it's no longer fun to make fun of a company that is beginning to look less evil and more mentally handicapped)
6. Declining software quality assurance in Mac OS X and other Apple software

I must admit, given my many frustrations with the lemon MacBook Pro I had and the annoyances that have crept into Mac OS X, I was becoming predisposed to going easy on Windows 7. After having installed it on a number of machines at work and dealt with it on a regular basis while helping others out, I have actually come to like Windows 7 a good deal.


In terms of general annoyances, Microsoft has done a splendid job of cleaning up the user interface and organizing things in a way that is more rational than it has been since the beginning of Windows. They have added handy features that actually make using Windows sometimes pleasant. I can appreciate the window management they have implemented, and I think I even like it better than Apple's handling of multiple windows on OS X, though not quite as much as the straight-forward approach offered by Gnome on Ubuntu Linux. The window previews while hovering over the taskbar and the window snapping were much needed additions to Windows.


Getting to configuration options in Windows 7 has been more natural to me, now that I have adjusted to the changes. Image previews are better than ever before, and I like the Windows approach better than the gimmicky Cover Flow that Apple employs. Networking is only mildly improved over the past, but the addition of preset firewall configurations that you choose from when connecting to a new network makes me feel safer about showing a novice how to connect their laptop to wireless networks.


Microsoft's having finally owned up to their responsibility for the virus problem in giving away Security Essentials for free goes a long way towards reducing the many years of ire I have held towards the company. I find it to be the least intrusive virus software I have used and it tends to do a better job of staying up-to-date than a lot of the other options. In a world full of novices, this is essential (no pun intended).


With all these in mind, I can actually say that I like Windows 7 (in some ways, better than even Mac OS X). File management is great, window management is finally some of the best around (at least for the way I think), and security has improved to the point of actually being viable.


So, by now you must be asking, "Wait, I thought you said you hate Windows?" Well, yes, despite the fact the I may like Windows 7, I do still hate the Windows ecosystem. The distinction is likely to be lost on those of you who do not work in technology, so I'll explain.


As I said, Microsoft has improved security to the point that it is mostly viable... well as long as you ignore the evidence of the August Patch Tuesday... and the DLL loading order exploit... and the recent icon preview vulnerability... ohhh, right. Hmmmm. So, they still have a lot of work to do. How much we will never know since the exploiters (I refuse to use the word hackers because I am old school enough to remember what it originally meant) seem to keep finding new vulnerabilities every time Microsoft patches the known ones. Admittedly, Windows security is better than it has ever been. If you install the 64 bit version, run as a Standard user for daily use, and use Microsoft Security Essentials, you have a reasonably secure machine. At least until the next vulnerability is found. If you are careful about where you visit on the internet, though, you might make it through unscathed with such a system. This is the first time I feel confident in saying that about Windows, with the caveat that you must run your updates regularly.


Left at that, I could almost like the Windows ecosystem. The chink in this armor, though, is one that Microsoft has no control over: 3rd party software. Sure, run the system I described above and you are fairly safe. Oh wait, you want to use Adobe Flash? Bad news. And Adobe Reader? Sigh. An old version of Corel Draw? Groan. HP scanning software? I feel the tears welling. Some freeware game that you downloaded from the internet? Okay, I quit.


Seriously, though, if it weren't for all the 3rd party applications, Windows could be pretty secure. At work, there is a financial package that requires us to disable User Account Control or else it will not function. Why? Because it was written for DOS and has been dragged along into the Windows world along the way, always several generations behind whatever Windows is current. So, great, we upgraded all the machine in the business office to get the better security that Windows 7 brings, and we just threw most of that out the window to get the financial software to function.


Despite Microsoft's best efforts, it will never be able to secure its ecosystem because so many companies are still writing their software to support old versions of Windows, and are dragging a lot of legacy baggage along with them. The same issue is also responsible for many of the stability issues of the platform. Poorly written drivers, poorly written services that hook into the kernel, tools that replace built-in Windows functionality with their own decrepit attempts, etc..., all combine to make Windows the Sanford and Son junk collection pickup truck that it is.


Even though I am becoming disillusioned with OS X to some degree, and Linux never seems to properly support the Apple hardware that I am stuck with, I just can't bring myself to go to Windows as my daily OS. I honestly wouldn't mind giving it a try, but there is no escaping the frustration of dealing with incompatibilities, bugs, crashes, and security issues. While I may know enough to be able to reduce my risk of getting a virus to the low, single-digit percentile, the fear of absent-mindedly clicking a bad link early one morning while I am half asleep and ending up at a site that is hosting some new virus that has not yet been added to the virus definitions keeps me far away. No amount of reward is worth that risk for me. I don't have the patience.


I admit that I like Windows 7, but I can't help but continuing to hate Windows in general. Having to put up with the stuff I do every day in my day job keeps me reminded that it takes more than good intentions, and even strong efforts, to clean up an entire ecosystem. Unfortunately for Microsoft, there doesn't seem to be a lot they can do to remedy the situation themselves. Perhaps one day I will be able to write another post entitled "I can finally love Windows", but don't hold your breath waiting for it.


Todd Russell
August 31, 2010