Great Googly Moogly, how I hate Windows

[Sid]

Found my first Munar anomaly today and sent Jeb and Bill to check it out.

It was 4km from their landing site and I got very bored with pressing "W" to get Jeb there. So I used my EVA autopilot - which is a 3/8" drive socket ( like us mechanics use, if you don't know what a socket is ) which I place on the key in question while I go and do something else...

But even that was taking too long, so I decided to use Jeb's rocket pack.

It was going OK until that awful chugging noise came from the hard drive, the one which always signifies that Windows is about to do something idiotic - the screen went blank, I was returned to the desktop and presented with a dialog box telling me that because I had pressed left shift 5 times did I want to turn on 'sticky keys' for disabled users ? When I managed to sort the mess out and alt Tab back to KSP Jeb was about 500 metres in the air and on a trajectory that would have ensured a 'non survivable landing' even for a Kerbal.

Thankfully I saved Jeb, by sheer luck.

Is there no end to the stupidity of that pestilential Windows operating system ? It reminds me of some know-it-all 'friend' who you don't really like and is always coming up with superfluous or redundant comments which are no help whatsoever and just make you want to give them a Muay Thai elbow strike to the throat.

I really need to figure out how to run KSP on my Linux partition. I have to keep Windows around because some of my engineering software won't run on anything else, but it's a pain in the fundament.

[The Destroyer]

Excuse me, but you can disable sticky keys so it never goes off. It says it clearly.

[Grove]

Yeah, just disable them.

[Sid]

Excuse me, but you can disable sticky keys so it never goes off. It says it clearly.

Oh, I know that NOW

I don't see why it was turned on by default though. Every time I have to install a copy of Windows I end up spending ages turning off it's half witted security, it's notifications and all the 'helpful' features. I thought I'd tamed it, but apparently not.

My rule for any software is " don't do what you THINK I want you to, do what I TELL you "

[Grove]

Windows doesn't have many notifications.

[SuperWeegee4000]

Windows is fine, it's the dipchip who keeps deciding Windows needs StickyKeys who has to go.

[Nikolai]

Excuse me, but you can disable sticky keys so it never goes off. It says it clearly.

Right, but having the default behavior be the annoying behavior is evidence of poor design decisions.

I feel the same way about the Windows key. I use it accidentally (when it's bad, and I mean to be hitting Ctrl or Alt in a game where timing is critical) much more often than I use it on purpose (when it saves me a little time). The fact that I can pop the Windows key off my keyboard doesn't change that putting it where it is seems like a bad idea to me.

[Sid]

Right, but having the default behavior be the annoying behavior is evidence of poor design decisions.

I think one of my favourite examples of that is the 'beep' noise which Windows XP had built in and used the computer speaker. I cannot honestly think why they did that, except to annoy the end user. It sounded like someone stamping on Donald Duck, except not funny.

And it wasn't trivial to switch off, I think you had to find it hidden somewhere in the system properties to kill it.

I hate Windows with a passion - it is bloated, slow and assumes that I am a moron who can't be trusted to operate my own computer.

[satcharna]

The "annoying option" is default because some people genuinely need it to use their computer, and it's trivial to turn off for those that don't. Just because you don't need it doesn't mean that nobody else does. I just wish they'd make it easier to turn on the screenreader in a similar but non-intrusive way, as it'd make setting up a fresh system much simpler.

A comparison would be the wheelchair ramps most public buildings feature next to the staircases. They make life a lot easier for people with wheelchairs, and aren't much of an inconvenience for everyone else (having to walk an additional meter or something to get past it).

[MalletFace]

Sticky Keys as a default helps the disabled who are not able to press more than one key at a time, and assumes that many of the disabled users who need this feature will not understand how to turn it on. They try to make it clear with the first message that the feature can be turned off via the Ease of Access Center.

I hate Windows with a passion - it is bloated, slow and assumes that I am a moron who can't be trusted to operate my own computer.

There are many features of Windows 98 - Windows 8 that are automatically enabled because they assume many users will not be capable of using a computer without them, or won't be able to understand it. From the most recent look I have taken, there are about 3 million users in America alone that "truly" need these to properly use a Windows computer, and I know ten to fifteen of them.

Edit: ninja'd..... I take too much time to double check my research and opinions.

[satcharna]

Don't worry about it, your post was far more informative and eloquent than mine was.

[MalletFace]

I would not say that my post was more informative or eloquent than yours. Using a real life example is just as good as using a number, and I really did not see a flaw in your grammar, whereas I saw a flaw in mine.

[montyben101]

Does anyone know what sticky keys ACTUALLY does? I dont XD

[Nikolai]

The "annoying option" is default because some people genuinely need it to use their computer, and it's trivial to turn off for those that don't. Just because you don't need it doesn't mean that nobody else does.

I never meant to imply that it's unnecessary for all end users. Windows routinely offers a series of "setup options" for people when they first boot their computers. Something like the option to turn off "sticky keys" should be presented as the first option there (perhaps even as part of an entire suite of accessibility options to disable if you don't want them), not simply left as an unpleasant discovery for someone who's been using the operating system for some time and happens to press the wrong key combination.

[Nikolai]

There are many features of Windows 98 - Windows 8 that are automatically enabled because they assume many users will not be capable of using a computer without them, or won't be able to understand it.

That's very true. Part of the problem is circular. Windows maintains its market share because it is proprietary. Therefore, it cannot allow people to tinker with it beyond levels it defines. Therefore, there will likely be some part that a user neither needs nor wants and that takes up useful processing resources.

It would be nice if we could expect the average user to install the OS herself, and to be able to tick off various components that she might want during installation and leave the rest. That's another rather large layer of complexity, though -- more a matter of when it comes to QA and such than in the actual software design. It's important to have the option of a pre-installed OS for certain edge cases, though, and once you allow that, more people will want that. (Few people, it seems to me, are actually interested in maximizing the utility of their tools; they just want to finish a job and be done with it.) And we're back to the bloat.

[SuperWeegee4000]

I hate Windows with a passion - it is bloated, slow and assumes that I am a moron who can't be trusted to operate my own computer.

Sure you're not talking about Macs?

Dave Barry references aside, I think the problem with Windows is that it's grown too much in too short a time span, and cranked out features nobody is ready for. Windows XP and Windows 8 are great operating systems, but they can be weighed down if you don't know exactly how to operate them.

[Brabbit1987]

Sure you're not talking about Macs?

Dave Barry references aside, I think the problem with Windows is that it's grown too much in too short a time span, and cranked out features nobody is ready for. Windows XP and Windows 8 are great operating systems, but they can be weighed down if you don't know exactly how to operate them.

This is the same stance I have always taken. Windows 8 is a great OS, and it really shouldn't get all the hatred it has been getting. It's really sad. Most of the hate comes from biased people who want to jump on bored the hate microsoft band wagon lol XD. The only actual issue I found was no option to switch between metro and the old start menu. Though it really was an easy fix with Start8, and apparently you will not even need that anymore with the update coming soon.

[Nuke]

windows is fine when properly configured.

[Sid]

This is the same stance I have always taken. Windows 8 is a great OS, and it really shouldn't get all the hatred it has been getting. It's really sad. Most of the hate comes from biased people who want to jump on bored the hate microsoft band wagon lol XD. The only actual issue I found was no option to switch between metro and the old start menu. Though it really was an easy fix with Start8, and apparently you will not even need that anymore with the update coming soon.

I'm not using Windows 8. Whenever forced into using Windows I usually choose the oldest version that fulfills my needs. I do hate Microsoft, because they make lousy products and somehow not only get away with it, but actually turn their mediocrity into a good profit.

In my previous job, if I designed and manufactured something as awful as Windows then there's a good chance someone would have died. Quite noisily and messily, sort of Kerbal stylee

[SuperWeegee4000]

I'm not using Windows 8. Whenever forced into using Windows I usually choose the oldest version that fulfills my needs. I do hate Microsoft, because they make lousy products and somehow not only get away with it, but actually turn their mediocrity into a good profit.

In my previous job, if I designed and manufactured something as awful as Windows then there's a good chance someone would have died. Quite noisily and messily, sort of Kerbal stylee

Why do you hate Windows so much?

[Foamy]

I'm not using Windows 8. Whenever forced into using Windows I usually choose the oldest version that fulfills my needs. I do hate Microsoft, because they make lousy products and somehow not only get away with it, but actually turn their mediocrity into a good profit.

In my previous job, if I designed and manufactured something as awful as Windows then there's a good chance someone would have died. Quite noisily and messily, sort of Kerbal stylee

OK so do you actually just hate old versions of windows then? I love 7/8 but I detest XP and older as most sane people do. You can't judge the quality of a product when you use a 10 year old version.

[SuperWeegee4000]

OK so do you actually just hate old versions of windows then? I love 7/8 but I detest XP and older as most sane people do. You can't judge the quality of a product when you use a 10 year old version.

"Sane?" XP was awesome, if they improved the speed by a quarter second it would be perfectly on par with modern systems. I love XP, and always have. Its interface, its style, its programs... one could never recapture the glory of Old Paint, much in the manner that modern America could never recapture the glory of the Wild West.

[Nuke]

you know linux suffers from the same problem. if its not configured right, you are going to have a very crappy experience. of course you can always try various distros till you find one you like and if you are really really good you can get any linux to do what you want. i cant recall ever using an os where i didnt need to tweak something so that it does what i want it to do.

[Guest]

Windows makes me want to bang my head on the wall sometimes. Both my neighbor and my dad had a problem come up where the hard drive was mysteriously filling up. I would look at the properties and it would say something like 350gb used on a 500gb hard drive. I would add up the folders individually and come up with less than 100gb. What the? Turns out, it was windows system restore. The max usage setting on both computers was set all the way to the right, giving windows free reign to copy everything, and copy it again, and again, and again........You couldn't find the problem by showing hidden folders. It took a 3rd party piece of software, I think it was TreeSize, to clue me in to what was going on. Also, all the bloatware that comes on new computers drives me insane.

[Brabbit1987]

Windows makes me want to bang my head on the wall sometimes. Both my neighbor and my dad had a problem come up where the hard drive was mysteriously filling up. I would look at the properties and it would say something like 350gb used on a 500gb hard drive. I would add up the folders individually and come up with less than 100gb. What the? Turns out, it was windows system restore. The max usage setting on both computers was set all the way to the right, giving windows free reign to copy everything, and copy it again, and again, and again........You couldn't find the problem by showing hidden folders. It took a 3rd party piece of software, I think it was TreeSize, to clue me in to what was going on. Also, all the bloatware that comes on new computers drives me insane.

See, that is an issue that does not usually happen. It's also an issue that can easily be fixed if you know what your doing.

As for bloatware, yes, this is why I build my own computers. I like full control what hardware and software is in my computer.

I'm not using Windows 8. Whenever forced into using Windows I usually choose the oldest version that fulfills my needs. I do hate Microsoft, because they make lousy products and somehow not only get away with it, but actually turn their mediocrity into a good profit.

In my previous job, if I designed and manufactured something as awful as Windows then there's a good chance someone would have died. Quite noisily and messily, sort of Kerbal stylee

Windows 8 is more secure and performs better then any past version of windows. If you have problems with it, you are doing something wrong.

Edited July 14, 2013 by Brabbit1987