Tomorrow sees the release of two major Microsoft products: the oft-delayed Windows Vista, and Office 2007, two overpriced, bloated products that Microsoft pushes on people who do not realize that there are better choices out there.
Vista’s long development time is an absolute joke, considering how little it has improved over its predecessor, Windows XP. Instead of actual innovation and an increase in stability and security, Microsoft has seemingly taken the time to add a ton of bloat to their OS, giving its interface a makeover and creating gimmicky little effects that have nothing to do with the way an OS should work. There are tons of silly animations for everything, transparency, gloss, and sickening pastel colors all over, all of which look like they have been smeared with a liberal coat of Vaseline.
But the bloat, unfortunately, doesn’t end at its look. Underneath, a more sinister bloat lurks — a system of digital rights management (DRM) for content that ensures DRM-enabled media cannot be copied, transferred, altered, or, in some cases, even watched as intended. Vista will actually downgrade some media so it won’t be so easy to copy. Course, this — and other draconian DRM and copy protection schemes — completely ignore the rights of users to make copies of media for their own personal use (“Fair Use”). Sure, it keeps people from doing anything illegal, but the problem with that is that all the security and DRM in the world cannot prevent people who want to do illegal things from doing them. Hackers will always find ways around any DRM methods (evidenced by the recent cracking of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats that were thought uncrackable), and so the only people punished by DRM are the people who simply want to use their legally acquired media as they see fit. Unfortunately, in our brave new world of the RIAA/MPAA always getting their way over people simply wanting to use their media as they should be able to, the simple fact that people are being denied their Fair Use rights goes way over the head of these greedy companies, and Microsoft is there to happily share some of that profit.
But I digress. All of this means that Vista’s system requirements rivals most computer games running on top of a previous Windows version, and just to present a bloated desktop and a draconian DRM scheme. Even with the bloated desktop disabled, Vista is still a memory and resource hog, and there’s no way to get around it. There are already reports that games run significantly slower under Vista than under XP, and when game developers latch onto Vista’s DirectX 10 and won’t let go, those who choose not to place the bloat of Vista on their machine will be left behind.
Then we have Office 2007 (O2k7), with its new interface design. Some may like it; I, however, find the new tab method of choosing an action a bit ridiculous. People compare the tab methodology in O2k7 with browser tabs, however, this is not an apt comparison. Browser tabs separate the actual content, while O2k7 is separating the core functionality. Instead of logical, organized menus like we have had for years in computer applications, Microsoft has now decided that people need something new, which will confuse people further. And, personally, I think it looks hideous. It’s a design nightmare that never should have left the preliminary design stages of the application.
And I’m not even sure I want to know how terribly bloated O2k7 is. Plus I can’t wait for the next wave of Office macro viruses to hit 2k7, so I can see all the poor Windows advocates explain how an office suite needs a scripting engine that can access the entire OS’s infrastructure. Applications that allow general scripting should run these scripts in a sandbox and keep them from leaving the application’s boundaries; apparently the geniuses at Microsoft disagree with this basic security philosophy, which is why Windows is constantly under attack from viruses.
Anyway, the message here is clear: do not support Vista or Office 2007. I want Microsoft to see these products as a huge mistake, and suffer financially for them. And I want users to finally see that Microsoft does have serious issues with their products, and consider going elsewhere. Why Apple is not using these major issues to promote the hell out of Macintosh, I have no idea. It’s as if Apple wants to remain an also-ran, instead of a major competitor. Come on, Apple, let’s see some Microsoft bashing. Grow some balls and take them on. I think you could actually win.
Maybe I should take some Ubuntu and OpenOffice.org disks around to computer stores and give them away tomorrow. That would be interesting. Anyone have a penguin suit I could use?
Edit (Feb. 2): The US Department of Transportation agrees with me on Windows Vista.
In a memo to his staff, the DOT’s CIO Daniel Mintz says he has placed “an indefinite moratorium” on the upgrades as “there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade.”
Hey, DOT, use Linux. You’ll be much happier, and you’ll be off Microsoft’s crappy upgrade treadmill.
This is the beginning of the end, Microsoft. Seriously. I’m loving it.
