ZDNet : Microsoft should rewrite Windows.

[CougTek]

Microsoft said last week it plans to hire 4,000 to 5,000 new workers and to increase research spending by about 8 percent, to $6.9 billion per year. The company also said it has $49 billion lying around collecting interest.

SO WHAT should Bill and Steve do with these wondrous resources? My suggestion: Start over.

Yes, I think they should build a new operating system, as much from scratch as necessary to solve Windows's most intractable problem: It's not all that easy to use and really isn't getting any easier. It's also bloated with features and controls that most people never need, further weakening its ease of use.

In short, we need a new Microsoft OS that's actually easy to use, runs easy-to-use applications, and adapts itself to each user's specific digital environment--the other computers, phones, music devices, video gear, still cameras, etc., with which most of us surround our PCs.

Read the whole article. It's a great idea, except for the fact that the author seems to ignore that Microsoft is there to make money, not for the good of humanity. So forget the rewrite in reality. Although the computer world would need it, Microsoft, itself, doesn't.

 

[Mercutio]

So, what they're saying is, we need Windows 95 back?

I think one of the things that Microsoft could do to allieviate some of its problems is to move to supporting more than one shell.

Hear me out: XP has the search dog. And the very simple taskbar. And a control panel where you can't find a #%^$%-ing thing (all of course can be turned off, I know).

I've noticed from teaching that most people are 1.) Entirely unaware of the common tasks and related links areas of most XP windows and 2.) Utterly mystified by the filesystem.

My solution would be to make a Windows "idiot mode" that's even more dumbed down than normal Windows, as a second supported shell. Something along the lines of the MyHTPC thing that Blakerwry linked to a few weeks ago: A start button brings up a list of programs on one side, and tasks (Compose a Letter. Watch a DVD. Categorize "My Photos") on another.

 

[blakerwry]

I agree... we need a windows for dummies (not the book)

as well as the ability to customize the stock windows shell to an exhaustive extent. This is one of the things I'm dissapointed with in winXP. If we could customize windows to the extent that we can customize the linux GUIs we would have alot less people using linux/mac.

 

[Mercutio]

On that point I'll disagree sharply. Microsoft's help files and pretty much all documentation needs to refer to a standard interface. Two interfaces would require a good deal more documentation (look at the two different interfaces for XP. Can anyone actually, fully navigate the new XP-ish control panel? I can't. I always switch it to the classic view). Custom interfaces would mean WAY too much variability to properly document.

 

[P5-133XL]

I agree with Merc - There is actually too much customization allowed.

I disagree with Merc - A start button that brings up tasks, bothers me alot. I don't want to have to configure those task functions. Problems exist when I have to figure out how to set up WP vs Office vs Unknown word processor to start a new document in letter writing mode if that task is selected. Then we have the problem with installs taking over tasks when the user does not want that application taking over that task: We run into the same problems with tasks as we currently have with extentions being taken over.

My biggest complaint with Windows is that the various included utilities, and contol panels, properties windows, don't have a common interface. Originally it was to be the control pannel with properties windows, then The MMC was supposed to be it, Then came SBC's task oriented menuing, finally the manage utility, but it they were never uniformly implemented. I want a consistant, heirarcical, uniform interface that I can use common sense to drill down to see both the properties/problem and then either set the properties, run the proper utilities, or fix the problem. So far my favorite UI is the Computer management utility.

 

[Will Rickards WT]

As far as UI's go, have you guys seen the new Nod32 UI?
I just picked up version 2 of that nifty AntiVirus software.
The UI is perfect for this app.
Screenshots and product info can be found here.
But screenshots don't do it justice. The main window has a treeview. When you click the individual items it opens a pane that is initially docked next to the treeview. But you can detach the pane.


As far as MS Windows goes, I'm for more customization, screw the documentation nightmare as almost nobody reads it anyway.

 

[P5-133XL]

As far as MS Windows goes, I'm for more customization, screw the documentation nightmare as almost nobody reads it anyway.

It's not the documentation nightmare that is the problem - I'm willing to leave that task to MS. It is the maintaince issues that is the nightmare. The "stupid and unwashed" will configure their computer just the way they want to and then mess it up just as readily. Then I get the Phone call that asks the question - How do I get the forth button on the right back on application P, or viewer X for Y file type Y but only with application A, and B but not on C. The potential questions are infinite and the answers are just as potentially infinite because I rarely know exactly what they did to their machine to make it work originally and of course, no one ever did anything to mess up the configuration (It alwasy just happens spontanously)

The less people can fiddle the simpler the task of maintence and the more stable their machines are. The world is a happier place (At least my world).

 

[blakerwry]

when I started collecting music in winXP I liked how explorer could show me the bitrate, song duration, title, and other ID3 info... I wanted to make all my music folders the same (organized by genre). So that the folder could show me the artist and then the album, title, duration, etc without even showing me the file name...

Fortunately, I could customize the way each folder looked, however, unfortunately, there was no way to make a standard template that I could apply to all my music folders.

I searched for weeks trying to come up with a way to create a template, possibly I hoped tht I could modify or copy one of the built-in templates used for the my musc/my pictures folders. I found others onlne who had the same ideas as me... In the end I gave up after hopelessly searching and never getting any answers.

Creating templates for all winodws is such an easy concept to understand and is alraeady partially implemented in windows... I wish someone would take the idea a bit further.



I understand where Mark and Merc are coming from, I have to do tech support all the time as well... but for myself, I want to be able to customize things... scre the minions. If someone calls in for support the 1st thing you do is set things back to a default view. Perhaps a "safe mode" or the ability to save current configurations and switch between them would be a good compromise.

 

[Fushigi]

Then I get the Phone call that asks the question - How do I get the forth button on the right back on application P, or viewer X for Y file type Y but only with application A, and B but not on C. The potential questions are infinite and the answers are just as potentially infinite because I rarely know exactly what they did to their machine to make it work originally and of course, no one ever did anything to mess up the configuration (It alwasy just happens spontanously)

We need application & OS config setting Undo capability. After clicking 'OK' or 'Apply' we should be able to back out changes. We can do unlimited undos in documents, why not for the app itself?

Think what that'd do for support calls. The example cited above would go like "How do I get the forth button on the right back on application P, or viewer X for Y file type Y but only with application A, and B but not on C." Support tech: "Click Help - Undo Last Config Change" until you're back to where you wanted to be. That'll be $60."

 

[Howell]

Think what that'd do for support calls. The example cited above would go like "How do I get the forth button on the right back on application P, or viewer X for Y file type Y but only with application A, and B but not on C." Support tech: "Click Help - Undo Last Config Change" until you're back to where you wanted to be. That'll be $60."

When it gets that easy you'll only have to ask your 8 year-old to remind you where that button is.

 

[Will Rickards WT]

Remember back in the day when you changes the resolution/refresh rate on your monitor? When it didn't revert back in like 15 seconds? That was a pain in the butt when your monitor went all wonky and you had to boot into safe mode to fix it.

 

[blakerwry]

had to do that the other day.. it's called winNT4....

 

[Mercutio]

... also true for most fixed or limited frequency displays.

I actually memorized the keystokes needed to fix that particular problem without the display. It's one of those things that amazes the hell out of people, at least partially for the fact that I'm using the PC without using the mouse.

 

[blakerwry]

at least partially for the fact that I'm using the PC without using the mouse.

lol, how true

 

[Howell]

AREA MAN KNOWS ALL THE SHORTCUT KEYS

 

[blakerwry]

hehhe... he is the geek of the group for sure.

 

[blakerwry]

i bet he'd love mouse gestures

 

[Jan Kivar]

AREA MAN KNOWS ALL THE SHORTCUT KEYS

Command key... LOL!

Jan

 

[blakerwry]

what differences are there in the kernel from 2k to XP to 2k3? were things rewritten, or just things added? what stayed the same?

 

[e_dawg]

Howell, the shortcut man article was hillarious!