An Open Letter to Hob–I mean, Microsoft
Dear Microsoft,
First of all, I’d really like to thank you. MS Office is, in my opinion, the best office suite on the market. Windows has made many contributions to home computing–first and foremost instilling the concept that computers are for everyone–not just socially deprived nerds. Though Windows remains a fairly effective way of getting things done, I decided to switch to GNU/Linux this summer for reasons of my own. I really like the view from there. That said, I’d like to ask after some basic features implemented in Windows that are standard (as free, open-source software no less) in GNU/Linux.
*Updating. Updating Windows is a painful process–the OS itself tends to pop up unexpectedly, chew up needed bandwidth, and restart at inopportune moments. What’s more, individual pieces of software must all be updated individually. This is, quite frankly, a pain in the neck. It can’t be difficult to integrate ONE, all-inclusive, non-intrusive updating utility. Yes, it might be an extra step for application developers. No, I do not sympathize with them. Please do this.
*Workspaces. Workspaces aren’t a very big deal…but they’re darn handy. Yes, I know I can download them for Windows from your “PowerToys” section, but there is no good reason they’re not included on a vanilla install. And I can’t really think of a reason it doesn’t include transition effects when you move between them.
*Themes. I believe there are 3 legal themes for Microsoft Windows XP. This has got to stop. Yes, I like blue. No, I don’t like it that much.
*Sensible administration privileges. I really like the concept GNU/Linux has which is that programs run on the lowest permission level they can. This is instrumental in stopping spyware. I feel unsafe when I’m logged in as a Windows administrator. Is that the attitude you want?
*Filesystem. Ext* (especially Ext3) is better than NTFS. No defragmenting, more reliable, please switch. There is no shame in this.
*Open document formats. Both releasing all of your own document formats, and adapting MS Office to include Open Document files. Natively.
*System resources: Why is it that my Ubuntu installation runs faster than a friend’s Vista installation…with 8 times the RAM, and ~double the processor? And functionality is debatably the same, to boot.
*Internet rendering: I know you can convince IE to pass the Acid3. It’s OK to shamelessly copy & paste Firefox/Chrome’s source code, that’s what it’s there for.
Please take these suggestions (and I’m sure there are more that I have yet to think of) into consideration. For the good of your product. For the good of your company. For the good of your millions of users. Please.
With warm regards,
Timmy Macdonald
Odds and Ends Said,
November 11, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
[...] are on Digg, but now I’m going to have a Digg button here (you can see one in action on the Open Letter to Hob–I mean, Microsoft) and I changed the button that appears at the bottom of all posts such that it’s a Javascript [...]
My Last Whine about Google Chrome Said,
December 20, 2008 @ 8:10 pm
[...] Windows was restored, and I actually tried the thing. I kinda hosed it, but I was trying to be optimistic. It was new, [...]
Randy James Said,
December 21, 2008 @ 10:47 am
From somebody that didn’t know squat about linux – and still doesn’t. I never thought I’d be using Linux on a regular basis. I don’t see why I should keep Windows. I’ve been virus/spyware/malware(allthatcrap)-free for over 2 years and I still don’t need to know anything about Linux.
Linux is getting easier and better with age-Microsoft, watch out!
The Top 8 of ‘08 Said,
January 1, 2009 @ 9:59 am
[...] An Open Letter to Hob–I mean, Microsoft: I’ve known for a while that I had problems with Microsoft–ergo my switch to Ubuntu. But once I saw what the other side had to offer, I realized how Windows could improve a lot through simple improvements, such as built-in workspaces, and the use of a journaling file system. [...]
Troy Said,
January 7, 2009 @ 7:06 pm
Windows has a lot of ground to make up. Extra filesystem support and workspaces would help a lot.
Also, I think copy and pasting code might be illegal. Depending on how FF is licensed, they might be required to give out the source.
Of course, they could just build their FF interface and package that with Windows. And save a whole lot of effort.
Justin Said,
January 25, 2009 @ 12:05 pm
It’s perfectly legal for them to C&P FF source code, it’s licensed under the GPL. That’s the point of the GPL. Of course, then they’d be required to release the source of IE as well, but that would be the best thing to happen to the web anyway. It’s a win-win as far as I can see. It’s not like Microsoft makes any money off IE anyway, so there’s no reason for it’s code to remain proprietary.
Uncle B Said,
January 25, 2009 @ 1:22 pm
Please donate your old boxes to a church-group or some needy student in these hard times! To comply with the law, and with Microsoft’s leasing policy, you can now replace Microsoft OS with the free (download from the net) Ubuntu OS, which can be set to erase the hard drive of all traces of the “ illegal to give away ” Microsoft system and your private information, before donation! Now, explain to your lucky recipient that all the manuals they will ever need are available for free on the internet! Just ask for them in Google! OpenOffice, which is installed already is plenty adequate for homework assignments and with a little exploring, everything else can work well too! Happy computing!
Ladislaio Said,
February 15, 2009 @ 8:21 am
@Justin – FF code is not GPL’d, it is under the Mozilla Public License, although you may choose to treat it under the GPL or LGPL. I do not know much about the MPL, but I do know that the LGPL allows for linking from closed source stuff, so long as you submit any changes you make to the FF code back to the project. Because of this, they could not just copy paste, but MS COULD link IE to some firefox functions – such as use it’s javascript engine.
@ Top 8 of 8 link thing:
NTFS is a journaled file system.