Yet Another Windows Rant

[nikster]

billg sends out an email about his attempts to get Movie Maker downloaded, from http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microso...ives/141821.asp

---- Original Message ----

From: Bill Gates

Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM

To: Jim Allchin

Cc: Chris Jones (WINDOWS); Bharat Shah (NT); Joe Peterson; Will Poole; Brian Valentine; Anoop Gupta (RESEARCH)

Subject: Windows Usability Systematic degradation flame

I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don't drive usability issues.

Let me give you my experience from yesterday.

I decided to download (Moviemaker) and buy the Digital Plus pack ... so I went to Microsoft.com. They have a download place so I went there.

The first 5 times I used the site it timed out while trying to bring up the download page. Then after an 8 second delay I got it to come up.

This site is so slow it is unusable.

It wasn't in the top 5 so I expanded the other 45.

These 45 names are totally confusing. These names make stuff like: C:\Documents and Settings\billg\My Documents\My Pictures seem clear.

They are not filtered by the system ... and so many of the things are strange.

I tried scoping to Media stuff. Still no moviemaker. I typed in movie. Nothing. I typed in movie maker. Nothing.

So I gave up and sent mail to Amir saying - where is this Moviemaker download? Does it exist?

So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated.

They told me to go to the main page search button and type movie maker (not moviemaker!).

I tried that. The site was pathetically slow but after 6 seconds of waiting up it came.

I thought for sure now I would see a button to just go do the download.

In fact it is more like a puzzle that you get to solve. It told me to go to Windows Update and do a bunch of incantations.

This struck me as completely odd. Why should I have to go somewhere else and do a scan to download moviemaker?

So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. (Not) just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.

Doesn't Windows update know some key to talk to Windows?

Then I did the scan. This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff.

This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.

So I did the download. That part was fast. Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn't use it for anything else during this time.

What the heck is going on during those 6 minutes? That is crazy. This is after the download was finished.

Then it told me to reboot my machine. Why should I do that? I reboot every night -- why should I reboot at that time?

So I did the reboot because it INSISTED on it. Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state.

So I got back up and running and went to Windows Update again. I forgot why I was in Windows Update at all since all I wanted was to get Moviemaker.

So I went back to Microsoft.com and looked at the instructions. I have to click on a folder called WindowsXP. Why should I do that? Windows Update knows I am on Windows XP.

What does it mean to have to click on that folder? So I get a bunch of confusing stuff but sure enough one of them is Moviemaker.

So I do the download. The download is fast but the Install takes many minutes. Amazing how slow this thing is.

At some point I get told I need to go get Windows Media Series 9 to download.

So I decide I will go do that. This time I get dialogs saying things like "Open" or "Save". No guidance in the instructions which to do. I have no clue which to do.

The download is fast and the install takes 7 minutes for this thing.

So now I think I am going to have Moviemaker. I go to my add/remove programs place to make sure it is there.

It is not there.

What is there? The following garbage is there. Microsoft Autoupdate Exclusive test package, Microsoft Autoupdate Reboot test package, Microsoft Autoupdate testpackage1. Microsoft AUtoupdate testpackage2, Microsoft Autoupdate Test package3.

Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable? The file system is no longer usable. The registry is not usable. This program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up.

But that is just the start of the crap. Later I have listed things like Windows XP Hotfix see Q329048 for more information. What is Q329048? Why are these series of patches listed here? Some of the patches just things like Q810655 instead of saying see Q329048 for more information.

What an absolute mess.

Moviemaker is just not there at all.

So I give up on Moviemaker and decide to download the Digital Plus Package.

I get told I need to go enter a bunch of information about myself.

I enter it all in and because it decides I have mistyped something I have to try again. Of course it has cleared out most of what I typed.

I try (typing) the right stuff in 5 times and it just keeps clearing things out for me to type them in again.

So after more than an hour of craziness and making my programs list garbage and being scared and seeing that Microsoft.com is a terrible website I haven't run Moviemaker and I haven't got the plus package.

The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind. I thought we had reached a low with Windows Network places or the messages I get when I try to use 802.11. (don't you just love that root certificate message?)

When I really get to use the stuff I am sure I will have more feedback.

This was 2003 so you have to wonder why things have gone even more backwards in Vista...

[PeaceBlondie]

I have no idea if this is all just urban myth or made-up jargonese to make a joke at Bill Gates, but it mirrors what happens to me. Today I am checking out PowerPoint because I saw a half-neat presentation of it by a half-competent Asian-American English teacher last week (who used everyday as in every day, which is a grammar error).

Several times a week, I get a message that Apple or Avocado wishes to install 8 megabytes of program onto my PC, and I always decline it. Next thing you know, they will try to install a Gorilla or Godzilla.

[Insight]

Highly doubt this is genuine. A well constructed hoax, but a hoax nevertheless - Maybe there's an employee culture completely unique to the rest of the world, but when have you ever heard of a (competent) manager/owner of a company criticize their own products without offering any ideas on how to improve? It's a rant from start to finish, and utterly lacking in any technical awareness higher than your average web user. Not really what you'd expect from Bill G.

Here's the biggest clue:

So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. (Not) just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.

Doesn't Windows update know some key to talk to Windows?

Meaning to say (even though this was 5 years ago) but he has no idea of the severe security implications of allowing something like this to happen? "key" - nice.

The timing this has come to light is just a bit suspicious also...

[A_Traveller]

In 2003(?), well if memory serves XP had MovieMaker as part of the OS, it was even in the blessed ME, so why download it? Am inclined to the hoax viewpoint especially given it appearing in his 'last days', but have to note the dates match {MM2 release Jan 3 2003} and thinking about it some more it wasn't a default on XP Pro installations, so it does fall into the well crafted box, but '.. flame', I think not.

OK took a few minutes to look at the Seattle blog and I'll leave my first para as is. However, there's a link to a pdf which is new, but is claimed to be from evidence given by MS during the antitrust proceedings, further the reporter claims to have asked Bill Gates late week, if he ever got MM to work, to which he got the answer it's going to become part of Windows Live Finally, :-

As for the message, Gates smiled and said, "There's not a day that I don't send a piece of e-mail ... like that piece of e-mail. That's my job."

So, if a hoax the reporter is putting himself on the line with it.

Regards

Edited June 26, 2008 by A_Traveller

[A_Traveller]

duplicate post, the curse of True

Edited June 26, 2008 by A_Traveller

[Rice_King]

Highly doubt this is genuine.

The fact that the OP posted this unverifiable communication as if it were "the gospel truth" should speak volumes.

[sjaak327]

"This was 2003 so you have to wonder why things have gone even more backwards in Vista... "

They havent, there is no need to download moviemaker, has been part of the OS for years, and I have no doubt that Bill knows this too.

No problem, it took the apple people months to ensure that imovie would work on Leopard