Why, have you not had to use Windows recently? It's like they're trying to make Explorer more unpleasant with each new version. Maybe there are double-agents from Apple or Red Hat working to destroy Window from within.
I got the impression that they'd sort of got it right around Window NT/2000 - they'd fixed the worst of the problems, and had enough features to make it usuable. Unfortunately as MS have to keep pulling in the cash, they need to keep adding more and more useless stuff to give the impression that people need to upgrade to get it hence parting with more money. PC tech isn't changing enough these days for people to splurge more cash buying the same software over and over again.
Stylistic people go for a mac, true geeks go for Linux (or variant) and so you've got the rest plumping for Windows. They probably pitch their products to the lowest common denominator, which means overengineering everything for people without a clue.
Microsoft seem to write increasingly complicated ways of doing things, and then slap on an interface that is completely ineffective to do what is required get the job done. And in Blackcomb (the new windows after Vista finally escapes) they are doing away with the Start bar, which seemed to be the best feature of Windows..
Stylistic people go for a mac, true geeks go for Linux (or variant)
I've seen a nontrivial proportion of hardcore geek types move towards Apple since the advent of OS X, since it's basically UNIX with a decent, well-designed GUI: just like NeXT was ten years ago, but less prohibitively expensive, and it runs on cute hardware you can carry around with you. The freely available developer tools and documentation are also really quite temptingly good.
Most of the opposition I've seen to this trend has been from the people who run linux because it's Free-as-in-capital-F, which is a political position, on an axis orthogonal to geekiness.
Yes, I think that I'd have to agree with this. I haven't the cash to buy a mac (looming house buying, weddings and children), but use Linux regardless because I prefer the unix way of doing things then the "One Windows Way", but that's my choice. Other people are different, most of the civilised world if windows usage figures are true.. :D
I've said it before and I'll say it again; the Windows 95 interface was designed by people who thought that the reasons NeXTSTEP looked sexy were the grey and the X in the corner.
However, speaking as a current Mac user (you may have noticed ;-), I can officially reveal that Apple are getting good at screwing about with user interfaces. It all started when Safari (/me hugs his Omniweb) was FOR NO GOOD REASON a brushed metal application back in 10.2, and has been going downhill since. Have you noticed how in iTunes 5, not only does it not look like anything else on the system (hurrah for human interface guidelines!), but even the ROUNDED CORNERS have a different radius from those on EVERY OTHER SODDING WINDOW!?!
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-23 11:44 am (UTC)Yes, that is quite spectacularly bad GUI design.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-23 12:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-23 12:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-23 02:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-23 04:33 pm (UTC)Stylistic people go for a mac, true geeks go for Linux (or variant) and so you've got the rest plumping for Windows. They probably pitch their products to the lowest common denominator, which means overengineering everything for people without a clue.
Microsoft seem to write increasingly complicated ways of doing things, and then slap on an interface that is completely ineffective to do what is required get the job done. And in Blackcomb (the new windows after Vista finally escapes) they are doing away with the Start bar, which seemed to be the best feature of Windows..
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-23 11:21 pm (UTC)I've seen a nontrivial proportion of hardcore geek types move towards Apple since the advent of OS X, since it's basically UNIX with a decent, well-designed GUI: just like NeXT was ten years ago, but less prohibitively expensive, and it runs on cute hardware you can carry around with you. The freely available developer tools and documentation are also really quite temptingly good.
Most of the opposition I've seen to this trend has been from the people who run linux because it's Free-as-in-capital-F, which is a political position, on an axis orthogonal to geekiness.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-24 08:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-23 04:50 pm (UTC)However, speaking as a current Mac user (you may have noticed ;-), I can officially reveal that Apple are getting good at screwing about with user interfaces. It all started when Safari (/me hugs his Omniweb) was FOR NO GOOD REASON a brushed metal application back in 10.2, and has been going downhill since. Have you noticed how in iTunes 5, not only does it not look like anything else on the system (hurrah for human interface guidelines!), but even the ROUNDED CORNERS have a different radius from those on EVERY OTHER SODDING WINDOW!?!