Heard of Windows 8? Learn all about Windows 8 and what Microsoft's plans are for the next version of Windows due in 2012. Click the Windows 8 orb above!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
(View Legal Code)
The Desperation of the Anti-Microsoft!
(Follow me on Twitter: msftkitchen)
I received an interesting comment by an anonymous reader (it’ll make complete sense why they chose to comment anonymously by the end of this post, trust me) to my blog entry about being too lazy to learn Vista. Here’s a quote of the comment (which I wouldn’t doubt he may decide to remove):
I hated this post so much. People don’t hate Vista for absolutely no reason. Everywhere I see people talking only superficially about these OSes, I wonder if they really use all parts of the OS on a daily basis.
1. Will they bring back the File Types tab complete with all the options?
2. Will they bring back using Shift to prevent Autoplay?
3. Will they being back the “Hide font variations” option which was removed unnecessarily from the Fonts folder?
4. Will they bring back the toolbar buttons including the Up button.
5. Will they bring back the ability to add a password to a compressed folder?
6. Will they bring back the Summary tab and the ability to view and edit metadata for any file on NTFS?
7. Will they reintroduce the IColumnProvider API?
8. Will Windows Explorer show the size on the status bar regardless of selection?
9. Will they fix the issue with deleting cached roaming profiles from Explorer?
10. Will they fix the issue where Defender interferes with Windows Color System, as a result, WCS is broken on Vista/only works till the first UAC prompt?
11. Will they bring back the KeepRasConnections registry key which was present under the Windows 2000/XP family and very useful while switching user accounts?
12. Will they bring back the ability to browse a domain structure?
13. Will they bring back the hibernation progress bar?
14. Will they bring back all the NTBackup features? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTBackup)
15. Will they bring back the lost functionality of the Address Book/Contacts?
16. Will they bring back context-sensitive help?
17. Will they revive the dead DirectX components?
18. Will they fix the botched servicing stack?
19. Will they fix the botched driver install experience and the DriveStore cache problem which eats up disk space?
20. Will the bring back the lost functionality of the Start menu?
And you say Vista ain’t bad? It *IS* really *BAD* and bad for a reason.
Translation:
This is your stereotypical exaggeration by someone who has probably never actually used Vista but wants to push the anti-Vista propaganda. Comments such as, “I wonder if they really use all parts of the OS on a daily basis” are comical when one actually takes into account what this would actually imply (hint: that list of 20 points doesn’t even come CLOSE).
You want to know what I find to be twice as horrific as “anonymous” seemed to have found my previous post to be? Let’s go on a little journey, shall we?
I found that list to be quite miraculous and too random to be literal points that any one person would notice. I mean, imagine the knowledge of Windows one would have to know to write a list like that… much less be affected by on a daily basis, as was implied by that wondrous comment, “I wonder if they really use all parts of the OS on a daily basis.” So, I decided to hit up the trusty ol’ Goooooogle, and low and behold, what did I find? I found the following list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_removed_from_Windows_Vista
Okay, so that’s just a seemingly endless list of noninclusive features in Windows Vista, right? Here’s where the fun begins. Whichever browser you use, reference the functionality that allows you to search for text on a web page (in IE, it’s Edit -> Find). Now, let’s pick some keywords (which I will highlight with bold text) from each point of anonymous’ list:
1. Will they bring back the File Types tab complete with all the options?
2. Will they bring back using Shift to prevent Autoplay?
3. Will they being back the “Hide font variations” option which was removed unnecessarily from the Fonts folder?
4. Will they bring back the toolbar buttons including the Up button.
5. Will they bring back the ability to add a password to a compressed folder?
6. Will they bring back the Summary tab and the ability to view and edit metadata for any file on NTFS?
7. Will they reintroduce the IColumnProvider API?
8. Will Windows Explorer show the size on the status bar regardless of selection?
9. Will they fix the issue with deleting cached roaming profiles from Explorer?
11. Will they bring back the KeepRasConnections registry key which was present under the Windows 2000/XP family and very useful while switching user accounts?
12. Will they bring back the ability to browse a domain structure?
13. Will they bring back the hibernation progress bar?
14. Will they bring back all the NTBackup features? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTBackup)
15. Will they bring back the lost functionality of the Address Book/Contacts?
16. Will they bring back context-sensitive help?
17. Will they revive the dead DirectX components?
18. Will they fix the botched servicing stack?
20. Will the bring back the lost functionality of the Start menu?
That’s right, folks. Reading between anonymous’ rewording and textual embellishments, we find keywords from 1-20 (with the exception of 10 and 19, which anonymous seems to have obtained from some other page) that allows us to read down that wikipedia page like butter dripping off a hot roll! Hey, “Anonymous:” Next time, why not just try referencing full pages with all of their content? It’s a lot easier than selecting random points and rewording text. Better yet, just say, “I hate Microsoft just ’cause.” It would save people like me the effort to find your ignorance behind your facade.
Oh, I mean, uh… nice list, there. Real Windows pro you are, there, guy. A real pro.
Come on, folks. This is another point of mine and a KEY reason of why Microsoft has been needing to start something like the “I’m a PC” campaign. Too many people like this anonymous moron take it upon themselves to point out flaws that they themselves have probably not experienced… not even one. Why? Because it’s hard to when you’ve never installed the freakin’ OS! Anonymous didn’t list a single thing he himself had an issue with in regards to Vista. Anonymous merely sought out an authoritative list of existing issues and quoted it.
Can’t you anti-Microsoft folks come up with something a little less desperate? What a joke.
-Stephen
PS – Oh, and I’m sure this was just a big coincidence. I’m probably completely wrong. (I’m just calling it before anonymous’ bruised ego comes in here to enlighten me and the other rationalists who read my blog)
haha loved this post! Strangely, apart from the up button in Explorer, I haven’t ever missed any other ‘features’ as mentioned in the list. And to think of it ( correct me if I’m wrong ), I’m not sure if OS X has an up button in their finder either.
. Yes, please install if first losers!
Anyhow, my point is that, Vista bashing is just a fun sport for people now. And I’m really bored of it. And now, Vista bashers have really become pathetic to the extent of relying on Wikipedia
Good post mate! I wish we could have all that in W7.
Btw, I snatched your background image so shamelessly. I actually used it before on my site but it was the original dark color – but yours fit so good
Hope you don’t mind.
P.
I haven’t laughed this much in ages, thanks mate! Of course, without the IColumnProvider interface Vista is completely useless and shouldn’t even be switched on – oh I forgot, they replaced it with a much better solution
I am glad to finally see people (like you) who seek the truth behind all of the propaganda out there.
Vista isn’t even remotely close to as bad as people claim. It’s actually quite good.
I can write both for and against vista. In fact I have on a number of occasions. In the end it comes down to, how much pain do you want in your daily computing environment and what operating system provides the least painless environment for you.
-alphaalien (won’t let me sign in *sniff*)
Sadly, what you say in this post is too true. These people say “I have never used Vista, I will never use it, and I have found it to have a lot of problems”. How the hell did you found these problems without using it?
Of course, it’s easier to say Vista is a disaster than to take the effort to learn it – and, as a bonus, it covers your back when you’re supposed to be a guru and your neighbor asks you about some Vista’s feature!
By the way, Imran, Vista doesn’t have the up button in the Explorer toolbar, right, but this also has been replaced with a newer feature: the new location bar. In it, you can go directly to any of the upper level folders merely by clicking on its name.
Many of the other points of the list have been replaced with newer functionality (the IColumnProvider interface, the Shift key autorun prevention) or are corner features that aren’t so important in a modern OS (browsing the domain structure, keeping RAS connections on user switching). Yes, they may be missing, and they are good for making lists, but, who would miss them in the real world?
Those people have way tooooo much free time, I’m affraid
.
Grijan, the same what i wanted to say about the “up” button…
it’s been at least five years since i serious sat down in front of a microsoft powered machine, occasionally, i throw XP onto a hard drive and play with it, but to be honest, i am just not excited by microsoft’s products.
i used to be a bit more foaming about the mouth about them; sort of the way people who quit smoking get some what fanatical about smokers; but as i have no real experiences with microsoft OSes my stress levels have gone down considerably and i just relax and enjoy my experiences with the computer.
my more rabid inspirations came from the results of the browser wars with Netscape and the proliferation of websites which said you had to use Internet Explorer to use them. Now that there are numerous alternatives which have their debatable points, i careless about the next offering of microsofts products. i doubt very seriously that i will buy any, mostly because i don’t buy what i can get for free.
Btw I’m the anonymous who sent you this and you’re absolutely right they’re straight from that article on WP (did u think I would think you wouldn’t figure this out?)…whatever but actually that article on WP was also written by me (not each and every thing but mostly all including these issues which I encountered while using Vista and went on adding to the article. Everyone’s usage and needs from an OS vary so you might just respect what others want in an OS (which the previous one had) rather than bashing a “Vista basher”. Btw I love Microsoft very much and I’m not a pointless Vista basher.
Following up to above comment: Some of them may be useless but my point is I did not lift them from WP, since I wrote them myself in that article. And yeah I *DO* have too much time but I’m not a desperate Vista/MS basher
Also they are all facts with citations, not pointless rants, not exaggerations. And yes I don’t use Vista now (use XP now) but I did use Vista from 2006 to 2008, and I have used Windows starting with Win 95 OSR2.
And you’re missing the whole point of it: When MS next removes ur favorite feature present in Vista from Windows 7, you can do nothing but sigh. Only MS has this tendency to remove features from products while adding new ones. Few other companies do that. Removed features is one of the popular Vista rants, how can you call it pointless bashing?
See the Live Movie Maker as an example which doesn’t sport the full set of features of WMM. So all the people ranting about the removed features (which may not matter to others at all) are all morons?
I don’t know about you but I have personally experienced allof these following annoyences in Vista.
1. Will they bring back the File Types tab complete with all the options?
4. Will they bring back the toolbar buttons including the Up button.
6. Will they bring back the Summary tab and the ability to view and edit metadata for any file on NTFS?
8. Will Windows Explorer show the size on the status bar regardless of selection?
12. Will they bring back the ability to browse a domain structure?
13. Will they bring back the hibernation progress bar?
16. Will they bring back context-sensitive help?
18. Will they fix the botched servicing stack?
20. Will the bring back the lost functionality of the Start menu?
PS: I’m not linux, mac or xp fan. I have been continually using vista 2006 to now. I’m writing this from vista.
but it still annoys me to no end that ms chose to dumb down vista for their idiot users.
I love Windows Vista, is the best OS of Microsoft that my laptop and desktop have installed. I love the new features that replace the old ones as the Up button from the Explorer. The new Locator bar is great and saves me a lot of time.
I can’t understand those people who hate Vista, if you don’t like an OS just don’t use it. That’s all. I installed a lot of distro’s of Linux as well and my mom who uses the desktop doesn’t know where to start or how to enable a webcam for example. I know that Mac for that is best, but Windows Vista is simple, great, powerfull and my hardware was detected and installed without any interaction of my part, and I don’t have the newest hardware in the market.
Well, great blog and keep writing good stuff like you’re used to.
Regarding “who would miss IColumnProvider in the real world?” Well, TortoiseCVS for one. For those of us who use CVS for source code version control, TortoiseCVS is a great shell extension that allows you to do check-outs/check-ins right from Windows Explorer. It’s a great app!
However, because Vista no longer supports IColumnProvider, they’ve broken functionality in this app.
From http://www.tortoisecvs.org/faq.html#vista:
“Note that the CVS-specific Explorer columns are not available on Windows Vista. Microsoft has decided to remove the IColumnProvider interface that TortoiseCVS relies on. Instead, Microsoft suggests to use the new property system. Unfortunately, the property system only supports adding handlers for specific file extensions, and can therefore not be used for this purpose.”
Just because you don’t use certain functionality in the OS, don’t assume that no one else does. It was a terrible idea to remove this interface and not provide equivalent functionality.
20. Will the bring back the lost functionality of the Start menu?
What the hell is the lost functionality of the Start menu? I seriously can’t think of what you would mean…
in response to the latest anonymous listing things:
1. Will they bring back the File Types tab complete with all the options?
This has its own control panel now, much simplified and much safer than the previous system. No longer can someone mess up their “folder” association and not be able to open folders in Explorer.
4. Will they bring back the toolbar buttons including the Up button.
Use the breadcrumb bar. Get with it. It’s faster than the previous system of going up to go to another folder, where you just drop down the list of up-level folders and jump directly to it.
6. Will they bring back the Summary tab and the ability to view and edit metadata for any file on NTFS?
It’s called “Details” and offers more metadata handling for specific file types. Media metadata editing in exchange for being able to add comments to random files? Easy trade for me.
8. Will Windows Explorer show the size on the status bar regardless of selection?
Point to you. No similar feature.
12. Will they bring back the ability to browse a domain structure?
This feature wasn’t even in XP and as far as I know this was only on Windows 2000 Workstation (client-side versions considered).
13. Will they bring back the hibernation progress bar?
There is a progress bar for Hibernation. It’s indeterminate.
16. Will they bring back context-sensitive help?
If you mean “What’s this?” prompts, this is application specific.
18. Will they fix the botched servicing stack?
What the hell are you talking about?
20. Will the bring back the lost functionality of the Start menu?
What lost functionality? The Start Menu has gained functionality, even in classic mode. Shell folders can now be placed on the classic Start Menu, like Games Explorer.