Of faults and stars and Operating Systems ...
*
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves" (Shakespeare, in Julius Caesar)
"The fault, dear User, is not in my operating system or programs, But in yourself" (attributed - by me! - to Bill Gates)
Having used a lot of recent products from Microsoft, I feel I have a pretty good idea of what’s wrong (and what’s right) with their offerings. I believe the problems largely fall into two categories: user interface problems and Microsoft’s inappropriate assumptions.
First, let me point out that the current onslaught of products from Microsoft and others are largely well-designed and feature rich. Given the current unstable nature of our operating systems, some of these programs (particularly games) are too feature-rich, but that is another issue.
There is a group of programs from Microsoft that seem to defy what Microsoft has been preaching the last few years by making themselves quite user unfriendly. The main culprits that I have had experience with include Exchange, Outlook 97, and Image Composer from the FrontPage 97 bonus pack. (FrontPage 97 also qualifies for this category in some ways, but I’ve got used to it, and don’t wish to include it, so there!) The last time I re-installed Windows 95 (I’ve switched back from Windows NT4 Workstation, at least until I find time to resolve the current 16meg maximum memory problem with my computer), I installed Internet Explorer 3.02 and later reinstalled Office 97. When I used IE to check my mail, I was presented with a strange and confusing screen not at all like the simple and efficient mail screen found in IE or, for that matter, Netscape Navigator. After a moment I realized that Outlook had replaced my usual mail screen. Fortunately, I had enough experience to know that there was probably a properties or options menu item that would allow me to restore some sanity to my fairly simple mail needs. Both Outlook and Exchange, in my opinion, are unnecessarily confusing and opaque. What do you do when you want to send a message in Exchange? Where do you find the simple command "Send"? Nowhere! Other people may find these programs useful, especially if they have heavy mail needs, but for me, it seems hard to beat the simple mail window from Netscape. (Okay, I have some beefs here: I would like to be able to quickly save mail messages in a clear ASCII (text) format without any encryption. I don’t know how to do that in Netscape. And IE can be a little cryptic, too, but not nearly as bad as its cousins.)
The other problem stems from Bill Gates’ stated goal of making computers easier to use. However, instead of making the operating system simpler and stable, and instead of making the software easier and more user friendly, he has gone about his task in another direction: computers will be easier to use if the computer (and operating system and programs) protects us from ourselves. Somehow, to paraphrase the Bard, Bill feels that the problem lies not in the operating system and programs, but in ourselves! Bill, of course, wants us to forget all about our files and drives. He wants us to let the program and operating system take care of these mundane items. However, as long as we have unstable operating systems (not to mention unstable programs), and as long as the demand for increased storage space seems to grow exponentially, we have to be concerned about these matters and Bill’s attempt to shield us only does us greater harm. Every major program that I can think of has its own default storage location for its data files. At one time, it was common to ask the user either at install or on first use where the data was to be stored, but no more! The program knows better than I where such things should be put! Unfortunately, the program does not know enough to back up these files on a different drive so I’ll have a copy when the current drive fails - and it will. Or when the operating system bombs and I have to reinstall everything - and it will, continuously! The more user friendly or realistic programs, such as WordPerfect 8, will at least give you a menu item that allows you to set the default location for your data. But other programs, such as those in Microsoft Office 97, do not even seem to provide this courtesy! This same "I know better than You" attitude extends to Windows 95 and to product installation in general.
For no particular reason other than, perhaps, the fact that its icon is right there on the desktop, I almost always use My Computer instead of Explorer. Since I’ve already used the mouse to start it up, I don’t want to switch to the keyboard when it’s time to back out of a directory, but to back out with the mouse, I need the toolbar which, by default, isn’t visible. I also find the "details" view the only usable view of my files, which again, by default, is not available. These are the most obvious and most frustrating "user unfriendly" aspects of Windows 95, but they are far from being the only ones.
Obviously, there must be a default drive suggested when you are installing software, although I sometimes wonder just how big some manufacturers must think your "C:" drive is! But, some programs, again mainly from Microsoft, don’t even ask you where you want them installed. At least one version of Internet Explorer installs itself to the C: drive without giving you a chance to put it somewhere more convenient. The same is true for Microsoft’s Internet web servers. Although they also want to put your web site files on the C: drive, they (or at least some versions) will allow you to put the web site elsewhere. Maybe these servers have to be on C:, I really don’t know, but Internet Explorer certainly does not. Can Microsoft really think that most users have enormous C: drives or have only one drive? Even if you have only one physical drive, it still is good planning to divide it into two or more logical drives, at least until Microsoft has solved the problem of impossibly large sectors for all versions of Windows.
Copyright ©1998 by Frederick D. Oldfield. All rights reserved.
*The images used here are from the clipart library issued with Corel Draw 7 , and are copyrighted. This animation is intended to be taken as good-natured fun, and in no way is intended to cast an unfavourable light on either Bill, both of whom I admire in their own spercial ways.
Copyright © 1998 by
Frederick D. Oldfield
Created:
June 08, 1998
Last revision:
July 10, 1998
Fred Oldfield is
a member of
