Shoutbox

I think there are some good reasons to be bashing Microsoft.... Some of their software can get really frustrating. The thing is, they don't fix or improve their software once it is popular: When was Windows XP/Internet Explorer last improved (besides security updates)? Why does my entire MSN Messenger 6.1 hang for about 10 seconds whenever someone is added to a multiple-person conversation (or leaves it)? (or could that be Plus?)

I also feel that they don't always give enough information and control: Web scripts can take control of IE's functions (displaying animation in the Status bar, disabling the right-click menu, hiding standard menus, etc.), MSN Messenger won't tell me who invited me to a multi-person conversation (which is very important for privacy), things like that.... I generally think that they're too rushed to release new fancy big features, instead of focusing on the little things and improving existing software, which is more important to the users IMO.

Oh, and I also think that they (and most other software companies) use too many resources, which forces people to buy new computers... A computer is a tool, not an entertainment center. Sometimes I wonder why famous applications are so slow, when I see how fast some other less-known applications are. I have to admit though, that IE does start up pretty fast. IMO, that's its best "real" advantage over other good browsers (the "unreal" advantage is that it's like a worldwide standard now, and that it ships with Windows).

IE isn't that bad, and neither is MSN Messenger. A lot of effort has been put into creating both. But it's those small things that make the difference, and it seems like they are never going to be fixed/improved. We'll just have to wait for the next major release (Windows Longhorn in IE's case). I'm not saying Microsoft is a crappy software company -- doing what they did is a great achievement. But I do think they have some wrong software strategies. I gave you some real-life examples. I'm not saying this because I think it's cool to put Microsoft down. It's my sincere opinion about their software.

And by the way, I doubt many other companies would do much better than Microsoft. When the company gets this big, the small details are forgotten, and it's just the big fancy new features that they focus on, to compete with other companies. Adobe Reader 6.0 loads as slow as hell, for example. Very unpleasing.

Well, that's all I have to say.