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Microsoft Operating Systems Software Windows

Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft 836

Posted by samzenpus from the you-wouldn't-like-him-when-he's-angry dept.
s31523 writes "All of us have one time or another been completely frustrated by certain Windows usability issues, and in many cases our experiences have driven us over to Linux, or kept us there. For anyone that has ever been frustrated, you will be happy to know you aren't the only one. After reading this leaked Microsoft memo from Bill Gates back in 2003, you will surely have more insight into why Vista is a complete disaster due to Microsoft not learning anything from their experiences from XP."
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Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft More

Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft

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  • Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by neapolitan ( 1100101 ) * on Thursday June 26, 2008 @07:59AM (#23947007)

    Interestingly enough, Gates could have really improved his image during his tenure at Microsoft if he let emails like that "leak" out prior to stepping down. Instead, he gives keynotes about Microsoft and its "innovation."

    First, I am not sure that email is really by Gates -- from reading his writing or listening to him in the past, it really does not sound like his style. Also, "I reboot my computer ... why should I have to reboot my computer?" I find it hard to realize that he wouldn't know the technical difficulties in replacing a dll while the system is running, and possible ways around this, and the current state of affairs. However, maybe I'm giving too much credit here.

    Secondly, *if you can't do anything about this crap, then stop releasing it on time and FIX THE ISSUES* instead of releasing it to the world for millions of users to suffer under your monopoly. If your software sucks, fix the problems instead of using oppressive business practices to make *everybody* suffer.

    Next, people complain about Linux usability? apt-get install mplayer k3b, etc? It is not harder, just different. In fact, having all of the software most people need in one place makes Linux easier for most people in many ways, specifically the way that possible-Bill rants about here.

    Whenever I have listen to Gates talk or talked to him (many, many years ago now, in the late 90's) he seems more than aware of problems with his product, and I always get this vibe "I'm doing it because I can and it is really, really, really good for business and nobody is stopping me." If any of you were following the USDOJ against Microsoft way back before the Bush-era forgiveness, Microsoft was going to be split into three companies. When Bill was on the stand, he basically went "I don't remember" to every possibly incriminating statement, but was clearly aware of the bad ethics of what he was doing -- again, reading between the lines I always got the vibe of the triumphant geek saying "I'm not going to stop until you guys get your act together and make me stop."

    He's not a stupid guy that way, and anybody that respects billionaires must ask themselves if they would do the same things with a company to maintain market share... Personally, I like to think I wouldn't, but that's why I am not a CEO.

    • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by morgan_greywolf ( 835522 ) * on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:06AM (#23947081) Homepage Journal

      First, I am not sure that email is really by Gates -- from reading his writing or listening to him in the past, it really does not sound like his style
      Agreed. He doesn't say any of his trademarks like "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" or "I could have written MovieMaker in Excel macros over the weekend!" (okay, the last one is a stretch. ;)

      Next, people complain about Linux usability? apt-get install mplayer k3b, etc? It is not harder, just different. In fact, having all of the software most people need in one place makes Linux easier for most people in many ways, specifically the way that possible-Bill rants about here.
      Here's the problem from a usability standpoint: I want to install a media player. I don't know that I need to install mplayer, xine or totem. (What is a totem and WTF does it have to do with playing media? WTF is a xine anyhow?) THe 'Add/Remove Programs' in Ubuntu addresses some of this, but try installing an app that plays podcasts WITHOUT KNOWING that democracyplayer and VLC play podcasts.

       

      • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Interesting)

        by AvitarX ( 172628 ) <me&brandywinehundred,org> on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:17AM (#23947197) Journal

        but try installing an app that plays podcasts WITHOUT KNOWING that democracyplayer and VLC play podcasts.

        I went to add/remove and typed podcast in the search.

        When sorted by popularity:
        1) rythmbox music player, play and orginize your music collection. I bet this works for audio podcasts

        2) Miro Internet TV, Watch online videa.
        details:
        Miro (previously known as Democracy Player) is a platform for Internet television and video. It allows you to download and watch videos from RSS feeds (including podcasts, video blogs, and BitTorrent feeds).

        This application is provided by the Ubuntu community.

        I bet that's what I would pick.

        Of course gpodder 2 further down may have been my choice (it mentions audio and video podcasts in the brief description).

        I would never have used vlc though, I use it daily, and didn't realize it did podcasts.

        • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Insightful)

          by norminator ( 784674 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @10:23AM (#23948811)
          I don't think we should neglect to point out, also, that the Add/Remove Programs dialog in Windows can't really be used to Add programs... (well, it does give you a button to push if you're installing from a CD or a Floppy... as if anyone is installing programs from floppies). It certainly isn't a repository of programs for Windows that can be downloaded and installed quickly and easily, and it doesn't help you to install programs you've already downloaded. So calling it Add/Remove Programs is kind of a usability problem on its own.

          I'm pretty sure that very, very few people have ever used Add/Remove Programs in Windows to add a program, since the people who would need that kind of assistance would have Autorun turned on anyway, so the install program would launch when they put the CD in, long before the Add/Remove Programs dialog finishes loading.

          Hence, Add/Remove Programs in Windows is really just Remove Programs. And considering that 3rd party tools (e.g., Revo Uninstaller, etc.) do a better job of actually completely removing programs, it really doesn't even do that very well.

      • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Funny)

        by cptnapalm ( 120276 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:43AM (#23947457)

        "What is a totem and WTF does it have to do with playing media?"

        What's a Google?
        What's a Yahoo!?
        What's a WinAmp?
        What's a Slashdot?
        What's a Firefox?
        What's an eBay?
        What's a NewEgg?
        What's a Lightwave?
        What's a Nero?
        What's an Outlook Express?
        What's a Visual Studio?
        What's an AutoCAD?

        With names like these, no one will ever use them.

        • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Funny)

          by D Ninja ( 825055 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @10:27AM (#23948881)

          Ooo...this is too much fun...

          What's a Google?
          A whole freaken ton of answers. With advertising!

          What's a Yahoo!?
          What you scream when you've just won the lottery.

          What's a WinAmp?
          A speaker system facing out of a college dorm window.

          What's a Slashdot?
          A fancy name for a DDOS attack.

          What's a Firefox?
          A fox that got caught in the hen house and paid for it.

          What's an eBay?
          Where eShips pull into the ePort.

          What's a NewEgg?
          One that has been recently laid. (Duh?)

          What's a Lightwave?
          Something that travels faster than a Soundwave.

          What's a Nero?
          Nemo's long lost brother.

          What's an Outlook Express?
          The biggest POS ever.

          What's a Visual Studio?
          A room with "LIVE CAMERA WEB FEEDS!"

          What's an AutoCAD?
          The instant response to a blue screen in Windows. (Auto Ctrl+Alt+Del)


          Thank you! I'll be here all week. Try the veal.

      • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Informative)

        by hherb ( 229558 ) <<moc.lacidemogirrod> <ta> <tsroh>> on Thursday June 26, 2008 @09:08AM (#23947753) Homepage

        Here's the problem from a usability standpoint: I want to install a media player. I don't know that I need to install mplayer, xine or totem. (What is a totem and WTF does it have to do with playing media? WTF is a xine anyhow?) THe 'Add/Remove Programs' in Ubuntu addresses some of this, but try installing an app that plays podcasts WITHOUT KNOWING that democracyplayer and VLC play podcasts.
        apt-cache search podcast

        or enter "podcast" as a search term in your GUI software installation tool. How hard is this? Certainly easier than strolling through dozens of software shops or dredging the web

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by bkr1_2k ( 237627 )

        How is not knowing the name of the "right" application for the job any different in Linux than it is in Windows? Seriously, why would you think excel had anything to do with spreadsheets? I'll give you Word, but Powerpoint, how about Acrobat? Most application's names don't have much to do with what they actually accomplish.

        You learn things in Linux the same way you do in Windows, by asking people who already know. The only reason it seems easy in Windows is because more people know and we've been "broug

      • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:4, Interesting)

        by ducomputergeek ( 595742 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @09:42AM (#23948207)

        Last week I had a client with an XP pro box that crashed hard. (The HDD physically broke and the needle scratched the crap out of the platters). He had an extra SATA drive and said, "I'm not married to XP, let's install Linux".

        Their wifi access system was already running linux and *iux would make the final step of deploying the online ordering system I built for them a bit easier implement. I was up for it. It had been a while since I had dealt with installing Linux for a desktop. I figured things had improved.

        Here is how that went: downloaded Fedora 9. Would not install, Kernel panic on boot from DVD. Apparently Fedora and the Intel 945GC chipset hate each other. Saw this "well known issue with DVD install and 945GC". May be an issue, but bottom line: it didn't work out of the box. STRIKE 1

        OpenSuSE 11: Would install, but would freeze on hardware probe. Could boot up, but got an error that kernel modules were unable to load and thus the ethernet card would not work, etc.. STRIKE 2

        Ubuntu: Owner downloaded and tried installing. Kept pressing enter at the install screen, but it did nothing. We could view the other menus, but try to do an install and it wouldn't let us for some reason. (This may have been a bad burn on the CD) He had read about how great Ubuntu was and decided to see if he could install it. STRIKE 3.

        After that, I was thinking there was something else wrong hardware wise with the box. So I took out a FreeBSD 7-0 release disc and it installed, no problems, no hardware errors reported.

        It was now the end of the day and the evening shift was getting ready to come in. They needed a box that worked so they could grant wifi access to customers (this is a coffee shop). We had wasted and afternoon, nothing accomplished.

        XP Pro went back on the box. It worked. Linux lost a client on the desktop side. And if someone asks about it at the local chamber meeting, guess what he's going to say. "Well we tried 3 different versions of linux, none of them worked. They wouldn't even install."

        Yesterday was Round 2. The owner decided to purchase an AMD barebones kit to replace the Intel machine. (He was going to take the XP box home for his kids).

        OpenSuSE 11: Would boot, select install, then just a black screen. RESULT: Intentional Pass on Linux, went straight to BSD. This time PC-BSD. The owner had been reluctant on BSD because he had never heard of it and the text base installer scared him a bit with vanilla FBSD.

        PC-BSD installed flawlessly and he liked the GUI installer. So easy even he could do it. Flash worked out of the box (a bit choppy on playback), but it works. Only problem was the NV driver would only allow 800x600 screen resolution, so had to use VESA. Not that important since all they are doing is using FireFox and Google Docs. So technically that is a failure as we are unable to use higher resolutions than 1024x768. Even on a wide screen monitor. But it works well enough.

        Hell, I was able even able to load their label printer via CUPS and get it to work. In fact, I was really impressed with PC-BSD. It's 2 CD's to download and burn, had everything I needed to get up and running in less than 20 minutes. They have their PBI installer system or you can use the traditional BSD ports system.

        Maybe it's just me, but it seems like every time I give Linux another shot I am reminded to why I switched to BSD in 2000 and Mac in 2002 for the desktop.

        As far as the memo it's self. It may not have been written by Gates hands, but by someone on his staff and then signed off on. But it can be hard to dictate things to a large development team. I now run a company that does custom development work. A lot of the developers are kids right out of college with CS degrees with technical leads having graduate degrees in CS. Technically, they know their stuff, but left to their own devices can come back with some of the worst stuff from a user stand point you've

        • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Insightful)

          by bflong ( 107195 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @11:28AM (#23949867)

          OK, every once in a while I see these kinds of posts. I really don't know what to say.
          I've been using Linux for more then 10 years. I've installed it on pc's from 386's to modern multicore servers with 4x cpus. I've got an office full of workstations running Kubuntu that are used every day, some 24x7x365. In all these years, and the hundreds of pc's I've installed some version of Linux on, I have NEVER, EVER seen ANYTHING like what this and some other posts mention. I've seen the install crap out in the middle due to a bad cd burn. I've seen incompatible hardware. I've seen qwerks with some chipsets that required a custom boot parameter to work. But this wholesale failure I have never seen. Ever.

    • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Max Littlemore ( 1001285 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:09AM (#23947115)

      Interestingly enough, Gates could have really improved his image during his tenure at Microsoft if he let emails like that "leak" out prior to stepping down.

      Maybe, but then again he still had to work there and keep the company working effectively. If this stuff had leaked out to everyone in the company, who knows what it would have done for morale? Keeping this kind of stuff in the family is often the best thing to do for the family.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by poot_rootbeer ( 188613 )

        If this stuff had leaked out to everyone in the company, who knows what it would have done for morale?

        Nevermind that -- would would it have done to his own net worth!

        Public admission that Microsoft is failing to meet quality expectations = drop in MSFT stock price = Gates' massive stock holdings lose value.

    • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Red Flayer ( 890720 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:11AM (#23947135) Journal

      Interestingly enough, Gates could have really improved his image during his tenure at Microsoft if he let emails like that "leak" out prior to stepping down. Instead, he gives keynotes about Microsoft and its "innovation."
      Except as head of the company, his job is not to make himslef look better, it is to make the company look better. There is no way a CxO wants an internal email like that leaked, if they really care about the company.

      Wait... is it really possible that we should give Gates some credit for acting responsibly?

      First, I am not sure that email is really by Gates -- from reading his writing or listening to him in the past, it really does not sound like his style. Also, "I reboot my computer ... why should I have to reboot my computer?" I find it hard to realize that he wouldn't know the technical difficulties in replacing a dll while the system is running, and possible ways around this, and the current state of affairs. However, maybe I'm giving too much credit here.
      I agree with you on the writing style, but you never know, since this was an internal document, and people use different writing styles for different purposes. I'd also note that when knowleadgeable people do usability testing, they normally feign ignorance -- they test as if they were a user with limited knowledge.

      I'm not upper management, but I've sent (and seen) similar emails when a prject went FUBAR.

      • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:4, Informative)

        by pmbasehore ( 1198857 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @09:01AM (#23947649)

        I'd also note that when knowleadgeable people do usability testing, they normally feign ignorance -- they test as if they were a user with limited knowledge.

        Since my degree (Technical Communications) concerns interface design and usability testing, what Red Flayer says is 100% accurate. Any usability tester worth their salt will force themselves to think like their target audience--in this case, a typical "email and word processor" computer user.

        As much as it may be against the status quo here, I have to give credit where credit is due. If the email is really from Bill Gates (after reading it, I am not sure...), he seems to know what he is doing in regards to usability testing.

        The man is not stupid, just unethical.

    • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MMC Monster ( 602931 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:15AM (#23947169)

      Reading the letter, it really doesn't sound like anything Gates would say. He's not an end user. As you said, he certainly should know why rebooting would be necessary when updating part of the OS.

      That being said, Gates has nothing to worry about in regard to his personal reputation. There is no need for him to "talk himself up". Outside of the slashdot community and certain parts of the tech industry, he is highly regarded as a successful businessman and as a philanthropist.

      • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Jesus_666 ( 702802 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:46AM (#23947493)

        He's not an end user. As you said, he certainly should know why rebooting would be necessary when updating part of the OS.
        Actually, he tested the whole thing like one. I read the "Why should I have to reboot?" part as "Why should I have to reboot to install a movie editor?"

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by lucifuge31337 ( 529072 )

        Reading the letter, it really doesn't sound like anything Gates would say. He's not an end user. As you said, he certainly should know why rebooting would be necessary when updating part of the OS.

        I've seen this a few times now. Sure, he certianly knows it's necessary. The point is WHY? Systems exist that don't need this. Why were such poor design decisions made with windows? Why did they decide to do so man other things rather than make it work in a way that is useful to how most people use it?

    • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by WK2 ( 1072560 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:16AM (#23947181) Homepage

      First, I am not sure that email is really by Gates -- from reading his writing or listening to him in the past, it really does not sound like his style.

      I think you're right. This "article" screams fake! Notice this part: "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." Gates wouldn't have said "they", he would have said "we". And the subject says "flame". It is indeed a rant. Most executives would never write such a thing in a permanent medium. In the end, nobody can ever prove or disprove a "leaked" memo, unless the appropriate party fesses up, but this looks fake.

      if you can't do anything about this crap, then stop releasing it on time...

      Way ahead of you!

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by jcnnghm ( 538570 )

        Except it's definitely not fake since Gates himself said he routinely writes internal messages like that, and it was entered as evidence in a recent court case. As far as not sounding like his usual style, of course it doesn't.

        It was probably written as quickly as possible, and never edited. It doesn't make sense for the CEO to spend time editing when they can get the thoughts out faster and get on to the next big thing.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Tom ( 822 )

      I find it hard to realize that he wouldn't know the technical difficulties in replacing a dll while the system is running,
      Which are what, exactly? Sorry, I'm a Unix dude, I really don't know and I've always been wondering about this part. Aside from the kernel, I can replace everything on most Unix systems without a reboot. Why is that so tricky on windos?

    • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:5, Informative)

      by hrieke ( 126185 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:25AM (#23947269) Homepage

      The letter is from the antitrust files, so it's certified.

      The very interesting thing is that there is no single person at Microsoft who has the final say on how all of there stuff interacts together. Not even Bill has that clout (and if he did, he sucked at his job).

    • First, I am not sure that email is really by Gates -- from reading his writing or listening to him in the past, it really does not sound like his style. Also, "I reboot my computer ... why should I have to reboot my computer?" I find it hard to realize that he wouldn't know the technical difficulties in replacing a dll while the system is running, and possible ways around this, and the current state of affairs. However, maybe I'm giving too much credit here.

      What he is probably alluding to is the fact that every other operating system under the sun (Linux, Sun, SPARC, Mac OSX, BSD) can replace 95% of the OS without rebooting. Only windows requires you to reboot to do something stupid like replace a DLL. I can overwrite any .SO in my OS without rebooting - this is something the UNix world figured out a long time ago (deref the file pointer, write the new file. People using the old pointer can continue to do so, newly started apps use the new pointer. Once install of software is complete, restart software impacted).

      The only thing that should require a reboot is replacing the kernel itself or a low-level IO driver.

    • Re:Then STOP releasing the product! (Score:4, Informative)

      by Applekid ( 993327 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @09:23AM (#23947913)

      Also, "I reboot my computer ... why should I have to reboot my computer?" I find it hard to realize that he wouldn't know the technical difficulties in replacing a dll while the system is running, and possible ways around this, and the current state of affairs.
      One of the main goals introduced for Windows 5 (Win2k/XP) was to eliminiate required reboots. By that time in the installed ecosystem, Windows 9x/Me users were having to reboot CONSTANTLY for just about everything. In fact, one of the guidelines to get permission from Microsoft to put the label "Made for Windows XP" on your software product was that the application was not permitted to require the user to reboot.

      In reality it still had to be done because of the technical aspects of changing a .dll in use and no safe way to replace it in flight (why not?), but then again getting that stupid little logo on your box wasn't going to trump usability... but at least there was "some" encouragement for developers to find another way.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Sentry21 ( 8183 )

      Also, "I reboot my computer ... why should I have to reboot my computer?" I find it hard to realize that he wouldn't know the technical difficulties in replacing a dll while the system is running, and possible ways around this, and the current state of affairs. However, maybe I'm giving too much credit here.

      Say what you like about Gates, but he is, actually, a geek. I don't want to give the man credit, but Joel Spolsky wrote about his first Bill Gates review [joelonsoftware.com].

      Short form, there was a 'bug' in Excel that was there for compatibility with Lotus 123, which erroneously treated 1900 as a leap year. This broke January and February of that year, but otherwise worked perfectly.

      Spolsky found the bug after sending his spec to Bill Gates, who, apparently, not only read the whole thing, but marked it up with notes in the ma

  • Funny thing about MovieMaker (Score:3, Informative)

    by morgan_greywolf ( 835522 ) * on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:00AM (#23947013) Homepage Journal

    The funny thing is that on XP you still have to install Service Pack 2 to get MovieMaker. You can't just download it separately. Oh, well, you can order it on CD, too, I guess, but who wants to do that?

  • My God... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by FoolsGold ( 1139759 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:04AM (#23947051)

    That's such a loaded and flamebait-ridden summary it's not even funny. Linux has plenty of usability issues, just like Windows - the quirks are just in different places.

    Still, assuming the email is real of course, it's always nice to see the boss appreciate the problems from the regular user's perspective.

    • Re:My God... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Lisandro ( 799651 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:26AM (#23947277)

      Still, assuming the email is real of course, it's always nice to see the boss appreciate the problems from the regular user's perspective.

      I was thinking the same - posting this story on /. is calling for the usual Microsoft bashing, but if the mail's real we should congratulate Gates. We need more bosses putting themselves on the end user shoes.

    • Re:My God... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by TheRaven64 ( 641858 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @09:13AM (#23947795) Journal
      The point is not that Windows has UI problems, it's that senior people at Microsoft knew it had serious UI problems back in 2003 and five years later the situation has not improved. This says some quite damning things about the development process at Microsoft - they can identify problems, designate resources to fixing them, and still fail after five years.

  • q: How do you make a billion dollars?

    a: no matter who complains about how crappy the new version of your product is, force its purchase onto your captive audience anyhow. Yay!

  • I thought this was a joke until I read this part.. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Valtor ( 34080 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:07AM (#23947097) Homepage

    Wow! I thought this was a joke until I read this part

    When Seattle Pi recently asked Gates about the email, he replied, "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."

  • The scary part (Score:5, Interesting)

    by hcdejong ( 561314 ) <hobbes@@@xmsnet...nl> on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:13AM (#23947147)

    At the end of the piece, it says,

    When Seattle Pi recently asked Gates about the email, he replied, "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."
    The founder, then-CEO and General Chief LordofitAll fires off irate messages on a daily basis, but the whole company steadfastly ignores him and continues to crank out crap?
    Maybe the competent MS employees have long ago committed harakiri in shame, and whoever's left Just Don't Care...

  • Its real. Here are the links (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jocknerd ( 29758 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:14AM (#23947163)

    The originial article: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/141821.asp [nwsource.com]

    Here are the responses from within Microsoft: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/library/2003Jangatesmoviemaker.pdf [nwsource.com]

  • Gates, you have to do this differently (Score:5, Funny)

    by Simon (S2) ( 600188 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:24AM (#23947261) Homepage

    I tried scoping to Media stuff. Still no moviemaker. I typed in movie. Nothing. I typed in movie maker. Nothing.
    It does not work like that. You have to google moviemaker download [google.com]. There you go. First hit :)

    • Re:Gates, you have to do this differently (Score:4, Informative)

      by nine-times ( 778537 ) <nine.times@gmail.com> on Thursday June 26, 2008 @09:29AM (#23948005) Homepage

      That is funny and all, but it still points you to Windows Update, which means you're still going to spend 20 minutes waiting for the pages to load, get prompted to install a bunch of other updates, and probably reboot a few times.

      Incidentally, the same search gives you the same link on Microsoft's Live search.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Custard ( 587661 )

      It does not work like that. You have to google moviemaker download [google.com]. There you go. First hit :)

      Yeah but did you actually visit that first hit?

      In the download section on that page, it reads:

      Download Instructions

      Movie Maker 2.1 is available for download with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). You can download SP2, Movie Maker 2.1, and all future critical updates automatically by turning on the Automatic Updates feature in Windows XP.

      You can also download SP2 and Movie Maker 2.1 from Microsoft Update. If you cannot use Automatic Updates or download SP2 via Windows Update, order a CD.

      And in the sidebar, it also reads:

      Download Movie Maker 2.1 for Windows XP

      Movie Maker 2.1 is available for download with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).

      You can download SP2 and all future critical updates automatically by turning on the Automatic Updates feature in Windows XP.

      You can also download SP2 and Movie Maker 2.1 from Microsoft Update.

      Updated: August 25, 2004

      So yeah.... from a page called "Windows Movie Maker 2.1 Download", there is no link to download anything.

  • Isn't a time to change M$ /. icon? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by hotfireball ( 948064 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:25AM (#23947271)
    BTW, folks, how about replace on slashdot that Bill's mug with Ballmer's physiognomy? :)

  • Another rant by Microsoft-hater, who cares? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:30AM (#23947315)

    This billg guy is a known troll that bashes Windows at every opportunity. Remember him showing off Windows 95 and publicly making it bluescreen in front of an audience?

  • Microsoft has company (Score:5, Insightful)

    by bogaboga ( 793279 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:35AM (#23947379)
    It's not Microsoft alone! This kind of frustration happens on the Linux platform everyday. Try setting up a printer...even that supported by Linux. You get into issues like CUPS as if you are supposed to know what the OS is gonna use to get the printer setup.

    For God's sake...if I want to setup a printer, it should be the system's job to install ALL software needed to get it working. What is so difficult in that?

    ...Windows usability issues, and in many cases our experiences have driven many us over to Linux, or kept us there...

    Let me remind the author of that line that we Linux users have still not made a dent on the desktop market. I can say, we are economically insignificant. This is despite perceived flaws in Windows. And by the way, Bill Gates was not frustrated over Windows in particular...he appears to have been frustrated by confusing names and un-necessary questions on the Windows website.

  • Assume it's real... so what? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by JustASlashDotGuy ( 905444 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @08:41AM (#23947437)

    What we have here is the boss complaining about the design of their own product. How is this news?

    Is it only news because the slashdot kiddies find any reason to laugh at MS? Or is is news because no other company CEO ever complains about any products their company produces?

    I have a dirty secret to admit. I have received an email from the big boss in the past complaining about features implemented by a product we produce. I feel dirty, obviously I'm in the minority. If I submit it to Slashdot, do you think it will make the front page?

  • If it's really him... (Score:5, Funny)

    by EastCoastSurfer ( 310758 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @09:23AM (#23947899)

    then this is the one of the best lines ever!

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

    Real. Life. Dilbert.

  • That note was from 2003... (Score:3, Informative)

    by iceT ( 68610 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @09:51AM (#23948325)

    So, just for grins, I went to download movie maker. Went to the main paged, searched for 'movie maker', and there STILL is no download link. I HAVE to use Windows Update to get it.

    Nice to know Microsoft ignores Bill just as much as they ignore the rest of our feedback.

  • Why do people make these sweeping statements... (Score:3, Funny)

    by jth213 ( 795679 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @11:02AM (#23949411)
    ...like 'Vista is a complete disaster'? A complete disaster? Are you fucking kidding me? Hundreds of thousand of PCs are running Vista right now. How is that a complete disaster? Anyone who says Vista is a complete disaster has NEVER used Vista.

  • Good Job Bill!!! (Score:3, Funny)

    by suck_burners_rice ( 1258684 ) on Thursday June 26, 2008 @11:28AM (#23949855)

    This is my favorite part: "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."

    Keep up the good work!

    When it comes down to it, I am completely sure that Microsoft is where it is in terms of its financial success only because of Bill Gates. Unfortunately, ever since he stepped down, I believe that Mr. Developers Developers Developers Developers Developers Developers Developers has no idea what he's doing. Since Microsoft is so high and mighty, it will take a loooooong time for him to sink that ship, but it will never be what it was under Captain (now Admiral) Gates. And the usability of Windows is following the trend of a negative exponential curve. If you think Vista sux, wait 'till you see 7. And the next version, I think they'll call it Windows Excalibur, that one will be so unusable that computer stores will have big dumpsters outside the front entrance, and people will purchase computers and simply drop them into that dumpster upon leaving the store, without ever opening the box. Or they'll just get a Mac, which by then will run Mac OS 12.7 Pelican. (OS 12 will go by bird names.) Maybe this usability disaster explains why Gates gave Jobs a hug sum of money to develop OS X.

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