Chris

Review of Microsoft

The review is product related and does not refer t...

The review is product related and does not refer to the physical location with which this business listing is associated.

I've been a Microsoft end-user since the latter 1980's when I used the family PC (then labeled as "IBM Compatible") to play games and complete homework. I started out with MS DOS and remember the commands used to navigate and display the contents of directories (now called "Folders") and access the various command and executable files that launched programs (now called "Apps").

My world was rocked when we got a copy of Windows 3.1. I recall SEEING my files in the OOED environment and creating shortcuts to easily launch my favorite software titles.

I was DELIGHTED to make the acquaintance of the early versions of MS Word and Excel in the early 1990's (I was HATING that unfriendly Word Perfect produced by those other guys). I remember meeting Windows 95 and my resulting shock and anger, soon to be replaced with acceptance and happiness (the Start button took some getting used to).

My use of the CTRL shortcuts to copy and paste became almost involuntary. I hailed the Format Painter as the new sliced bread. I functioned and formulated my spreadsheets to hyper-productive states of FURY! I oohhhhed and ahhhhhed my email recipients with fraction characters and degree symbols (ALT+...). I timed my slide transitions to superfly music, resulting in BAD TO THE BONE slide shows. I found multiple ways to skin the cats of file management.

I always found the Apple / Mac world to be so dull, limited, and frankly cult-like. I was all PC, all the way. Other than the tax code-like nature of Microsoft's reference books, I had no significant complaints about the Microsoft world.

But then, I bought a little Windows 10 machine and fell captive to the evil Update Monster who took my machine hostage at numerous, critical times, resulting in great inconvenience and frustration (and the awful degradation of my machine's performance). I grimaced as the silly Hello feature demanded a PIN that NEVER WORKED. My beloved, obsessively used OneNote became plagued with syncing errors between devices and platforms. And oh the system errors upon system errors! Why?!

My frustration gave way to bitterness and the resolve to find a new system. No, I didn't go the Apple way; I once had to heavily use an iPad at my old job and GOOD GRIEF it was a MISERABLE experience in minimalist mediocrity. No, I instead set my sites on the Chrome world.

The Android OS, discovered via one of my early smart phones, was like finding cold water in the desert. So much flexibility, clean interface, and consistent performance... I researched the Chromebook to death and found that while it had some quirks and idiosyncrasies that still deny it perfection status to this date, the reliable, SMOOTH performance and stability of its platform is second to none. From a cold boot, my bad little Chromebook can have me logged in and launching an app in ten seconds or less. Even my power-packed Samsung Galaxy phone can't get there that quickly.

Microsoft, oh Microsoft, please don't be content to become the aging, short-sighted Montgomery Ward of the software industry. Loosing sight of your customers' wants and needs and failing to listen to their feedback will only destroy your organization and yield your position to a competitor who DEMONSTRATES that the customer (and employee) is the true bottom line. Gone are your days of greatness; look how far you have fallen. I hope you can become great again and further advance the computing world. Please realize first that you're not entitled to have my future business; you'll instead have to earn it.

Chris