Windows and the grain of sand in your shoe
An old proverb states: "It's not the mountain you must climb, but the grain of sand in your shoe."
I've had it up to here with Windows. It works on a gross level, but it's the little irritations that add up over the course of a day that make me hate it. I'm a game programmer, so I spend 8 hours a day dealing with Windows before I can go home to my Mac. I've decided to compile a list (in no particular order) of annoying little things wrong with Windows. I will attempt to avoid personal preferences, like the issue about when you click a non-focused window, it uses that click to generate an event as well as to gain focus.
I have other larger complaints regarding MS's business practices and other things related to Windows. But these are the day-to-day problems that make me swear at it on an hourly basis. This list is not comprehensive, either.
* Gadgets are too close together. I can't say how many times I click minimize on a window instead of maximize, or close instead of maximize, etc. There should be more space between them.
* Copying and pasting a file in the same directory names it stupidly; "File.txt" becomes "Copy of File.txt". This alphabetizes all copied files to where files starting with "c" are. It should be "File copy.txt".
* Windows doesn't always remember window settings like size.
* Remote desktop will move the icons on the desktop you connect to, then not put them back when you disconnect.
* Remote desktop reveals the keyboard setting in the language bar, and doesn't re-hide it when you exit.
* Many settings are not where you expect them to be. I spend a lot of time hunting for things that I've found before because they're in odd places.
* The grabbable resize gadget in the lower right-hand corner is not consistent across windows. Sometimes it's really small (just the blue bar), other times it's large (includes the grippy looking thing). Other times it shows the grippy thing, but it doesn't work. I suppose I could understand this, except it's not even consistent across MS apps.
* Some files have an "Open With" item in their contextual menu, others don't. This should be consistent at the operating system level.
* Sometimes the clock in the system tray doesn't respond to the mouse being over it and won't show the date without a double-click to open the calendar.
* Using the "explore" item from a folder in the Start Menu opens a pseudo view to its contents. Changing the name of a folder there does not alter the name of the folder in the user settings directories. Example: I renamed "Games" to "MSGames" on a fresh install of XP. Then I tried to create a folder called "Games," but I was told it already existed.
* There's no option to make "Paste Unformatted Text" the default in MS apps. So every time I copy text from a webpage to place in a mail, I have to Paste Special->Paste Unformatted Text if I want it to go in as plain text instead of with colors and other stuff.
* When I drag a shortcut into the Start Menu, it lets me choose where in the list to drop it. Upon reopening the folder I put the shortcut in, I find it is at the bottom. I then have to move it to where I put it the first time. Why can't it just remember where I put it initially?
* Why is backspace a hotkey for "previous page" in Internet Explorer? Many times, I go to a web page and start typing in a text box before the page is done loading. The page finishes, and takes keyboard focus away from the text box. I make a typo right at that moment, and hit backspace. Bingo! I'm back at the previous page!
I've had it up to here with Windows. It works on a gross level, but it's the little irritations that add up over the course of a day that make me hate it. I'm a game programmer, so I spend 8 hours a day dealing with Windows before I can go home to my Mac. I've decided to compile a list (in no particular order) of annoying little things wrong with Windows. I will attempt to avoid personal preferences, like the issue about when you click a non-focused window, it uses that click to generate an event as well as to gain focus.
I have other larger complaints regarding MS's business practices and other things related to Windows. But these are the day-to-day problems that make me swear at it on an hourly basis. This list is not comprehensive, either.
* Gadgets are too close together. I can't say how many times I click minimize on a window instead of maximize, or close instead of maximize, etc. There should be more space between them.
* Copying and pasting a file in the same directory names it stupidly; "File.txt" becomes "Copy of File.txt". This alphabetizes all copied files to where files starting with "c" are. It should be "File copy.txt".
* Windows doesn't always remember window settings like size.
* Remote desktop will move the icons on the desktop you connect to, then not put them back when you disconnect.
* Remote desktop reveals the keyboard setting in the language bar, and doesn't re-hide it when you exit.
* Many settings are not where you expect them to be. I spend a lot of time hunting for things that I've found before because they're in odd places.
* The grabbable resize gadget in the lower right-hand corner is not consistent across windows. Sometimes it's really small (just the blue bar), other times it's large (includes the grippy looking thing). Other times it shows the grippy thing, but it doesn't work. I suppose I could understand this, except it's not even consistent across MS apps.
* Some files have an "Open With" item in their contextual menu, others don't. This should be consistent at the operating system level.
* Sometimes the clock in the system tray doesn't respond to the mouse being over it and won't show the date without a double-click to open the calendar.
* Using the "explore" item from a folder in the Start Menu opens a pseudo view to its contents. Changing the name of a folder there does not alter the name of the folder in the user settings directories. Example: I renamed "Games" to "MSGames" on a fresh install of XP. Then I tried to create a folder called "Games," but I was told it already existed.
* There's no option to make "Paste Unformatted Text" the default in MS apps. So every time I copy text from a webpage to place in a mail, I have to Paste Special->Paste Unformatted Text if I want it to go in as plain text instead of with colors and other stuff.
* When I drag a shortcut into the Start Menu, it lets me choose where in the list to drop it. Upon reopening the folder I put the shortcut in, I find it is at the bottom. I then have to move it to where I put it the first time. Why can't it just remember where I put it initially?
* Why is backspace a hotkey for "previous page" in Internet Explorer? Many times, I go to a web page and start typing in a text box before the page is done loading. The page finishes, and takes keyboard focus away from the text box. I make a typo right at that moment, and hit backspace. Bingo! I'm back at the previous page!
posted by Almo at 4:37 PM
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