![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I'm going to be something of an asshole here
so enjoy it, respond to it, or fuck off
I've long been annoyed with people blaming Microsoft when their shit doesn't work or making inane blanket statements like "Microsoft iz TEH SuX0r!@!"
Sure criticizing Microsoft is the "in thing" with the popular crowd, but I get annoyed
when people who cant tell their ass from a hole in the wall with regard to technology
suddenly think they are technology pundits when their ten year old printer doesn't work.
There are plenty of things which I and many other knowledgeable computer professionals
(and yes even some select amateur puter geeks) legitimately criticize Microsoft for. [MSBob anyone?]
But most of you? Fuck off, if you don't like it, run Linux!
Oh wait, you can't run Linux cause you don't know shit about shit
at least when it comes to computers and you do not want to learn
Go buy a Mac, you worthless whining little bitch.
That way you can have a pretty computer
that gives you street cred with all the popular kids and
then you can masturbate to your new glimmering iLifestyle with all the rest of worthless consumerist iTards©.
[iTards & iTarded are copyright me - all rights reserved]
[I'm fairly sure Apple will claim they've got the rights to anything starting with the letter "i" but fuck em]
If you refused to learn how to drive, and subsequently crashed your car.
Whose fault would it be?
The manufacturer of the car? No dumbass, it is your own damn fault.
Essentially MS software has allowed users to do things which because of their limited knowledge of computers they would not otherwise be able to do and they turn around and complain because MS does not do everything perfectly and exactly how they like it. Not to mention that most users are too lazy/disinterested/stupid to bother actually learning enough about how computers and software work to run a real operating system like Linux.
I'll admit that while I've run Linux boxes in the past (and have one now) even I have fallen prey somewhat to this. Microsoft has made OS's easy enough and powerful enough that even a geek like me doesnt really see the benefit of a Linux machine except for a few select tasks. Other than perhaps the ill-advised intention to try to make computers accessible to people who refuse to learn anything about them? How is any of this Microsoft's problem? It isnt, but they try damn hard to fix it anyway.
Are Microsoft products perfect? No, but after working for a number of the major tech firms out there over the past 13 years, I can say they are pretty good.
I've been employed with or done work for the following companies:
Microsoft
Cisco
Nortel
Gateway 2000
IBM
GE
Sony
HP
Compaq
Dell
nVidia
3com
Adobe
WorldCom
Baan ERP
In fact, when you actually understand the computer industry and the process involved with making an OS
[I've worked on the Win95/98/2k/XP product teams]
Microsoft Software looks pretty damn good.
I'm sure that statement will raise the hackles on a bunch of you
[![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
octal, orangecone and budhaboy in particular]
but this is my rant so take your f00kin linux and shove it up your ass (sideways)
Microsoft has taken on the challenge of making computers (a highly complex device) usable to people who do not want to learn how to use them. This is far from easy and while I am happy to discuss what choices and mistakes Microsoft has made, the end reality is that despite all of those mistakes, they have succeeded in making computers accessible to hundreds of millions of people. Microsoft has to make a product that works with anything tom, dick or harry comes up with, and if someone makes a product and it doesnt automatically work?
Then it is Microsoft that gets blamed, not the company that made the shitty software/hardware to begin with.
While I could rant about a whole number of things which I feel people (because they do not know shit) attack Microsoft for.
My biggest pet peeve happens ever time Microsoft releases a new OS.
A billion freaking iTards© stand up and bitch about how their computer doesnt work with Microsofts new OS.
Let me tell you something people.
That isnt Microsoft's fault, in fact, Microsoft is not legally allowed to fix it if they wanted to.
Since almost none of you know jack shit about it
I figured I'd provide a little primer/explanation of how it works.
MS has to make their OS & Software work with hundreds of vendors who until recently (the advent of WHQL) did their own thing (there were maybe six vendors prior to the advent of WHQL who interacted significantly with Microsoft to ensure their products worked), even with WHQL in place the number of manufacturers who do not take advantage of the program is very large.
MS provides to companies who are interested the specifications necessary for their products to be compatible with Windows, far too often companies ignore or alter those specifications. Many times this can result in added features for the customer which is great until Microsoft puts out a patch or a fix that breaks it. Since Microsoft had no idea of the existence of that code, it is hardly fair to blame Microsoft for their patch breaking that code.
WHQL?? What the hell is WHQL? (pronounced Wickle like tickle)
WHQL stands for Windows Hardware Quality Labs and it is a Microsoft program where vendors (companies that make hardware products to use with Windows) receive a detailed specification, advanced access to Windows source code and then submit their drivers to Microsoft who tests them to make sure they work and wont break anything else.
Drivers?? What the hell is a driver?
Drivers (or more accurately "Device Drivers") are specialized pieces of software which act as the traffic cop/translator between an OS and a piece of hardware (like your printer or digital camera). If your hardware doesnt work, generally it is either a driver problem or a hardware failure (what we call it when shit breaks). Drivers are developed by the companies that make hardware (supposedly along specifications provided by Microsoft) and provided along with that hardware for use with your computer. Microsoft maintains a large library (on behalf of the hardware manufacturers) of the most common Device Drivers (the so called default drivers) and includes it with the Operating System.
Since the advent of WHQL, Hardware manufacturers can submit device drivers to Microsoft for certification as being compliant with the OS specs. Microsoft will then includes these drivers in tests of new patches/updates (to my knowledge there have only been 4 WHQL certified drivers broken by service packs or patches and two of them were known breaks announced with the release of the SP/patch, out of literally hundreds of WHQL certified drivers).
Again though, this only helps with vendors who participate in the program.
Microsoft is reliant upon the manufacturers of hardware to supply drivers to be tested with and included as default drivers. Additionally smaller vendors can take advantage of generic drivers written by Microsoft and design their hardware to comply with those drivers. This is the case for keyboards, mice, almost all internal hard drives and CD drives, flash drives, monitors, and every video card on the market supports the generic VGA drivers in addition to the vendor manufactured driver.
Have you followed me so far? Everything making sense?
Shut up and nod your head cause you dont want to know
the only other way I can think of to get this concept through to you.
Because here is what set me off.
Yesterday I read a scathing piece online about how evil Microsoft is
because Vista did not come with drivers for the 3com 3c509x series network cards.
These cards are arguably the most popular/common client network cards on the market (I own four of them).
Unfortunately, 3com made those card too damn well and
network technology hasnt increased quickly enough
so most people are still running 100bT networks at home.
[shaddupoctal, orangecone,budhaboy, and nova_starr ]
Since those 3com cards are rock solid (I've had one fail out of the 20 or so I've purchased)
they keep on ticking longer than 3com would like (they want you to purchase new cards).
So 3com stopped supporting those cards declaring them "obsolete" and as such
did not submit a driver to MS for the 3c509x series cards.
While MS could recognize the popularity of those cards and desire to include it into Vista,
the driver code is the intellectual property of 3com
and so MS cannot legally distribute that code.
[even though the XP drivers work fine with Vista]
Same thing happened with my SCSI adapter.
Adaptec phased out my model of SCSI controller and declared it obsolete.
Even though the XP driver works just fine, MS cannot legally include it with Vista
[without the vendors permission which the vendor will not give]
Occasionally a vendor will respond to public outcry
and release a driver on their website well after the release of the OS
but it is Microsoft not the vendor who gets blamed for the hardware not working.
Both Adaptec and 3com list the release date for the Vista drivers as TBD - to be determined, industry speak for lets see how many people bitch even though the current drivers for XP work just fine under Vista. That means there is no actual work to be done by these companies in order to make the hardware work with Vista, they just have to do is say "Want a Vista driver? Ok, here you go".
You see manufacturers count on the release of a new MS operating system to spur new the sales of new hardware so they do not want all of your old hardware to work. Microsoft on the other hand would prefer your old hardware works because if people have to save money for new hardware that means that they are putting off buying the new shiny Microsoft OS and may well decide not to buy it altogether.
Unfortunately, Microsoft is not legally allowed to make drivers for the hardware of other companies
Nor is it legally allowed to distribute any drivers without the specific permission of those companies
Of course, Microsoft cant come out in the media
and bitchslap all the companies who are at fault for your shit not working
because they rely on them keep improving the PC hardware to have more oomph
Oomph that Microsoft can utilize to improve the features in their OS
so Microsoft takes it up the ass.
One quick caveat here.
If the technology has substantially changed since you bought your computer or if it is just plain old
get the fuck over it
Nothing lasts forever
Think of your computer as a car that you drive 100,000 miles a year
If it lasts three years, you are pretty damn lucky
and give me a break people, with computers starting at five hundred bucks
I so do not have any sympathy for people bitching about having to upgrade every three years
As a general rule,
no manufacturer will write more than two drivers for any piece of hardware
that means if you buy something that works with XP
they will probably release a Vista driver
but not one for the OS after Vista
Or to put it in backwards compatibility perspective
If you bought the hardware to run on 98, ME or W2K
They probably wrote a driver for XP
and probably will not write one for Vista
This is perfectly fair.
Now companies that have drivers from XP that still work on Vista
[3com & Adaptec to name two, I'm sure there are others]
but sulk around not telling anyone that it does
because they want you to buy new hardware
well
they fucking suck
and
personally I am extremely disappointed
Adaptec and 3com have been like rockstars in my eyes for years.
They were companies who made products that just fucking worked
Their drivers were always well written, efficient and didnt go breaking other shit
and their hardware damn near always lasted longer than I needed it for
In a world where most shit breaks the day after the warranty expires
and most drivers are klugey (look it up) pieces of crap
that is pretty damn special
Oh, and if one person makes some stupid ass claim like
"Well Apple can do it, why can't Microsoft?"
I swear to god, I will track you down and leave a steaming pile of shit on your pillow
[and just a warning for those of you who would accept buying a new pillow]
[as a ploy to get me to come visit, I wont be sticking around afterward for social hour]
[although if you are a hot female and are waiting naked for me when I arrive]
[I'll probably forget all about the pillow present cause I'm easily distracted like that]
Why?
It isnt because of an Apple/Microsoft rivalry
but rather because
Apple is famous for not providing backwards compatibility between their old hardware and their new OS. That is to say that even though they make both the hardware and the software, they intentionally design their major OS releases to require you to buy all new hardware.
so enjoy it, respond to it, or fuck off
I've long been annoyed with people blaming Microsoft when their shit doesn't work or making inane blanket statements like "Microsoft iz TEH SuX0r!@!"
Sure criticizing Microsoft is the "in thing" with the popular crowd, but I get annoyed
when people who cant tell their ass from a hole in the wall with regard to technology
suddenly think they are technology pundits when their ten year old printer doesn't work.
There are plenty of things which I and many other knowledgeable computer professionals
(and yes even some select amateur puter geeks) legitimately criticize Microsoft for. [MSBob anyone?]
But most of you? Fuck off, if you don't like it, run Linux!
Oh wait, you can't run Linux cause you don't know shit about shit
at least when it comes to computers and you do not want to learn
Go buy a Mac, you worthless whining little bitch.
That way you can have a pretty computer
that gives you street cred with all the popular kids and
then you can masturbate to your new glimmering iLifestyle with all the rest of worthless consumerist iTards©.
[iTards & iTarded are copyright me - all rights reserved]
[I'm fairly sure Apple will claim they've got the rights to anything starting with the letter "i" but fuck em]
If you refused to learn how to drive, and subsequently crashed your car.
Whose fault would it be?
The manufacturer of the car? No dumbass, it is your own damn fault.
Essentially MS software has allowed users to do things which because of their limited knowledge of computers they would not otherwise be able to do and they turn around and complain because MS does not do everything perfectly and exactly how they like it. Not to mention that most users are too lazy/disinterested/stupid to bother actually learning enough about how computers and software work to run a real operating system like Linux.
I'll admit that while I've run Linux boxes in the past (and have one now) even I have fallen prey somewhat to this. Microsoft has made OS's easy enough and powerful enough that even a geek like me doesnt really see the benefit of a Linux machine except for a few select tasks. Other than perhaps the ill-advised intention to try to make computers accessible to people who refuse to learn anything about them? How is any of this Microsoft's problem? It isnt, but they try damn hard to fix it anyway.
Are Microsoft products perfect? No, but after working for a number of the major tech firms out there over the past 13 years, I can say they are pretty good.
I've been employed with or done work for the following companies:
Microsoft
Cisco
Nortel
Gateway 2000
IBM
GE
Sony
HP
Compaq
Dell
nVidia
3com
Adobe
WorldCom
Baan ERP
In fact, when you actually understand the computer industry and the process involved with making an OS
[I've worked on the Win95/98/2k/XP product teams]
Microsoft Software looks pretty damn good.
I'm sure that statement will raise the hackles on a bunch of you
[
octal, orangecone and budhaboy in particular]but this is my rant so take your f00kin linux and shove it up your ass (sideways)
Microsoft has taken on the challenge of making computers (a highly complex device) usable to people who do not want to learn how to use them. This is far from easy and while I am happy to discuss what choices and mistakes Microsoft has made, the end reality is that despite all of those mistakes, they have succeeded in making computers accessible to hundreds of millions of people. Microsoft has to make a product that works with anything tom, dick or harry comes up with, and if someone makes a product and it doesnt automatically work?
Then it is Microsoft that gets blamed, not the company that made the shitty software/hardware to begin with.
While I could rant about a whole number of things which I feel people (because they do not know shit) attack Microsoft for.
My biggest pet peeve happens ever time Microsoft releases a new OS.
A billion freaking iTards© stand up and bitch about how their computer doesnt work with Microsofts new OS.
Let me tell you something people.
That isnt Microsoft's fault, in fact, Microsoft is not legally allowed to fix it if they wanted to.
Since almost none of you know jack shit about it
I figured I'd provide a little primer/explanation of how it works.
MS has to make their OS & Software work with hundreds of vendors who until recently (the advent of WHQL) did their own thing (there were maybe six vendors prior to the advent of WHQL who interacted significantly with Microsoft to ensure their products worked), even with WHQL in place the number of manufacturers who do not take advantage of the program is very large.
MS provides to companies who are interested the specifications necessary for their products to be compatible with Windows, far too often companies ignore or alter those specifications. Many times this can result in added features for the customer which is great until Microsoft puts out a patch or a fix that breaks it. Since Microsoft had no idea of the existence of that code, it is hardly fair to blame Microsoft for their patch breaking that code.
WHQL?? What the hell is WHQL? (pronounced Wickle like tickle)
WHQL stands for Windows Hardware Quality Labs and it is a Microsoft program where vendors (companies that make hardware products to use with Windows) receive a detailed specification, advanced access to Windows source code and then submit their drivers to Microsoft who tests them to make sure they work and wont break anything else.
Drivers?? What the hell is a driver?
Drivers (or more accurately "Device Drivers") are specialized pieces of software which act as the traffic cop/translator between an OS and a piece of hardware (like your printer or digital camera). If your hardware doesnt work, generally it is either a driver problem or a hardware failure (what we call it when shit breaks). Drivers are developed by the companies that make hardware (supposedly along specifications provided by Microsoft) and provided along with that hardware for use with your computer. Microsoft maintains a large library (on behalf of the hardware manufacturers) of the most common Device Drivers (the so called default drivers) and includes it with the Operating System.
Since the advent of WHQL, Hardware manufacturers can submit device drivers to Microsoft for certification as being compliant with the OS specs. Microsoft will then includes these drivers in tests of new patches/updates (to my knowledge there have only been 4 WHQL certified drivers broken by service packs or patches and two of them were known breaks announced with the release of the SP/patch, out of literally hundreds of WHQL certified drivers).
Again though, this only helps with vendors who participate in the program.
Microsoft is reliant upon the manufacturers of hardware to supply drivers to be tested with and included as default drivers. Additionally smaller vendors can take advantage of generic drivers written by Microsoft and design their hardware to comply with those drivers. This is the case for keyboards, mice, almost all internal hard drives and CD drives, flash drives, monitors, and every video card on the market supports the generic VGA drivers in addition to the vendor manufactured driver.
Have you followed me so far? Everything making sense?
Shut up and nod your head cause you dont want to know
the only other way I can think of to get this concept through to you.
Because here is what set me off.
Yesterday I read a scathing piece online about how evil Microsoft is
because Vista did not come with drivers for the 3com 3c509x series network cards.
These cards are arguably the most popular/common client network cards on the market (I own four of them).
Unfortunately, 3com made those card too damn well and
network technology hasnt increased quickly enough
so most people are still running 100bT networks at home.
[shaddup
octal, orangecone,budhaboy, and nova_starr ]Since those 3com cards are rock solid (I've had one fail out of the 20 or so I've purchased)
they keep on ticking longer than 3com would like (they want you to purchase new cards).
So 3com stopped supporting those cards declaring them "obsolete" and as such
did not submit a driver to MS for the 3c509x series cards.
While MS could recognize the popularity of those cards and desire to include it into Vista,
the driver code is the intellectual property of 3com
and so MS cannot legally distribute that code.
[even though the XP drivers work fine with Vista]
Same thing happened with my SCSI adapter.
Adaptec phased out my model of SCSI controller and declared it obsolete.
Even though the XP driver works just fine, MS cannot legally include it with Vista
[without the vendors permission which the vendor will not give]
Occasionally a vendor will respond to public outcry
and release a driver on their website well after the release of the OS
but it is Microsoft not the vendor who gets blamed for the hardware not working.
Both Adaptec and 3com list the release date for the Vista drivers as TBD - to be determined, industry speak for lets see how many people bitch even though the current drivers for XP work just fine under Vista. That means there is no actual work to be done by these companies in order to make the hardware work with Vista, they just have to do is say "Want a Vista driver? Ok, here you go".
You see manufacturers count on the release of a new MS operating system to spur new the sales of new hardware so they do not want all of your old hardware to work. Microsoft on the other hand would prefer your old hardware works because if people have to save money for new hardware that means that they are putting off buying the new shiny Microsoft OS and may well decide not to buy it altogether.
Unfortunately, Microsoft is not legally allowed to make drivers for the hardware of other companies
Nor is it legally allowed to distribute any drivers without the specific permission of those companies
Of course, Microsoft cant come out in the media
and bitchslap all the companies who are at fault for your shit not working
because they rely on them keep improving the PC hardware to have more oomph
Oomph that Microsoft can utilize to improve the features in their OS
so Microsoft takes it up the ass.
One quick caveat here.
If the technology has substantially changed since you bought your computer or if it is just plain old
get the fuck over it
Nothing lasts forever
Think of your computer as a car that you drive 100,000 miles a year
If it lasts three years, you are pretty damn lucky
and give me a break people, with computers starting at five hundred bucks
I so do not have any sympathy for people bitching about having to upgrade every three years
As a general rule,
no manufacturer will write more than two drivers for any piece of hardware
that means if you buy something that works with XP
they will probably release a Vista driver
but not one for the OS after Vista
Or to put it in backwards compatibility perspective
If you bought the hardware to run on 98, ME or W2K
They probably wrote a driver for XP
and probably will not write one for Vista
This is perfectly fair.
Now companies that have drivers from XP that still work on Vista
[3com & Adaptec to name two, I'm sure there are others]
but sulk around not telling anyone that it does
because they want you to buy new hardware
well
they fucking suck
and
personally I am extremely disappointed
Adaptec and 3com have been like rockstars in my eyes for years.
They were companies who made products that just fucking worked
Their drivers were always well written, efficient and didnt go breaking other shit
and their hardware damn near always lasted longer than I needed it for
In a world where most shit breaks the day after the warranty expires
and most drivers are klugey (look it up) pieces of crap
that is pretty damn special
Oh, and if one person makes some stupid ass claim like
"Well Apple can do it, why can't Microsoft?"
I swear to god, I will track you down and leave a steaming pile of shit on your pillow
[and just a warning for those of you who would accept buying a new pillow]
[as a ploy to get me to come visit, I wont be sticking around afterward for social hour]
[although if you are a hot female and are waiting naked for me when I arrive]
[I'll probably forget all about the pillow present cause I'm easily distracted like that]
Why?
It isnt because of an Apple/Microsoft rivalry
but rather because
Apple is famous for not providing backwards compatibility between their old hardware and their new OS. That is to say that even though they make both the hardware and the software, they intentionally design their major OS releases to require you to buy all new hardware.
