This is the sort of thing that QA should be cov- oh right, they cut the QA team! Microsofts decision to try and turn the whole Windows operating system into some kind of startup-style rapidly...
This is the sort of thing that QA should be cov- oh right, they cut the QA team!
Microsofts decision to try and turn the whole Windows operating system into some kind of startup-style rapidly iterating agile product still baffles me. Apple doesn't do this. No major Linux desktop project does this. I don't think even ChromeOS does this, and they're the one best positioned for it.
What's driving them to these half-assed releases? If this kind of thing is happening at the user level, what horrors are happening under the hood?
The best I can think is that they feel a need to compete with the Web/Android and app marketplaces, but surely they could've done that just by emphasizing their app store and Edge without gutting QA and turning the OS into an unpredictable ad-riddled mess.
I think it's a few things. No consequences to releasing shit software because the majority of Windows users aren't there by choice, they're captives. Windows is dominant in businesses and the...
I think it's a few things. No consequences to releasing shit software because the majority of Windows users aren't there by choice, they're captives. Windows is dominant in businesses and the disruption of trying to retrain your employees on a new OS isn't worth it. Many businesses are forced to use Windows because of backwards compatibility (incidentally, just about the only thing I can praise Windows for.)
PC gaming is a captive audience because Apple doesn't care and the momentum behind Windows is huge. Developers target Windows because that's where the audience is, because that's where the games are, because that's where the developers target, etc. Thankfully Valve is making great strides with gaming on Linux, but that's a recent phenomenon.
Windows will continue to print money for Microsoft no matter what they do to it, and it shows in how the company treats it. I imagine internally it's not an appealing thing to work on: it's clearly neglected by the leadership, hated by its users, and is probably a huge challenge to develop for given its promises of backwards compatibility. Hotshot product designers, product managers, engineers, etc. want to advance their careers and end up either working on more visible / respected products (Azure/Office?) or stuck working on Windows and hate it.
I'm sure there are people working on it who genuinely care and want to do a good job, but they aren't enough to fight the tide of enshittification.
I read something somewhere (HN, maybe?) where somebody claiming to be a Microsoftie said that the Windows design team has more or less been replaced by a bunch of young Mac users who want to make...
I read something somewhere (HN, maybe?) where somebody claiming to be a Microsoftie said that the Windows design team has more or less been replaced by a bunch of young Mac users who want to make Windows more like macOS, without understanding their customer base.
Take that with a grain of salt, of course, but it certainly seems to fit the situation.
I think I might've seen the same post. Not sure how to weight it, but it does feel as though Windows is being shaped by people who aren't really dogfooding their changes.
I think I might've seen the same post. Not sure how to weight it, but it does feel as though Windows is being shaped by people who aren't really dogfooding their changes.
Aw, that's actually kinda cute. These are the issues we at work always laugh about, and the customers with us. We also have tens of thousands of translation terms and associated keys, so this...
Aw, that's actually kinda cute.
These are the issues we at work always laugh about, and the customers with us. We also have tens of thousands of translation terms and associated keys, so this happens often enough no matter how rare each individual case is.
Win 11 Clippy has also said:
Open command prompt with lifted privileges.
Lost a file? Check the Rubbish Bin
Allow the browser to store biscuits?
This is the sort of thing that QA should be cov- oh right, they cut the QA team!
Microsofts decision to try and turn the whole Windows operating system into some kind of startup-style rapidly iterating agile product still baffles me. Apple doesn't do this. No major Linux desktop project does this. I don't think even ChromeOS does this, and they're the one best positioned for it.
What's driving them to these half-assed releases? If this kind of thing is happening at the user level, what horrors are happening under the hood?
The best I can think is that they feel a need to compete with the Web/Android and app marketplaces, but surely they could've done that just by emphasizing their app store and Edge without gutting QA and turning the OS into an unpredictable ad-riddled mess.
I think it's a few things. No consequences to releasing shit software because the majority of Windows users aren't there by choice, they're captives. Windows is dominant in businesses and the disruption of trying to retrain your employees on a new OS isn't worth it. Many businesses are forced to use Windows because of backwards compatibility (incidentally, just about the only thing I can praise Windows for.)
PC gaming is a captive audience because Apple doesn't care and the momentum behind Windows is huge. Developers target Windows because that's where the audience is, because that's where the games are, because that's where the developers target, etc. Thankfully Valve is making great strides with gaming on Linux, but that's a recent phenomenon.
Windows will continue to print money for Microsoft no matter what they do to it, and it shows in how the company treats it. I imagine internally it's not an appealing thing to work on: it's clearly neglected by the leadership, hated by its users, and is probably a huge challenge to develop for given its promises of backwards compatibility. Hotshot product designers, product managers, engineers, etc. want to advance their careers and end up either working on more visible / respected products (Azure/Office?) or stuck working on Windows and hate it.
I'm sure there are people working on it who genuinely care and want to do a good job, but they aren't enough to fight the tide of enshittification.
I read something somewhere (HN, maybe?) where somebody claiming to be a Microsoftie said that the Windows design team has more or less been replaced by a bunch of young Mac users who want to make Windows more like macOS, without understanding their customer base.
Take that with a grain of salt, of course, but it certainly seems to fit the situation.
I think I might've seen the same post. Not sure how to weight it, but it does feel as though Windows is being shaped by people who aren't really dogfooding their changes.
Aw, that's actually kinda cute.
These are the issues we at work always laugh about, and the customers with us. We also have tens of thousands of translation terms and associated keys, so this happens often enough no matter how rare each individual case is.