S
Stephen Riley
I bought a new laptop last week and have spent (wasted) many bitter hours
since trying to grapple with XP.
I have many minor irritations with this operating system. Some major ones.
1) I can't get rid of Messenger. I DON'T WANT IT - at least not this version
of it. I've been using version 6. Now have to have version 4 whether I want
it or not. I DON'T!
I uncheck the "Start up with windows" box, but I find it starts up anyway. I
right click "Exit" on the task tray - the Messenger icon disappears, but the
programme sneakily remains (perceivable only when you look in task manager).
I try to uninstall it, but find there is no standard option to uninstall
Messenger. I go to the Messenger folder and try to delete it, but am told it
is undeletable - despite it's apparent windows properties being normal (i.e.
not read-only or system).
I DO NOT WANT THIS INSIDIOUS PROGRAMME ON MY DISK!!!
2) My list of programmes in start menu keeps changing. Things keep putting
themselves in different orders. Often, some shortcuts are hidden completely,
so I have to click a hidden items icon to reveal them. Then they appear in
an unsightly different colour. Is it really asking too much to expect the
Start Menu to be the same each time I go to it?
None of this is referred to let alone explained in any of the basic help
info (at least not that I could find in half an hour's search). God knows
what it means, or why it's happening. Again, there seems to be no way of
turning it off!)
3) Under Windows 98 I could customise folders with background pictures.
Apparently this has become impossible under XP (despite XP being about a
billion times the size). It might seem a trivial gripe, but actually when I
am navigating through a complicated tree of folders, a visual cue like this
is invaluable.
I could go on.
I've just spent an hour and a half groping my way around Microsoft's
tortuous "support" site, only to discover that, because my copy of Windows
came with my computer, they won't give me any support unless I pay through
the nose for it. All links to their "knowledge base" or newsgroups result in
pages of empty and useless dropdown boxes.
As an afterthought, I'd add I've been using Windows and Word since the late
80s. I remember using Word version 2 on Windows 95 on an old 386 computer
and it ran almost as fast as a DOS text based word processor. I now run Word
2000 on XP and it runs visibly slower. A word processor! Text input!
Essentially one of the simplest kind of programmes. One is left wondering
what is the point of getting a computer that is theoretically 100 times
faster, when the software runs about 300 times slower.
Next time I buy a computer, I shall choose a Mac.
since trying to grapple with XP.
I have many minor irritations with this operating system. Some major ones.
1) I can't get rid of Messenger. I DON'T WANT IT - at least not this version
of it. I've been using version 6. Now have to have version 4 whether I want
it or not. I DON'T!
I uncheck the "Start up with windows" box, but I find it starts up anyway. I
right click "Exit" on the task tray - the Messenger icon disappears, but the
programme sneakily remains (perceivable only when you look in task manager).
I try to uninstall it, but find there is no standard option to uninstall
Messenger. I go to the Messenger folder and try to delete it, but am told it
is undeletable - despite it's apparent windows properties being normal (i.e.
not read-only or system).
I DO NOT WANT THIS INSIDIOUS PROGRAMME ON MY DISK!!!
2) My list of programmes in start menu keeps changing. Things keep putting
themselves in different orders. Often, some shortcuts are hidden completely,
so I have to click a hidden items icon to reveal them. Then they appear in
an unsightly different colour. Is it really asking too much to expect the
Start Menu to be the same each time I go to it?
None of this is referred to let alone explained in any of the basic help
info (at least not that I could find in half an hour's search). God knows
what it means, or why it's happening. Again, there seems to be no way of
turning it off!)
3) Under Windows 98 I could customise folders with background pictures.
Apparently this has become impossible under XP (despite XP being about a
billion times the size). It might seem a trivial gripe, but actually when I
am navigating through a complicated tree of folders, a visual cue like this
is invaluable.
I could go on.
I've just spent an hour and a half groping my way around Microsoft's
tortuous "support" site, only to discover that, because my copy of Windows
came with my computer, they won't give me any support unless I pay through
the nose for it. All links to their "knowledge base" or newsgroups result in
pages of empty and useless dropdown boxes.
As an afterthought, I'd add I've been using Windows and Word since the late
80s. I remember using Word version 2 on Windows 95 on an old 386 computer
and it ran almost as fast as a DOS text based word processor. I now run Word
2000 on XP and it runs visibly slower. A word processor! Text input!
Essentially one of the simplest kind of programmes. One is left wondering
what is the point of getting a computer that is theoretically 100 times
faster, when the software runs about 300 times slower.
Next time I buy a computer, I shall choose a Mac.