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Worst Things About Windows XP

mmmdreg, that's probably the first bad review of a dell I've heard in a while. I think dell usually makes pretty good stuff, but at the end of the day they still run windows.

In response to the long post, you're right. With about 4 hours during the install process and 1 hour a week tweaking, XP is pretty decent. But then, would anyone buy a new car that required this much tuning and tweaking right off the showroom floor? No way. I love computers (mac's) because they make my life easier, not more complicated.

Windows is overly-complicated, over-rated, and under-whelming.
 
The specific thing about WinXP that bothers me is that I had a scanner that could use a parallel port or USB port. The driver for USB was installed and tested initially. One technician and I switched cables while troubleshooting a recurrent re-booting problem. After he removed the cheap RAM and left, I unplugged the parallel cable and connected the scanner using USB. WinXP wanted the drivers installed again.

The mouse would do the same thing, but WinXP had the mouse drivers and would load them regardless.

The Registry always seems to be a problem. If it's not a hardware driver problem, the registry could be tuned up and any Windows using it would be much better.

I do get the feeling that I'm at fault every time I use Windows, though. One thing Apple said in the Human Interface Guidelines was to not say "Error" when there was a problem. What's the first thing Microsoft says? :D It's like "Your incompetency has caused the downfall of mankind." Maybe, that's what I used to tell people. :D

If Windows worked smoothly, i.e. saved steps in a process, it would be more palatable. I don't hate it. I just don't like it very much.
 
The graphics subsystem in XP, or any version of Windows, is horrendous. I've used XP Pro on a brand new Dell, 2.8GHz P4, 1GB RAM, and a 64MB GeForce4MX, and the redraws on-screen are worse than my 400MHz iMac. Hell, OS9 did better redraws. I guess the new Aero graphics subsystem in Longhorn is going to remedy this. Well, only four more years, right?
 
Originally posted by MoparShaha
The graphics subsystem in XP, or any version of Windows, is horrendous. I've used XP Pro on a brand new Dell, 2.8GHz P4, 1GB RAM, and a 64MB GeForce4MX, and the redraws on-screen are worse than my 400MHz iMac. Hell, OS9 did better redraws. I guess the new Aero graphics subsystem in Longhorn is going to remedy this. Well, only four more years, right?
Click to expand...

hm first time i ever hear of slow redraws in xp ...yeah win98/mw/95/3.11 were slow but win2k and xp ?

im using 2 athlon xp 2000+ one with 1gb ram and gforce ti4200 and another one with same spec but with same geforce mx 440 and 512 ram and i never saw slow redraws (im running also red hat 9.0 on these machines ... compared to that it's extremly fast)

what i think whats worst about xp:

1. registry
2. updating
3. activation think
4.bubble-gum-look is standard
5. sometimes configuration very spread

about wizards: well i think they are only there because of the new users .. they aren't a bad idea but sometimes they aren't very comfortable...
 
The 2.8 GHz Dell we have with an integrated Intel 64 meg video card does decent screen draws but slows down whenever something else is being done while it tries to redraw. On the two computers that my sisters use, though, the graphics in XP are terrible and take forever to refresh or resize when you change the view of a folder. They have a 1.6 GHz Compaq with 256 megs RAM and Geforce MX2 and a 2.4 GHz Toshiba laptop with 512 megs RAM and I have no clue what graphics chip that has.
 
XP = hibernation = wait, wait, wait

OSX = sleep = instant on



XP = plug & pray

OSX = plug & play



XP = update virus profiles at least once a week

OSX = what's a virus?
 
Originally posted by FriarTuck
XP = hibernation = wait, wait, wait

OSX = sleep = instant on
Click to expand...

hibernation copies the RAM image to the HD and actually shuts down the computer. that's why it's slower but practically no power is consumed.

computer is still on for sleep - it's faster to wake up but takes up power.

i believe you can put XP to sleep as well as hibernate. and the wake time from sleep is much faster than waking from the hibernation, though i'm not sure how it compares to X. (X is very, very fast.)
 
Hibernation

-Gents

This is a good point. Wether full hibernation, or a suspend, I've notices flakey behavior on pretty much every XP and Win2k box - especially on this project. None wake as promised. My T30's particular quirk is that once awake, it forgets it has pointing devices (and if you know the t30/40, it has both touchpad and trackpoint), and I'm forced to restart. External mouse too.

One of my compatriates here said it best: "Mac sleep the way computers should sleep."
 
Originally posted by Powerbook G5
I don't like the whole contextual based GUI or whatever it is they call it. Whenever I have to use it or fix one of my sisters' computers, I am continually being circumvented by Windows itself making me have to use some "wizard" that doesn't give me the options I need to do what I need to fix the problem. Not to mention, going into any folder or window just knocks you over with 1/3 of the window being taken up by useless "suggestions" of what I must want to do but none of them are of any use to me. It just seems so idiot proofed that Windows itself has become the very icon of idiocy. It just seems like Microsoft wasn't content with having simple, straight forward folders, control panels, and access to features and tools, but instead, had to make everything a wizard and everything trying to tell you what you must want to do as if you had no clue what a "Folder" or an "Icon" was.
Click to expand...

I agree with PBG5 on this, I really, really hate how XP tries to suggest what you should do. I also hate the GUI itself.....so ugly, like weird, crazy bubbles.

Mousovers are way, way to over used in XP, too.
 
The worst thing in XP (at least for me):

Enormous waste of screen real estate, so many eye-candy stuff that it is hard to concentrate on the content of the window.
 
Oh, here we go. Stop me if you've heard this one before.... :rolleyes:

1) Between XP thinking it knows what you want, and forcing you to use those *%#&! wizards, it's a lot harder than it should be to configure and tweak. Why not just make the settings easy to find and understand?

2) The real guts of XP are hidden in the registry/services, which no ordinary user can hope to understand, or make use of.

3) Wireless networking is flaky and a royal pain to configure. Go look at all the threads on Apple's discussion boards with people whose XP PC's won't use AirPort properly.

4) If you want a secure system, you have to arrange that yourself. Buy 3rd party virus protection, and either get a 3rd party firewall or learn to configure the Windows ones. And keep up with those frequent patches, oh yes.

5) Commercial tie-ins are plastered on the desktop of every new PC. Adware and annoyware are common. The system tray is cluttered with blinking icons--"ooh! look at me!" "update me now!"

6) Why, oh why, is there STILL no pop-up blocking in Internet Explorer? Every other web-browser out there has this, already!

7) Half of the UI is taken up with all those "Do you want to do this?" links, because without them, doing "this" would apparently be too difficult to find on your own. And I'll leave out the whole Fisher Price thing.

I'd really still love to build a PC someday, but if I can't run OS X on it, what's the point?
 
Number 1

The default color scheme, which I lovingly refer to as "clown colors". First thing I did after installing (well, and patching) was to shift back to the classic look.

Number 2

Okay on #2 I am being more serious (although I honestly do hate those clown colors!). This is not specific to XP, but I hate the way Microsoft sacrifices OS security for the sake of leveraging their monopoly into other areas (they've done a good job of spinning this into "security vs. features", but in reality it's got little to do with features!). The DCOM bug is the biggest glaring example of this. No one other than Microsoft wanted DCOM, but MS didn't want to go with industry-preferred CORBA - so they come up with DCOM, enable it by default (even though it's not used by most anyone) and BLAM!

Another example, the SQL-slammer stuff - it's bad enough to include a simplified version of MS-SQL in desktop products, but why leave the SQL port open on them as well?

And last but not least... can you say "ActiveX"? And why the heck is IE hooked into the operating system itself? (yes, that's a rhetorical question)
 
1) Partitioning and formatting new hard drives is neither as easy nor as quick as OS X.

2) Less user configurability.

3) Every IE window is a new process (and thus, clutters up the taskbar) because the browser is part of the OS instead of a seperate program like Safari.

4) Programs can be downloaded, installed and executed without your knowledge by default.

5) The registry.
 
Re: Hibernation

Originally posted by patrick0brien
-Gents

This is a good point. Wether full hibernation, or a suspend, I've notices flakey behavior on pretty much every XP and Win2k box - especially on this project. None wake as promised. My T30's particular quirk is that once awake, it forgets it has pointing devices (and if you know the t30/40, it has both touchpad and trackpoint), and I'm forced to restart. External mouse too.

One of my compatriates here said it best: "Mac sleep the way computers should sleep."
Click to expand...


I have a problem with my 4 year old Dell Latitude going to sleep once every 2-3 months. Otherwise it’s flawless. Takes about 15 seconds to wake up but again it’s a 4 year old system.
But on the flip side My Toshiba is a royal PITA when it comes to sleeping and waking up. I open up the cover and the entire screen goes white with a test pattern rainbow of stripes slowly showing up as if the video card is going psychedelic on me.

My point? It totally depends on how well the hardware supports the software. BIOS, drivers, software running in the background, etc. They all play a part and considering how many forms of hardware MS has to support I think they do an admirable job. On the flip side I’ve seen the occasional post where a PowerBook or iBook doesn’t come back from sleep mode or does some funky trick when coming back so while Macs may be more reliable when doing such things its not like they are rock solid.
Just my .2 cents.
 
I recently agreed to help out my parents and install XP on their 1.2 GHz (1Gb) Dell.

They had purchased all the software (including XP, Norton 2004, and Office) so I figured I'd be spending an hour or so flipping CDs in exchange for a free dinner...

After a 7.5 hour marathon SNAFU fest I got their system almost working...sort of.

First, the stupid thing picked up a virus before I could get all the patches downloaded and installed, then I found out that installing the XP drivers for their printer screwed up networking...got that sorted out, and spent some time trying to get the default browser preferences to stick (kept switching itself back to IE), then I discovered that the windows 98 machine on the network couldn't print to the printer hanging off the XP machine. XP has a facility to install other drivers for this purpose, but after three tries, the 98 drivers wouldn't stick...Xerox says this is a bug in XP...Microsoft says this is a problem with the driver...the bottom line is now we can't print from the old computer. The whole system is *significantly* slower under XP than it used to be under 98, and with the printer problems, viruses, and other irritations (pop-ups offering all sorts of rubbish, notifying my easily freaked-out dad about the state of his ethernet connection, stupid wizards everywhere, not to mention Clippy and the fugly interface), I couldn't help asking why they wanted to upgrade...so next weekend I get to downgrade them back to 98.

Cheers
 
Worst thing about windows?

worst thing about windows??
having to reinstall it every 3 months. especially if you like me doing a computing degree and you have multiple programming languages / applications with new ones appearing every 3-6months.
Man, i;ve managed to reinstall windows 3 times in one week due to
a) stupid thing said i had a virus when i installed norton but couldn't remove it.
b)used microsoft own branded bluetooth mouse and keyboard and it would suddenly not pair up at all. Fresh install.
c)try to install a mac theme on it and the whole thing crashed to its knees. ( i know i know i should have just stuck to my powerbook or get a g5 but poor student).

my friend was saying the other day that why doesn't Apple creat a Mac OS X for pc? hell that would mean brilliant os plus cheaper hardware.

Now that would be nice.
 
I know this thread is about bad things, but I must say that I reallly REALLY like Remote Assistance. It's a little choppy, yeah, but it's really convienent. I'm not sure if Panther has it or not, I think Panther Server does. They really ought to get it in the client, if it isn't there already.
 
my roommates have xp machines..worst thing is that if you dont have a good processor..,ie,p4m or centrino, ur comp gets slow with time...and i mean pathetically slow....u have to 'format' ur hard drive to get over it...duh...
 
I think that their is some good and some bad in XP, You DO have to give a little credit to Microsoft I mean they have to buid a Operating System to what specs Your computer has, like XP wants what a 400mHZ PRoc, 128mb of ram,sound card,a certain amount of VRAM plus Microsoft has to nake it compatible with so many procs it is not even funny like, Intel P3,P4 Centrino, the AMD Athlons and XP's the list gose on. Then You have Apple who makes the OS completly compatible with only what, the G3 G4 and the G5 of course Mac OS X is going to be better plus Mac OS X dose not have so many little nerds sitting is their basements on dial up tiying to find holes in the OS. Anyways this has been fun.
 
the main thing I hate is active desktop the open door that lets people screw your pc over lucily I have never owned a pc I started on a pb 100 :) playing schuflepuck all day

secondly I hate all that copyright protection crap.

theirdly I hate the bit with all the stuff in winxp
 
Re: Re: Re: Worst Things About Windows XP

Originally posted by Sun Baked
If you have all these damn threads turned off, how were you able to post here?
attachment.php
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I don't think you quite grasped at what I was getting at;)

I'm going to reformat my C: partition after I get back from Rowing camp, ready for the start of University. My D: partition hasn't been formatted in thre years.
 
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