Lowry will want to read this editorial by Dana Blankenhorn entitled, “So why do people hate Windows?”
Paul answered with some great comparisons on issues of security. Security is one way to measure durability.
But durability is another way to measure durability. And when it comes to having a system that lasts, Windows has some “issues.”
While I write about Linux for a living, I have in fact been the owner of many Windows boxes. I even have a copy of Windows 1.0, hand-signed in the manual by Bill Gates himself, from the software’s launch party.
What I’ve noticed is that Windows winds down hardware. As time goes by, patches and updates and upgrades and necessary applications load my box up with code that hogs my memory, and takes up CPU cycles, until the memory and cycles needed for new work magically disappear. Then you’re supposed to replace the box, and over time buy new software.
It’s a form of built-in obsolescence that has nothing to do with a PC’s features becoming tired. The PC itself just becomes slow and clunky. The only way to extend its life, eventually, is to reload Windows itself. No way to spend a day, that.
Lowry is a hater. 🙁 On the other hand, after having read this article, it’s hard not to at least partly agree with the Lowrys of the world. On the other other hand, when you consider how many more things Windows can do than any other operating system, and how many more developers create their apps for Windows, then you do have a choice. At least not if you’re into niche applications or PC gaming.
I am ready for a Mac though, now that Apple has switched to UNIX and Intel processors. This one looks real nice, if somewhat unaffodable:
“