Wow.. i .. well ..

I simply cant believe it.. i simply can't..
..
I mean.. I had a computer repair biz for ten years.. I've had all sorts of OS's on my computer , that I know inside out..
I JUST can't believe it..
Just HOW gulllible are the population anyways?

I've had several months to use Vista now.. and i'll admit it's got a pretty interface..
But under that pretty face is the biggest pile of dog sh*t it's been my misfortune to EVER have to use..
.. I DON'T hate windows....
And all in all, using the 32 bit version of Vista wasn't that bad of an experience.. once I accepted it's limitations..
and realized that, basically, it was a rush job to get out .. after five years of trying and failing to get Longhorn ready for the public, they succumbed to pressure to get SOMETHING out.. and by disabling or removing most of the advanced features of Longhorn, that were SUPPOSED to be in it, they released it, as what we now know as Vista.. true.. it's file recognition, and  secuuity improvements were so poorly implemented that they had to rely on cludges like the 'UAC'  which doesnt succeed in protecting the computer against anything except the hapless user..  (and  the super duper cludge of making all the files and folders read only by Default!.. which is why vista never keeps saving your settings (have you noticed?)..
It's a surprisingly effective  deterrent against viruses however, as thet can't write to disk if the properties keep reverting to read-only..

But the 64 bit version of Vista is much worse...much..much.. WORSE

I mean ..on a pristine install.. from the word go..
NOTHING WORKS.,. i mean NO THING..
basic functions you take for granted in any modern OS.. just dont exist. in it..
Oh the settings are there.. the functions are all there, the preference boxes are all there.. but no matter how you set them.. they just dont work..
I've got to go for now, but here's a simple test..
Change the icon for any program..
and watch what happens.. the application will either have that new icon.. as well as ANY OTHER FILE WITH THE SAME NAME.. for ever and ever.. try changing it back now ;-)
you got a blank icon..didnt you..
And suddenly all your icons for the same file type are blank..
And there is NOTHING you can do to fix it.. deleting the icon cache will strip all your files of their associations, so you don't want to do that..
Once windows vista 64 bit loses it's file type associations, you'll never get them back..
Of course you could use a sledgehammer..

you'll notice , for examnple, that the option to open text files with , say, a fictional program like 'textreader' is greyed out, or you can select it in the dialog but it won't show etcetc..
One of the most annoying things is that any time the system errs a dialog pops up suggesting that PEBKAC..and offering suggestions on how to fix what YOU did wrong..
The system can't err !

..i am amazed how many people REALLY believe this, and in today's highly technolological society this type of rabid blind belief in the infallibility of "the machine" is disturbing..especially in today's world of  diminishing civil liberties..
I watched with fear and loathing as americans tripped over themselves to dismantle their constitutional rights and freedoms after 9-11.. all in the name of 'security' by a nanny state..

Living in a true Nanny state as i do, i can tell you you DON"T wanna be there..
The tradeoff for the perception of security from cradle to grave is the loss of civil liberties and freedoms, as well as a complete lack of opportunity to suceed.. if the government regulates EVERYTHING, and controls what you buy and sell, and what you pay for everything, you have high prices and no opportunity.. see , here there's one internet provider, one cable TV provider, one land telephone provider, one insurance provider, one health provider (nanny!) .. the government regulates rent eggs milk etc etc..
If you offend someone here you're taken before a tribunal that is accountable to no-one.. while you have no right to representation.. because your 'not being arrested' .. how? ..people got apathetic and just ....let ...this kind of thing happen , and now it's here..
.. i kid you not...
One of our most respected periodicals with over a hundred years of publishing history got dragged through the mud and lost tens  of thousands of dollars in legal fees, because somebody wrote something in it that 'offended' someone..
 Excuse my digression, but the point being ,made, is it's a small step from the current state of affairs, to allowing machines, alone, to arbitrate.. and THAT is a big concern of mine...
More 2 come.........
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OK .. as i was saying , Vista is a F****g DISGRACE.. after foisting this crap on an unsuspecting public, they shoud be *giving away* any upgrade that fixes the problem.. not ask for a hundred MORE bux..
OK lets put it this way..

Let's say that I manufacture a microwave oven.. and sell it for , say, a hundred bux.. the oven promptly shorts out everyones house circuits, burns their food, or turns them a deep shade brown ( ok it aint all bad ;-)..
Anyways, natch i'm gonna start getting complaints, right?
So what do I do? Give a refund? or A free repair to solve the problems (never mind that in some american states you can get sued into the poor house for messin around with folks lives that way.. and hey, mebbe sued a bit more  in Georgia for the deep brown thing ;-)

so those would be the proper consumer responses, right?
Now.. suppose, instead, i offered only a weak apology and instead said I'll fix it by SELLING YOU ANOTHER for a hundred bucks MORE...
No shit.. ya think it would wash?
No???

Well folks just swallowed up that response when M$ did it with vista.. for a hundred more they can get windows 7...
Get it now?