So, today, I have finally made a once-and-for-all decision to abandon all bloatware, starting with the beastly suites of Microsoft software and operating systems. For a small number of really cool features, you endure (a) crashing, (b) slow performance on high-end hardware, (c) byzantine configuration menus, and (d) “the old way of doing things.” There is nothing new or cool or forward-thinking about any of the Microsoft products, and using their products feels like doing work, versus having fun - even if you are doing something on a computer that is fun.
At this point in time, you can find most of the best Microsoft tools have been replicated in a Web 2.0 incarnation, and these Web 2.0 tools are actually better that the bloatware that they replace. There are amazing project management tools, blogging tools, word processors, email solutions, etc. AND these new tools are, in most cases, free. Why would any company buy overpriced computers and software for employees that are likely to fail to store valuable data locally in bloated files and bloated applications?
Wouldn’t you rather have small computers and lightweight online applications that store data centrally, in the cloud? If an employee leaves, at least the organization retains the knowledge. Why have Outlook, when you could have SalesForce.com? Why have Project when you could have ViewPath.com? The world has changed. This is not to say that Microsoft is evil or has bad people, but they are certainly following a dead end. AND they have lost me as a customer.
In the age of intelligent workers, that is a wonderful goal.
In the realm of reality “12:O’clock flashers” and other ‘users’ are the largest number of employees. Your workers may be good at job specific tasks, but very few can manage their own passwords, much less re-create the wheel (write their own applications).
I have personally had to explain a two-button computer mouse to real rocket scientists, and network file shares to VP’s & CEO’s.
While I live from paycheck to paycheck, they control vast empires… and cannot remember their passwords from Friday to Monday.
This does NOT mean they are dumb, just that their skills include what is most important to their own job.
Like me, most IT/IS personnel are just mechanics to provide the tools for them to accomplish their goals.
Even so; most administrators, supervisors, managers and business leaders DO NOT have time to write their own personal time managers, data forms, or email services either.
Sure, innovators and small enterpreneurs will be flexible enough to make some big changes with small tools.
More business models rely upon proven technology, and reliable tools. Few can base quarterly projections on tools that have not been written, or are being created on the spot each day.
Think about that: Can you take a TBD Operating System or Applet to the Bank for a loan?
That does not mean that these innovations aren’t in the pipeline (scheduled to eventually arrive & be useful in a normal daily workplace).
What is DOES mean is that these will not be commonplace tools for 90% of your users.
Even though the vast machines of civilization & technology evolve slowly, they sustain us as we grow with them.
I.E. Until the streets are bare of internal-combustion engines, don’t stake your business upon corn-oil or hydrogen just yet…**
Microsoft, and Apple for that matter, are here with us to stay for just a little while longer.
**[Do not get me wrong, I LOVE the concept of Methanol & Hydrogen Cell beating big-Oil, or even just providing a brighter future for everyone!]
[BTW: Where ARE those flying cars we were promised?]
PS: I do love my mobile Windows CE devices, most of which will also load Linux.
Unless they’re connected to the network (Internet, or intranet; either is a must), then these devices are useless.
Once broadband wireless (preferrably satellite/Wi-Fi combos) becomes universal & cheap, then the possibilities for net-based tools & applets will be unlimited.
Until then all the lovely mobile harware devices will have to be slaved to MicroSlop OS ‘anchor’ desktop & laptop systems.
On a good day they’re connected to Linux or other open OS systems, but even then these require more daily maintenance than any ‘bloatware’.
MAC & MS may be bloated, but that’s because they’re loaded with user-proof redundancy & versatility.
Take a look at iTunes. iTunes as a browser-only app would not offer near the experience it does today. iTunes is a great example of the marriage of client software and cloud computing. BTW, so is XBOX Live. And Outlook for email. And now “traditional” enterprises are getting into the act. For example, FedEx lets you ship to your contacts from within Outlook, and save like 20 clicks along the way, thanks to a smart combination of cloud services and client software. Even SalesForce.com — web 2.0 poster child — has a so-called “bloatware” client, as people demand offline capabilities. I love web 2.0, but beyond being impractical, I think web 2.0 as the *only* way to use apps is not even desirable. Much better is to have client software and the cloud working well together.
You’re painting in extremely (I would argue OVERLY) broad brushes here. I work really hard on Microsoft Windows to make it the best product I can. Statements like “all Microsoft software is bloatware” are no more or less true than “all Mac software is great” or “all Mac software sucks” or “all Fords break down” or “all Fords are great”. It’s nonsense.
I won’t argue whether there are things we can do better; certainly there are. But I doubt that there’s a single piece of software that’s ever been written that couldn’t be improved upon in some way. If there are *particular* concerns, we try to address them with bug fixes and subsequent product releases.
Oh, and I hate to break it to you, but you wouldn’t have salesforce.com without some sort of browser to host it, and some sort of OS to run that browser. No, that doesn’t have to be a Microsoft operating system; you have a choice. But the idea that Web 2.0 somehow does away with software running on a desktop machine is an absurd oversimplification.
John is right: The trend these days is to have apps and devices that are better together, including client-side software, web services, and mobile devices, all working together. I don’t think you can argue that Microsoft has done a lot in developing that ecosystem, though here again, I would agree that there is always more to do.
Microsoft, like any other company, is made up of people. We have bright people, talented people, passionate people, and sure, even a few misguided people, arrogant people, or downright dumb people. And like other companies, we make some products that are great, and some that need work. But even when we fail (which obviously happens), we redouble our efforts to get it right the next time around.
If you want to provide constructive criticism, there are plenty of ways to do so, and there are tons of us around who actively monitor what you have to say so we can build the products that you want.
Cheers,
Sean
[…] blog post about the Microsoft Bloatware has generated some interesting comments, including on which said: “you are an idiot” […]
Why does it have to be desktop or web? Microsoft and other software companies are going down the path of software as a service and we may all eventually be Web 2.x users. In the mean time legacy is a powerful ecomonic force, i.e. The OIL industry v. Green Energy. Change always takes time and while the current generation is ready to cut the cord and live on Web 2.x and Mobile phones the boomers, Gen X, Gen Y are not so quick to make the jump. Good luck on the web as I will be using both since no Web 2.0 company will give me an SLA for my connections or stored data, at least not the free ones :-).
Interesting comments which reflect many of the consumer based thoughts and they are really based around how your work. Unfortunately, not everyone works in the same methods as you do and I think hosting vendors know that. For example, Salesforce.com does me no good at 40,000’ on a 737, but Outlook that connects to my email server using the same protocols as salesforce.com and sync my email does. So not only to I have the advantage of a cloud based email service thought the web, I also have it locally when I’m disconnected.
Here’s another consideration. PC vendors– pick your favorite including Apple–are in business to sell hardware. You see the transition to multi and many core processors, SDD drives, and parallel processing. Tomorrow’s PC’s will be yesterday’s supercomputers. I’m more interested in taking advantage of that local power to do more than run a browser and burn electricity.
Why not take advantage of both cloud services and local processing power? Here’s an example, I don’t care if you like Microsoft or not, PhotoSynth is really cool forward thinking technology. PhotoSynth takes a ton of computing power. If Microsoft opened PhotoSynth to the world, they would have to add about 100,000 servers in their data center to provide some level of acceptable SLA. Just think of all the other cloud services similar to PhotoSynth vendors will offer in the future. There is no economical way hosting providers can provide all that computing power to new programs and remain profitable. Which is why I suspect Microsoft pushes some of the computing power requirements to the local PC. Personally, I’m ok with the dramatically faster response times that take advantage of my GPU, 4 cores and 4 Gig’s of RAM that my browser can’t.
So while you are happy with your limited area of the computing world that works well for you, many more are looking for more freedom than being tied to a browser.
Although the ideal of a browser based infrastructure is ‘fantastic’ in theory, you also need to consider users and organisations that cannot work connected all the time. Additionally many countries across the world do not yet have infrastructure able to support a internet-only approach. As an example, you forget our wonderful emergency services personnel worldwide who would not be able to ‘do business’ should their applications only exist in the cloud. More often than not these people have to work in flood/fire/disaster ravaged areas where there is no longer access to the internet (if there ever was) - and at the same time these people need to connect to applications that allow them to track people and possessions offline. Although you may have found what you believe is your nirvana, a “completely” internet connected world is not here yet for many many more…