Microsoft Hates Old People
That's the only conclusion I can come to after trying to clean up my mother and grandparents' PCs over the holiday.
Working alongside my shiny new MacBook, the juxtaposition of desktops and user experiences made me realise how unfriendly Windows is for the non tech-savvy.
First of all, is vendor problem. I advised my mother to get an HP and she did the same for her father. However, while I was familiar with HP in the workplace -- I wasn't aware of all the crap they package into their home version.
You get a 'control centre', photo apps, scanner and printer apps, and of course the obligatory check for the latest online updates that launch at start up.
Second is the damned-if-you-do, damn-if-you-don't antivirus problem. My grandfather was installing all sorts of malicious software without realising it, so my mother (as instructed by the IT dept at work), installed Symantec's Norton Antivirus.
I don't know why the IT depts and general public have not gotten the message that you should stop using Symantec products! (Why? Check here.) It's a bloated piece of junk.
Finally, the lack of any reasonable tools for novice users to do things like clean up their desktop, registry, start-up applications. I can barely do all this.
Maybe Vista can fix all this -- but probably not, because the core philosophy is different between Microsoft and Apple. When you start up a Mac, it feels completely personalise -- it's all about what you can do with your pictures, media, etc. When you start up a PC it feels like you've been given a machine on loan from HP or some other vendor. They've set up all the shortcuts they know you'll want (such as Britainnica Online) -- most of which are 30-day trial versions.
The PC start up experience feels like you're battling with the machine to undo all the weird stuff someone else has put on it -- it's not your machine, really.
My advice - get a MacMini for your loved ones.
Working alongside my shiny new MacBook, the juxtaposition of desktops and user experiences made me realise how unfriendly Windows is for the non tech-savvy.
First of all, is vendor problem. I advised my mother to get an HP and she did the same for her father. However, while I was familiar with HP in the workplace -- I wasn't aware of all the crap they package into their home version.
You get a 'control centre', photo apps, scanner and printer apps, and of course the obligatory check for the latest online updates that launch at start up.
Second is the damned-if-you-do, damn-if-you-don't antivirus problem. My grandfather was installing all sorts of malicious software without realising it, so my mother (as instructed by the IT dept at work), installed Symantec's Norton Antivirus.
I don't know why the IT depts and general public have not gotten the message that you should stop using Symantec products! (Why? Check here.) It's a bloated piece of junk.
Finally, the lack of any reasonable tools for novice users to do things like clean up their desktop, registry, start-up applications. I can barely do all this.
Maybe Vista can fix all this -- but probably not, because the core philosophy is different between Microsoft and Apple. When you start up a Mac, it feels completely personalise -- it's all about what you can do with your pictures, media, etc. When you start up a PC it feels like you've been given a machine on loan from HP or some other vendor. They've set up all the shortcuts they know you'll want (such as Britainnica Online) -- most of which are 30-day trial versions.
The PC start up experience feels like you're battling with the machine to undo all the weird stuff someone else has put on it -- it's not your machine, really.
My advice - get a MacMini for your loved ones.
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