Newsforge: Windows Rapidly Approaching Usability

Newsforge has an article that puts the shoe on the other foot regarding the old saw that Linux ‘is good, but not quite ready for the desktop’ by making spot-on remarks about Windows deficiencies that make it not quite ready for the desktop. My favorite is his discussion about that ‘precious’ product key: ‘…During my attempts at Windows XP installation, the combination of the LiquidVideo monitor and the HP Compaq d220 microtower’s onboard video produced constant, totally annoying screen blinking that made it almost impossible to do things like type in the long, so-precious “Product Key.” Note that this “Key” is not a simple, English-language password, but a 20-character string of apparently random letters and numbers. It took me several tries to type the “Product Key” correctly without being able to see it on screen because of the constant blinking. I doubt that most users would put up with this problem. I suspect that most would simply return their copy of Windows XP to the store where they bought it and go back to familiar, user-friendly Linux…’

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