This is an internal Microsoft email that someone dug up showing the frustrations Bill Gates was going through with the usability and experience of Windows Updates, and Microsoft.com. Seems like we weren’t alone 
This was back in ’03 so it doesn’t represent the state they are in with their product at the moment.
—- Original Message —-
From: Bill Gates
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM
To: Jim Allchin
Cc: Chris Jones (WINDOWS); Bharat Shah (NT); Joe Peterson; Will Poole; Brian Valentine; Anoop Gupta (RESEARCH)
Subject: Windows Usability Systematic degradation flame
I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don’t drive usability issues.
Let me give you my experience from yesterday.
I decided to download (Moviemaker) and buy the Digital Plus pack … so I went to Microsoft.com. They have a download place so I went there.
The first 5 times I used the site it timed out while trying to bring up the download page. Then after an 8 second delay I got it to come up.
This site is so slow it is unusable.
It wasn’t in the top 5 so I expanded the other 45.
These 45 names are totally confusing. These names make stuff like: C:\Documents and Settings\billg\My Documents\My Pictures seem clear.
They are not filtered by the system … and so many of the things are strange.
I tried scoping to Media stuff. Still no moviemaker. I typed in movie. Nothing. I typed in movie maker. Nothing.
So I gave up and sent mail to Amir saying – where is this Moviemaker download? Does it exist?
So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated.
They told me to go to the main page search button and type movie maker (not moviemaker!).
I tried that. The site was pathetically slow but after 6 seconds of waiting up it came.
I thought for sure now I would see a button to just go do the download.
In fact it is more like a puzzle that you get to solve. It told me to go to Windows Update and do a bunch of incantations.
This struck me as completely odd. Why should I have to go somewhere else and do a scan to download moviemaker?
So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. (Not) just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.
Doesn’t Windows update know some key to talk to Windows?
Then I did the scan. This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff.
This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.
So I did the download. That part was fast. Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn’t use it for anything else during this time.
What the heck is going on during those 6 minutes? That is crazy. This is after the download was finished.
Then it told me to reboot my machine. Why should I do that? I reboot every night — why should I reboot at that time?
So I did the reboot because it INSISTED on it. Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state.
So I got back up and running and went to Windows Update again. I forgot why I was in Windows Update at all since all I wanted was to get Moviemaker.
So I went back to Microsoft.com and looked at the instructions. I have to click on a folder called WindowsXP. Why should I do that? Windows Update knows I am on Windows XP.
What does it mean to have to click on that folder? So I get a bunch of confusing stuff but sure enough one of them is Moviemaker.
So I do the download. The download is fast but the Install takes many minutes. Amazing how slow this thing is.
At some point I get told I need to go get Windows Media Series 9 to download.
So I decide I will go do that. This time I get dialogs saying things like “Open” or “Save”. No guidance in the instructions which to do. I have no clue which to do.
The download is fast and the install takes 7 minutes for this thing.
So now I think I am going to have Moviemaker. I go to my add/remove programs place to make sure it is there.
It is not there.
What is there? The following garbage is there. Microsoft Autoupdate Exclusive test package, Microsoft Autoupdate Reboot test package, Microsoft Autoupdate testpackage1. Microsoft AUtoupdate testpackage2, Microsoft Autoupdate Test package3.
Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable? The file system is no longer usable. The registry is not usable. This program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up.
But that is just the start of the crap. Later I have listed things like Windows XP Hotfix see Q329048 for more information. What is Q329048? Why are these series of patches listed here? Some of the patches just things like Q810655 instead of saying see Q329048 for more information.
What an absolute mess.
Moviemaker is just not there at all.
So I give up on Moviemaker and decide to download the Digital Plus Package.
I get told I need to go enter a bunch of information about myself.
I enter it all in and because it decides I have mistyped something I have to try again. Of course it has cleared out most of what I typed.
I try (typing) the right stuff in 5 times and it just keeps clearing things out for me to type them in again.
So after more than an hour of craziness and making my programs list garbage and being scared and seeing that Microsoft.com is a terrible website I haven’t run Moviemaker and I haven’t got the plus package.
The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind. I thought we had reached a low with Windows Network places or the messages I get when I try to use 802.11. (don’t you just love that root certificate message?)
When I really get to use the stuff I am sure I will have more feedback.
————————-
When Gates was asked about the email, he replied: “There’s not a day that I don’t send a piece of e-mail … like that piece of e-mail. That’s my job.”
September 27th, 2009
My experience with Microsoft Exchange 2007 on the iPhone was an interesting one. I set up my hosted Exchange account from work to the phone, and noticed the battery rapidly draining. I was down to 20% by 6:00 PM. I knew Exchange would effect battery life because of constant syncing going on- but this was draining the battery at an unacceptable rate.
I decided to turn “Push” off for the sake of better battery-life.
After a week of using the account on “Fetch” I decided to do some digging on this issue online, and found out that users were noticing great improvement when re-setting up Exchange on their devices.
Turns out that iPhone 3.0 has a bug where certain setups would have the iPhone pull data non-stop, meaning the phone was working even in sleep mode. Add 3G, Wi-Fi, and Location Services to the mix and you have problems.
I thought, what the heck, so I gave it a shot.
I went into Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calenders > tapped on the Exchange account > and tapped “Delete Account”
I then went in and re-added the account using the settings from my Exchange host, and voila! My battery life improved by maybe over 50% than compared to before.
If you are on the same boat that I was in, you’ve got nothing to lose- since all your data is safely stored in the clouds. So give it a try and let us know your experiences in the comments section below.
September 14th, 2009
The registry is Windows’ storage of vital program settings and instructions. When you uninstall programs through “Add or Remove Programs”- Windows leaves useless program files behind, deep in your registry. The registry is essential in allowing Windows to perform smoothly, so you need to keep it clean.
This is what Little Registry Cleaner excels at- it combs through the registry and removes left-behind clutter from uninstalled software.
Changes in your registry can be dangerous- so make sure to backup before making changes to it.
DOWNLOAD: Little Registry Cleaner
September 8th, 2009
Many of us may need to install Windows from a USB flash drive some time or another. For example, when I needed to install Windows 7 on my Asus Eee PC, I was out-of-luck because it has no optical drive. Luckily, I was able to create a bootable USB flash drive to get the job done. Follow this guide and you can too!
A Bootable USB
With this app, you can either transfer the Windows install directly from a DVD or use an ISO. You simply plug in your USB, run A Bootable USB, check USB, format USB, select the DVD or ISO you want grab the install from, and start the process of creating a bootable USB from which you can install Windows.
Take note A Bootable USB:
- Only supports Windows Vista/2008/7 installs;
- Only supports USB/flash drives larger than 4 GB;
- Officially works only on Windows Vista/2008/7 (the OS you create your bootable USB on not the one you are trying to install);
- Can be installed or used as a portable application.
WinToFlash
WinToFlash is an application which allows you to transfer Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7 install from a CD/DVD to a [bootable] USB/flash drive. Although officially the developer does not state WinToFlash supports .ISOs, you can simply mount your .ISO and trick WinToFlash into thinking it is a legit CD/DVD and create your bootable USB that way.
To create a bootable USB Windows install, simply follow the “Windows setup transfer Wizard”.
Take note while A Bootable USB was a one-time project by a zealous blog reader, WinToFlash is in constant development by its developer. Currently WinToFlash is in Beta and is also a portable app.
After you have created your bootable USB with a Windows install on it, with either A Bootable USB or WinToFlash, simply plug your USB into your computer and restart your computer. You should be able to boot from from the USB and install Windows now =). If you are unable to boot from it, you will have to go into your computer BIOS to change the boot order/settings to allow boot from USB.
You may download A Bootable USB and WinToFlash from the following links:
Click here to download A Bootable USB
Click here to download WinToFlash
– Thanks [http://dottech.org]
September 2nd, 2009
USB is awesome- plug and play. You never have to worry about installing drivers when sticking your USB drive into a new computer. OS X, Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 all come with generic USB drivers pre-installed. But, for the few of you using Windows 98- you’re not so lucky 
You can do the obvious and upgrade to an operating system that is not over a decade old, or use this guide to install the needed drivers.
If you are using Windows 98, and you do not know the manufacturer of the USB storage device, or are having trouble finding the drivers, this if for you. Luckily, there are some generic Windows 98 USB mass storage device drivers available that work with most such devices. This means that these drivers will work with many makes and models of the following:
- USB Flash Drives (also known as Pen Drives, or Thumb Drives)
- Digital Photo and Video Cameras (that connect to the PC via USB)
- USB Hard Drives
- MP3 Players (including Apple iPod from v2.4)
- Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Installing the drivers
Keep in mind there are two versions of Windows 98- and they handle the drivers differently. In order to determine your Windows version, please do the following:
- Right click on My Computer and select Properties
- On the System Properties page that opens up click on the General tab, if it is not already on that page.
- Under the System heading, look for the version number (see right)
- Version 4.10.1998 is the original version of Windows 98 (98FE)
- Version 4.10.2222 is Windows 98 Second Edition (98SE)
- Click the link below for the download and installation instructions for your version of Windows 98
Download
Please click the link for your version of Windows 98:
August 31st, 2009
Did you accidentally delete an important file, and realized it after it was too late? Maybe you emptied your recycle bin before you were actually ready to, and lost the files that were stored in it. For many, this is a harsh reality. Recuva can help.
Recuva (pronounced “recover”) is a freeware Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses! Recuva is free for both commercial and personal use. You have to just select disk drive to search lost data. It even retrieves directory structure for lost data.
I have made many people’s days with this piece of software in my past IT days, and now you can too. Give it a try!
August 18th, 2009
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