OT: Why are Microsoft products so endlessly frustrating

[Dr. Trevor J. Hutley]

former Microsoft technology manager Jim Reifman writes about
the woes of Windows in a column for the Seattle Weekly:


Why are Microsoft products so endlessly frustrating to use?

Even techno-geeks like me get annoyed by Windows. I'm tired of 
spending the first 10 minutes of my day rebooting just so I can get 
to work. Microsoft Outlook 2003, the latest version of the company's 
e-mail and calendar software, hangs for me about once a day, 
requiring me to restart my PC.

I also have a problem with Word 2003: Whenever I bullet a line of 
text, every line in the document gets a bullet. Asking Windows to 
shut down is more of a request than a command--it might, it might 
not. And recently, Internet Explorer stopped opening for me.

I know I'm not alone. If you're like me, you've invested in 
technology to become more efficient and productive but mutter about 
the many frustrations of the digital lifestyle. Technology is my 
hobby as well as my job, so I regularly ponder why software giant 
Microsoft Corp., which has more than $56 billion in cash, hasn't 
solved more of these problems.