4 ms·
> What's more interesting is that he still has a wicked attention to detail, and you still see that he's the same person that gave the interview in the original
by tanzam75 13y ago
> What's more interesting is that he still has a wicked attention to detail, and you still see that he's the same person that gave the interview in the original post.)
I remember seeing this memo back when it originally came out. If I recall correctly, the problem was not actually fixed after Bill Gates complained about it. The replies to his email just pointed fingers at each other.
Thus, all the talk of Microsoft needing a Steve Jobs are off the mark. Microsoft already had a Steve Jobs -- he was named Bill Gates. For whatever reason, even he couldn't polish out the flaws. There's something in the culture of the organization that prevents attention to fit-and-finish.
For example: Bill Gates complains about the C:\Documents and Settings\billg\My Documents\My Pictures folder. This was in 2003. OK, so it got fixed in Vista. But why couldn't he get this fixed for XP? I doubt he was happy with it when he ran the XP betas.
My pet peeve: Explorer gives an uninformative "Try Again" dialog when I try to delete an open file. Why doesn't it tell me which program is holding the lock? Microsoft bought Sysinternals eight years ago! They just need to integrate the code from the handles utility, and add a "Switch to" or "End task" button to make it easier to close the program.
- nswanberg 13y agoAgreed, but to become as good a consumer company as Apple, Microsoft would have needed a Steve Jobs (someone more dedicated to focus and aesthetics of form and function). It's not clear Gates wanted to be the same sort of consumer company. I'm sure he'd have taken it if he could've gotten it, but probably not at the expense of sales of site licenses to businesses. Thanks for the pointer to handle! I've got the sysinternals suite but never bothered to explore much beyond Process Monitor.
- tanzam75 13y ago> Thanks for the pointer to handle! You're welcome, it's a useful tool when you just can't seem to delete a file. Although you're right -- it's called handle (singular), not handles (plural). Actually, I think I do this all the time. I type handles, get an error message, and then think, "Maybe it's just handle." After all, multiple programs can have a file open at the same time, and the handle utility can actually list more than one program. So why isn't the name of the utility plural?! Yet another fit-and-finish issue in a Microsoft product ...
- nswanberg 13y agoOh, for what it's worth, I italicised the name because it's a work, and I guess I do that for programs in addition to books, not to point out a correct spelling. Pointing out spelling mistakes and grammar errors on the internet seems needlessly rude. :)