An open letter to MS

[Assassin 11B3P]

Dear MS,

It's over.

I have carried water for you for far too long. I have purchased every OS since DOS 6.22 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. My wife and I each have Windows Phones. There are 4 PCs and a server in my house, using anything from Windows 7 to Server 2012 Datacenter. I have multiple licenses for XP, 7, 8, and even Vista. I have every copy of Office from XP to an Office 365 subscription, ditto for every version of Visual Studio from VS6 to VS 2013. There are three Xbox 360s in my house and two Gold memberships. So, as you can see, we are firmly entrenched in the MS camp.

But no more.

I will not spend one more penny on any of your products. Ever.

Your failure to create a product that actually works and works reliably has sent me over the edge. When I have to install Firefox in order to surf the web because IE11 **** so bad, and I don't mean from a benchmark point of view, but I mean in real life, then I know something is wrong. Pages don't load correctly , if at all. Oh!- but the ads sure do! I can't even count the number of times I've seen the IE has stopped working error message, and I've stopped trying to figure it out.

Your Xbox Music Service and App (both for WP and Metro), are completely **** UP. This app is the ONLY APP I've seen that classifies artists like The Bangles, Cyndi Lauper, Sinead O'Connor, and Blondie, as Toto and yet shows the picture of Placido Domingo and album art from The Cars! And I still can't figure out the why and how Creed and AC/DC get their work grouped together. The Music app USED TO WORK in WP 8.0, but is completely busted in 8.1, and the Metro Music app NEVER WORKED.

Then there's Surface...

Let's face it- Metro apps are way too limited and constricting to be used for everyday work, and I don't even mean as some kind of CEO or developer stuff either. Surface Pro 3 is really nice, but it's too large for what I am looking for. Your debacle of deep-sixing Surface Mini was probably the last straw.

So, it's with GREAT SORROW, but also GREAT RELIEF, that I will be switching to a different platform by the end of year. I never thought I would ever do this, but you've left me with no choice...I have decided to move on to Apple.

I've never liked Apple since they became so smug and uppity, but recently, and for the very first time, I actually put my hands on an iPhone and iPad (yes really- last week was the FIRST TIME I DID EITHER!). I saw apps that are common to WP and iPhone work so much better on iPhone (and with more features to boot), that I was blown away. A huge mocking point I made towards iPhone was its small 4" screen. Well, that looks like it's going to be addressed with iPhone 6. 4.7" is little larger than the 822 I currently have, but I am really looking for the 5.5" model.

Speaking of phones...

I am also **** TIRED of this CARRIER EXCLUSIVITY **** that's played! Want to know why WP is such a failure? because you can't seem to STOP **** like that! All WPs should be available on ALL CARRIERS! And why can't a phone that has a 5" screen have a **** SD CARD? I'm looking at you Icon. I know iPhone doesn't have one either, but you know what?- I'm willing to sacrifice that for a phone and apps THAT **** WORK!

So, the only question I have is whether to go iPhone 6 5.5" AND iPad Mini or the 4.7" model and the Mini. I'll probably go 5.5" and Mini.

I'm going to do some research on Parallels and see what it can and cannot do. I might even be looking to eliminate Windows desktops in the house for good.

I am not giving one **** about Threshold/Windows 9. I am confident that you're going to do something that's going to cause even more apps to break and hinder users...it's just in your DNA to do so. BTW, I am NOT one of those idiots who slammed you for removing the Start Menu. So, how about FIXING **** THAT'S BROKEN BEFORE STARTING SOMETHING NEW?

So in closing, I know Apple has its own issues (gotta remember to keep a fire extinguisher nearby), but I can't take this **** from MS anymore. But before I forget- I really have to lay the smack down on the ***** "Support Engineers", "MVPs", and other MS "techies", we see in here. I've posted a million questions in here and not a single **** one of them have been answered or the issue resolved. The advice they give is about as far removed from the issue as Taco Bell is to Italian food...it's like they aren't even reading the damned question or the steps that were taken in the first place! It's almost like it's a rush to be the "first" reply to a post, as if they receive compensation on it or something.

Looking forward to December when my 822s contract runs out. BTW, MS, this isn't just 1 person in a household, it's me AND my wife...think about how much money you're going to be losing out on.

Goodbye and good riddance.

 

[Dadstar0410]

Wow. Chill out dude.

 

[Jazmac]

Nice letter.

 

[J Ice70]

Wow! Someone still listens to Creed?

 

[rdubmu]

Nothing beats windows 8, and office. Nothing.

With regards to fire fox, I find it the worst browser out there. It is probably something wrong with the webpage you are using. iPhone and iPads are nice, but novelty items, real productivity is with windows 8 and office. Nothing beats snapping apps into place, the task bar (which should be in the metro interface in windows 9), and being able to have up to 4 apps on the screen at once with little effort. I hate resizing windows on a MAC, so much work. I still believe nothing beats an iPhone for phones and an iPad for consumption. Doing any serious work on it sucks thou.

 

[jmshub]

This is kind of a crazy jump to conclusions, wouldn't you say? Ok, if you don't lie your windows phone and want to get an iphone, fine, do it. What is the point of this letter? Furthermore, will it make you feel better to exit all Microsoft products with some scorched earth fury? If you choose iphones, ipads and MacBook, you can still use Microsoft office. I'm sorry, you won't find the same amount of productivity in open office or Google office or whatever alternative you may consider.

Will scrapping your xboxes in favor of PlayStations make you sleep better at night? Will changing out your servers to some Linux configuration give you a deep feeling of success?

All I'm saying is that use the technology products which would best suit you, after all, technology is supposed to make our lives easier. But feeling rage about a large corporation isn't bothering anyone but you. There are plenty of things to get fed up with in any platform.

I wish you well on all of your technological journeys.

 

[Assassin 11B3P]

No, I will not chill out, dude.

 

[Assassin 11B3P]

LOL, not as much as I used to. Probably the same with most of my collection. But I can tell when something's wrong and it pisses me off all to hell. I couldn't turn in such sloppy work back when I was in school so why should we allow MS to get away with something we have to pay $$ for? I actually didn't have an issue with the way Xbox music worked in 8.0 (other than songs being copied multiple times and some missing artwork. I found a solution to those issues all on my own, no thanks to the morons at answers.microsoft.com). But now, as I mentioned, the whole Xbox music thing is a disaster with IE11 right behind it.

 

[Assassin 11B3P]

I actually don't play any of the Xboxes- the wife and kids do.

Office clones are a dime-a-dozen. What can't I do on one of those that can be in Office? Probably nothing. Don't even get me started about why, when I put in an appointment in Outlook, the same appointment will show a 15 minute reminder even though I have reminders turned off? This issue was actually resolved for about a month, but somehow, someway, MS managed to **** it up again.

I'm not changing my server. I am not changing the machines the wife and kids use. And I will not change the system running my flight simulator. But my personal desktop doesn't need to be as messed-up as it is. I mean, it's 2014 and MS still can't make a music app or browser? Wow.

Maybe I should get a job with them- I certainty can't screw things up any worse.

 

[rdubmu]

You need to turn off the reminder on the appointment itself. Its not a bug.


Sent from my Surface Pro 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Assassin 11B3P]

Yeah, FF is definitely losing points with me, but it still beats IE11 in so many ways. As far as the websites I'm using being messed-up, that's fair too, but I am going to mainstream places like the MSN homepage, The Blaze, Facebook, Cracked, and some others, so these are hardly 5th rate sites. I don't even want to go in to how many times I've reinstalled Windows on my PC and the Phone just trying to track issues down. I just can't take the BS anymore.

My life has changed over the years and I no longer do much of anything on the machines anymore, so a consumption-first device like an iPad makes more sense for me, plus I'm into aviation and the reality is that everything is designed for iPad/iPhone. The others in the household will still keep their machines, but as for me, it's over between me and MS.

 

[Assassin 11B3P]

They are turned off.

 

[rdubmu]

I am not seeing the issues you are with internet explorer or outlook 2013. Or even outlook.com calendar. I do have issues with chrome and Firefox. My household is cross platform with an iMac, iPhones, iPad, a windows laptop, windows phone, and my most used computer (Surface Pro 1, and now Surface Pro 3). I will say the iPhone is much better than any windows phone device. If you get an iPhone, it will be an upgrade.

If you are so frustrated with everything then switch but I am not sure why you are so angry with everything. I think you might not understand how everything works, but I am probably wrong about it. You will find more limitations with the MACs than with PCs but since it is going to be new to you, you will probably overlook them until you make this same post over at iMore ;P

Xbox is the standard with online playing, With office you might see issues with formatting. Feature wise isn't the main issues with office, it is keeping the same formatting. For some reason Google docs can't keep the formatting in word, PowerPoint and sometimes macros don't work on an excel doc in Google docs.



Sent from my Surface Pro 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Great deal]

I genuinely understand your pain and frustration. Many people do! I reckon its worth giving them one LAST chance ie next version as they are actually taking action to clear up the ********, backwards, stupid internal structure that has led to ALL of the issues you describe. They WILL come out stronger after this reorganisation and internally I reckon 8.1 has already been written off and the focus is on 9. Same as motor racing, when you have a dog of a car compared to the competition there comes a time when you refocus your resources on next years car to make it better than the competitors and that's the case with 8.1.1.2.3.4 etc

I actually did the opposite, I was all in with Apple, then Android however my own needs required the MS eco system at work so it made sense to switch. If your happy with a mixed system (there are issues) or can live in the world of Apple (Add up the usage of Windows here and its a no brainer.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_systems ) then good luck to you im sure you will be happy.

All i care about is getting what I want to get done..done, if its Apple, Android or WP I just don't care. In todays world of business Windows is king and 9 will be the one Windows 7 companies will switch to. If MS screw it up and enterprise sticks to 7 then MS have a real problem on their hands, however Satya seems to be a breath of fresh air after Balmer and is already shaping the MS beast into a lean mean Windows producing machine.

 

[Great deal]

I actually don't play any of the Xboxes- the wife and kids do.

Office clones are a dime-a-dozen. What can't I do on one of those that can be in Office? Probably nothing. Don't even get me started about why, when I put in an appointment in Outlook, the same appointment will show a 15 minute reminder even though I have reminders turned off? This issue was actually resolved for about a month, but somehow, someway, MS managed to **** it up again.

I'm not changing my server. I am not changing the machines the wife and kids use. And I will not change the system running my flight simulator. But my personal desktop doesn't need to be as messed-up as it is. I mean, it's 2014 and MS still can't make a music app or browser? Wow.

Maybe I should get a job with them- I certainty can't screw things up any worse.

I run a recruitment company so I see hundreds of CV's a day. I used Word alternatives and the formatting is just not the same. Clients also use Word and to send them any documents that are not saved in the correct format just demonstrates unprofessionalism, this is the same across the whole MS suite. The best piece of office software MS have produced is Onenote, iPad version sucks, try it out, its now the central core of everything I do in terms of setting goals, projects and tracking them.

 

[DavidinCT]

Very interesting, as the OP seems a little stressed out, a lot of it I agree on. A lot of things on WP 8.1 went backwards from 8.0, no question (Music, Xbox hub and a few others but, those are the big ones for me).

IE 11, yea, POS, Firefox is better from being able to view sites and being stable. Windows 8 ? Don't get me started....it's got it's good points sure but, where it fails, it is a major fail, not a minor one. Why call it Windows if every "metro" app runs full screen ????

I am also buried in a Microsoft world, Windows Servers (in my home), 3 Xbox 360's (one RROD), Xbox one, Home theater PC based off Windows Media Center, 8.1 tablet, Windows Phone (ICON) and the list goes on of products I have had from Microsoft, even typing on a Microsoft Keyboard and Mouse right now....

The new path Microsoft has taken kind of sets me back too. Trying to move to a touch screen world and TRYING to merge that with a desktop interface (needed for compatibility) is a mess in my eyes. What I mean is, if you run a older app, it only shows on the desktop taskbar but, if you run a metro app, it runs on a DIFFERENT task bar. Really ? Who was the moron who thought this up ?

I thought for a moment about moving my world to a Apple or Lunix based system but, that was a failue. Apple I hate, do to their policies and their pricing on stuff ($30 for a 6' Lightning cable ? Really ?) and Lunix ? Cant get a 10th of the apps I need for it, so that trashes that idea.

Windows Phone is a fresh idea when you look over iOS and Android, it's different, seamless and smooth. iOS a very old style to it, just a sea of icons, nothing like you could do with WP. I will stick with WP for a while longer, unless in 2 or so years, this "app gap" does not catch up.

As for MS OS's go, history has show that MS releases a great OS, then a crappy one....for example....Windows 98 was great, Windows ME was junk....Windows XP was great but, Windows Vista was junk....Windows 7 is great and Windows 8...let's see..from the over all reviews and corporate acceptance, it's not exactly great and the numbers show that.

I'm not going anywhere but, MS better impress me with this so called Windows 9....or I might start looking a new direction too...

Good luck on your choice

 

[colinkiama]

If you son't like the surface pro 3's size, just get a pro 2. The i5 version has similar specs to the sp3.

 

[AymanWP93]

The only thing i would say is :
If you are really fed up with MS service , than at least switch to Linux/Android rather than OSX/iOS.
I was an Apple ****** and trust me : Of All the Tech Giants out there ( MS , Apple , Google , Samsung , Amazon , RIM , Nokia , Sony , etc ... ) , i learned , from my experiences , that Apple is by far , the most disrespectful tech company.
First , Apple Products are so much overrated. How do they dare sell a phone with a 1.5 GHz dual core and 1 gb of RAM and with the most closed ecosystem for more than 700$ ?? Apple iPhones only sell well today because IT'S THE HYPE. Apple created the smartphone , but since the 3/4 Last years , it didn't evolve. iPhones have a dull interface , a very closed ecosystem with no file sharing system. The only thing that keeps iOS alive is The Store. But that's not only for the iPhone !
The MacBook is the most overrated laptop in the world. I mean you can buy a PC with equivalent hardware for half the price ( with Win 8 preinstalled ). Again , the only things that keeps Apple alive in this segment is the Hype of the Brand. Having an Apple Product makes you look like cool. But in terms of Technology , Apple is behind every other tech giant. You should focus about how apple invest billions of dollars in Marketing and Ad Campaign instead of R&D. Still , they consider themselves above all the rest.
The only thing i would tell you is : Anything but Apple. Don't follow the Apple Fan-boys zombie crowd.

 

[KarmaEcrivain94]

The only thing i would say is :
If you are really fed up with MS service , than at least switch to Linux/Android rather than OSX/iOS.
I was an Apple ****** and trust me : Of All the Tech Giants out there ( MS , Apple , Google , Samsung , Amazon , RIM , Nokia , Sony , etc ... ) , i learned , from my experiences , that Apple is by far , the most disrespectful tech company.
First , Apple Products are so much overrated. How do they dare sell a phone with a 1.5 GHz dual core and 1 gb of RAM and with the most closed ecosystem for more than 700$ ?? Apple iPhones only sell well today because IT'S THE HYPE. Apple created the smartphone , but since the 3/4 Last years , it didn't evolve. iPhones have a dull interface , a very closed ecosystem with no file sharing system. The only thing that keeps iOS alive is The Store. But that's not only for the iPhone !
The MacBook is the most overrated laptop in the world. I mean you can buy a PC with equivalent hardware for half the price ( with Win 8 preinstalled ). Again , the only things that keeps Apple alive in this segment is the Hype of the Brand. Having an Apple Product makes you look like cool. But in terms of Technology , Apple is behind every other tech giant. You should focus about how apple invest billions of dollars in Marketing and Ad Campaign instead of R&D. Still , they consider themselves above all the rest.
The only thing i would tell you is : Anything but Apple. Don't follow the Apple Fan-boys zombie crowd.

Agreed. And if Google were a little more mature, they would be awesome (like msft)

 

[BobLobIaw]

No matter how good your points might be, throwing a tantrum won't help your cause because people won't take you seriously. Best of luck with your new ecosystem.