"I wish Microsoft would release an update to Windows for ..." feature list

Let's get a list of wished-for features started here. Some from me:

- Reorder Vista taskbar items
- Multiple virtual desktop workspaces

 

I would add that Windows should add seamless switching between these desktops; there is no shame from copying from, say, Compiz D). Developers do it all the time. That aside, I have my own specifics:

- clean up the Control Panel; there are far too many, and users are almost always searching for a specific function. Finding away to give users quick access to what system setting they are searching for would be amazing.

- find a way to simplify the management of installed programs

- improve the defragmentation tool by adding visual feedback

- improve the management of external volumes such as memory sticks by making it easier to eject them

- lower the absurd pricing on retail copies of Windows

- improve System Restore function by making it clear what system state users are restoring; the current system relies on time stamps to convey the system state to the user. This must be improved!

- transition all Windows systems to 64-bit; considering that most computers on sale today are pushing the ~3.5GB limit, it is time-consuming and annoying for the consumer to have to make the transition.

- disable remote login functions in Windows by default; now there is a decent security idea.

- bundle more programs with Windows, such as a basic office suite. Current versions of Windows are almost useless out-of-the-box. Why does the user have to install functionality onto Windows??

 

But Bog, you're asking them to take away all of the cute little, erm... quirks, that make .Windows what it is!

 

IE7 freezing...It doesn't matter if it is a fresh install or old install...IE7 freezes constandly, particularly on pages with flash. I recognize this could just as easily be a flash problem, but there is no solution to this issue.

 

True, but I don't think any of those demands (with the possible exception of pricing) are unreasonable; none of them require a complete redesign of Windows, merely improvements to UI functionality. But I was very serious about the CP, SR, and program management suggestions.

 

Oh, I wasn't saying you were being unreasonable; far from it, I think that list of requests was the soul of reasonability - that's precisely why it would turn .Windows into the Un-Windows, at least in my humble little opinion.

 

IE7 uninstallable.

Good riddance!

 

I don't know about Vista, but on XP that is still an option: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927177


I'm still using XP, but that doesn't mean I can't dream... (and I second most everything Bog said, especially about the current, semi-mystical system restores)

--A way to rearrange open items on the start bar

--Greater freedom in setting file associations and behaviors

--Built in encryption and compression (that work as well as AxCrypt and WinZip respectively)

--A better way of setting the folder viewing options. Perhaps some generalizable rules rather than remembering settings for a list of individual directories.


Also, while I agree with Bog that more bundled apps would be nice, I think I'd settle for the ones they do bundle being halfway decent. E.G. how about a text editor that can compete with Notepad++ so it's actually good for something, a useful media player that plays most formats (like MPC say, as an achievable baseline), or a document viewer that can at least open and print the common formats (like the Microsoft Works formats that Microsoft never has supported, or PDF). Lets really think outside the box for a minute and imagine a day when MSpaint is actually a useful image viewer and editor as opposed to a joke. Years of using standard build XP machines at my college has taught me to hate almost all the Windows buit in apps for their lack of general utility.

 

Isn't it off by default in Vista? I am pretty sure I had to enable this explicitly.

Bundled programs. You are kidding, right? The Europeans will go ballistic so will the FTC and the Open Office folks. Remember all the lawsuits and flack MS got just for having internet explorer as part of the package. Adding an office suite would start another round of "bundling" and "restraint of trade" whining.

Gary

 

Wrt the bundled programs, I don't mean anything that can compete with MS Office or OpenOffice; just something to barely getting by, like viewing and printing .doc, .docx, and PDF documents. Users could then install full functionality with whatever program they wish.

 

Not a snowball's chance in ... of that ever happening. The anti-trust lawyers would all be sharpening their knives for their pound of flesh.

I agree with you that it would be great, but in the litigious atmosphere already surrounding anything that Microsoft includes in the box, I just don't see it happening.

Gary

 

I suppose so.

 

Taskix is your friend. Been reordering the taskbar in XP for almost a year now, and it works in Vista, too. The developer is planning an update to make its other features work with Win7, as well. I miss this program when I run Win7. The Taskbar just isn't the same without it.

There's an XP Power Toy for that. It version-checks, though, so you're out of luck if you're running Vista.

Agreed. Windows 7 addresses this fairly well with the Search box in the Control Panel, though. It hasn't failed me yet.

Care to expand? Add/Remove Programs seems fairly good to me, at least when programs' install programs work correctly.

This is present in at least Windows 95 through Windows XP. I think the reason they took it out in Vista is because it isn't all that accurate. You'll notice this by how insanely slow the first 10% is in XP, and then it gets relatively reasonable for the remaining 90% or so. The Windows 95 visual feedback actually seems more accurate, but I'm not sure that its array-style representation would work well with the huge hard drives we have now. But I agree, some degree of visual feedback is very nice to have.

This probably could be streamlined. But really, who uses "Safely Remove Volume"?

Entirely agreed.

Actually, now that I look at it, it's not that bad. In XP, at least. Maybe it's worse in Vista? In XP, go to Start->Accessories->System Restore, click the Next button, and you get a nice little calendar with dates and times of the restores and descriptions of what the restore points are of. The descriptions seem OK, too - for example it tells me when I installed/removed a Language Interface Pack. I'll have to see if it's still that nice in Win7.

Having run Win7 x64, I have to agree. There's really no reason not to at this point.

Windows does have built-in compression. I'm not sure how good it is exactly, but it does help. I saved 2.2 GB out of 12 GB on one of my drives, with all sorts of files on the drive, with all sorts of files on the drive (XP).

After seeing how Vista does with folder viewing options, I'm not sure we want Microsoft messing with that too much. I'll keep my nice accurate XP folder memory, thank you...

It's still no GIMP, but Paint actually has improved significantly in Win7. By far the most significant changes since at least 3.11 to 95. Quite possibly ever.

As for .doc, Wordpad does open .doc files. At least in XP. .docx is out in left field, but for most Word documents you'll be okay.

Yeah, that's the problem. Hence one of my suggestions:

*A program manager that would help you find reputable programs. Similar to the RPM Package Manager in many variants of Linux. Obviously there's the issue of who would decide what was included, but it would probably stimulate competition if anything. You'd be able to choose IE/Firefox/Opera/Safari, or Adobe/Foxit/whatever other PDF viewer you want, without having to find out about it somewhere on the Internet first. Of course, I can only see this happening if the EU forces Microsoft to.

*A better Calculator. The one that comes with Windows is just too weak. The XP Powertoy one does a lot to help that, but still is no TI-83. And it leaves Vista and Win2K users in the lurch.

*Better native codec support in WMP. They still don't have Ogg Vorbis in WMP 12, for crying out loud! That's the format of Wikipedia! Instead everyone just downloads Apple's QuickTime plugin. I use the CCCP to play it in WMP instead, but it's about time Microsoft included this.

*It's way too late now, but it would've been nice if a DVD decryptor had been included with XP. WMP Classic and VLC Player do the trick, though.

*There's a couple Win7 features that would be nice to have in XP, like the Snipping Tool. But there has to be some reason to upgrade to a newer operating system, so I don't blame them for keeping it in Win7.

*A much improved Command Prompt. That's the one area where Linux puts Windows to shame. It's not enough for me to want to use Linux any more than I have to, but it's certainly a huge potential area of improvement. And as far as I can tell, Win7 hasn't done it.

And what I agreed with above.

But on the whole, I'm quite satisfied with the native XP feature set. It ain't perfect, but on the whole, once you download a few additional pieces of software (better browser, codecs, PDF viewer mostly) it gets the job done quite well.

 

Do the Europeans have any expressive mode other than ballistic, when it comes to Microsoft?

 

Make it so that my Windows doesn't automatically and arbitrarily reorder the way I organize my folders. For instance, if I say I want my files to be in list view with details, I don't want to open that same folder the next day and see large icons that aren't sorted according to type and so on.

 

Can I get an "AMEN", brothers and sisters?

AMEN!

Gary

 

Once you have a program that automatically offers you different versions of a program you have a more messy option.

It isn't useful at all for elderly people, introduced to computers for the first time in their 50ies.

But yes, an Office Suite etcetera would be nice in Windows...

But there are these money drinking tax wasting "artefacts" in Brussels that will legislate anything except the things that need legislating.
_______________
Useful tool:
It would be nice to have a Microsoft tool to clean up temporary files, an the registry.
Not like the built in tool but more like CCleaner, maybe even more thorough.

 

Amen to that, even though I'm an atheist.

This is a problem that has been plaguing Vista for far too long (maybe even XP). This bug should have been fixed ASAP.

 

Just to add for me, I really like the ribbon so I hope Microsoft makes all of their programs using this feature.

- Windows Live Messenger
- Windows Media Player (maybe a minimized version, but I like the big logo at the corner)
- Maybe IE?