As a company, and as individuals, Microsoft (MSFT) really does value honesty and openness. Consider this: In a presentation yesterday at RSA 2008 in San Francisco, David Cross, a product unit manager at Microsoft, explained the design concept behind the User Account Control in Windows Vista in the following very honest, very open way:
“Elitist” seems to be the word of the week so I’ll apply it to those who “hate” this feature.
You can pretty much “see” that so-called “power users” hate this the most. That maybe true, but the “elitist” in them would like you to believe that everyone is a power user. Hmmm…
And then there are those that wage the usual “religious” OS wars. Well, it does take a power user to make most of those other OSes to work anyway, so I guess their annoyance is probably more valid.
But to the “usual user” (not casual – are there truly “casual users” anymore?), while it may be good for the ego to think that you’re a power user, the suggestion (and link) to disabling this feature permanently is probably the perfect example of why you’re not (a power user).
My reservation on VISTA is more on resource requirements, and I think that’s one area where annoyance is valid. But UAC? Quoting one poster (not verbatim):
“Being annoyed at this, is just like beying annoyed at a firewall prompting (or blocking) access.”
So to all those “annoyed” people, yeah, go ahead and turn your firewalls (or IPSes) off too. Then let’s talk about your happy surfing experience after a few days….
John Paczkowski has been poking fun at the tech industry and the personalities that drive it since 1997. From 1999 to 2007, he wrote the award-winning tech news Web log Good Morning Silicon Valley for the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's daily newspaper. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
12:58 AM: Breakfast: Two schools of fish from Tokyo Bay. Calories: 782,000. How I was feeling when I ate this: confused, irradiated, hating my size. 11:37 AM: Exercise: “Taxi Stomp” (alternating legs, for 30 blocks). Calories burned: 148,900,183.
1983. The Beatles announce their first tour in thirteen years, but likewise announce that Michael Jackson will be going on tour with them as a one gigantic mega-concert event.
Comments
“Elitist” seems to be the word of the week so I’ll apply it to those who “hate” this feature.
You can pretty much “see” that so-called “power users” hate this the most. That maybe true, but the “elitist” in them would like you to believe that everyone is a power user. Hmmm…
And then there are those that wage the usual “religious” OS wars. Well, it does take a power user to make most of those other OSes to work anyway, so I guess their annoyance is probably more valid.
But to the “usual user” (not casual – are there truly “casual users” anymore?), while it may be good for the ego to think that you’re a power user, the suggestion (and link) to disabling this feature permanently is probably the perfect example of why you’re not (a power user).
My reservation on VISTA is more on resource requirements, and I think that’s one area where annoyance is valid. But UAC? Quoting one poster (not verbatim):
“Being annoyed at this, is just like beying annoyed at a firewall prompting (or blocking) access.”
So to all those “annoyed” people, yeah, go ahead and turn your firewalls (or IPSes) off too. Then let’s talk about your happy surfing experience after a few days….
Posted by Ed Chavez at April 14th, 2008 at 8:59 am