Had microsfot paided the least attention to Dvorak back in the 80's, we might have been able to bypass all of those lovely "benefits" (read as "ugliness") that Mr' Gates's tight OS/App integration bestowed upon the DOS world.

I don't let MS do automatic anything on my windows box. I only use that box for a couple of apps, but when I need them, I really need them and can't afford to be blindsided by a box that won't boot.

I pick and choose the updates I apply and only then after they've been out in the wild for a month or so. I'm not going to let microsoft do any alpha/beta QA testing... errr... I meant "automatic updating," on my production box.