I agree that Windows is far from perfect (I'm mostly a Mac user) but IMO the biggest issue is complexity. For tech savvy users all these are non issues, but for my Mom it would be impossible.
OTOH she can operate an iPhone just fine.
Fitt’s law is a good guidepost for efficient GUI design.
Don’t break backwards compatibility.
The GUI should immediately show the information the user demands when he commands it to.
Unnecessary UI elements should be hide-able.
Mouse gestures are underutilized and should be standardized.
The UI shouldn’t interfere with the user’s tasks; hitting the Windows key shouldn’t kill your game.
GUI is actually pronounced “Gee-you-eye” and not “gooey”.
Steve Jobs was actually GUI Hitler and Microsoft killed baby GUI Jesus.
I always thought acronyms were pronounced phonetically whenever possible, like NASA, SCUBA, etc.
Even if that's not the case, "gooey" has become ubiquitous enough to be the colloquial pronunciation.
Consistency is not our strong suit.