Hacker News Reader

Comment by nntwozz | Hacker News Reader

"The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste." — Steve Jobs

Still true now and probably forever.

There are a handful of times when the stars and planets aligned and the Microsoft desktop experience was consistent, coherent, and I dare say, pleasant:

* 1999: Windows 98 + Office 97 + Internet Explorer 5.5 + Visual Studio 6.0

* 2005: Windows XP (with Themes disabled) + Office 2003 + Internet Explorer 6 + Visual Studio 2005 (and Windows Media Player 9 gets an honourable mention)

* 2010: Windows 7 + Office 2010 + Visual Studio 2008 (but using Chrome instead of IE)

But between 2012 and 2019 (i.e. the Windows 8, Metro, and UWP kool-aid in Windows 10) it was naught but an incoherent mess - and since 2013, all releases of Office have been mildly grating.

I'll concede that, as far as superficial aesthetics are concerned, Office 2023 on Windows 11 looks nice, but that's honestly the only improvement I can cite; Windows 11 is a no-go for me so long as it has a lobotomized taskbar and start-menu - and I really don't think I'm missing out on anything except crows-feet on my face from constant frowning...

The whole snippet, for anyone who hasn't seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KdlJlHAAbQ

(It's great vintage Steve Jobs. He's trying to sound high-minded for a documentary-interview, but he really can't resist getting some digs in.)

That’s Steve’s greatest interview, when he was in the wilderness between Apple and … well Apple. My favourite part is his whole conversation about the printers Apple started when he was there. He waxes poetics about how innovative they were at making laser printers for the Mac. When he just stuffed a Canon printing engine in a plastic shell, and had Canon do it for them. But to him, the focus is on the innovation of desktop publishing, and he’s not wrong.

Lol, Apple is so anti-consumer the invented some of the most anti-consumer practices in use today.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com