csua.org/u/lsx -> gizmodo.com/5019516/classic-clips-bill-gates-chews-out-microsoft-over-xp
Bill Gates saying good-bye to Microsoft this week, we're realizing more by the day how much we'll miss the guy. And when reading through the many interviews floating around this week, we came across this jewel from 2003. A leaked memo from Microsoft, it's several pages of Gates just laying into his design and programming staff for--among other issues--his personal experience when trying to install Windows Moviemaker. And it's a very fulfilling read if you've ever been frustrated by a Microsoft product. From: Bill Gates Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM To: Jim Allchin Cc: Chris Jones (WINDOWS); Anoop Gupta (RESEARCH) Subject: Windows Usability Systematic degradation flame I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don't drive usability issues. I decided to download (Moviemaker) and buy the Digital Plus pack ... The first 5 times I used the site it timed out while trying to bring up the download page. These names make stuff like: C:\Documents and Settings\billg\My Documents\My Pictures seem clear. So I gave up and sent mail to Amir saying - where is this Moviemaker download? So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated. The site was pathetically slow but after 6 seconds of waiting up it came. I thought for sure now I would see a button to just go do the download. It told me to go to Windows Update and do a bunch of incantations. Why should I have to go somewhere else and do a scan to download moviemaker? Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. Doesn't Windows update know some key to talk to Windows? This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff. This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn't use it for anything else during this time. I reboot every night -- why should I reboot at that time? Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state. So I got back up and running and went to Windows Updale again. I forgot why I was in Windows Update at all since all I wanted was to get Moviemaker. So I get a bunch of confusing stuff but sure enough one of them is Moviemaker. The download is fast but the Install takes many minutes. At some point I get told I need to go get Windows Media Series 9 to download. This time I get dialogs saying things like "Open" or "Save". The download is fast and the install takes 7 minutes for this thing. I go to my add/remove programs place to make sure it is there. Microsoft Autoupdate Exclusive test package, Microsoft Autoupdate Reboot test package, Microsoft Autoupdate testpackage1. Microsoft AUtoupdate testpackage2, Microsoft Autoupdate Test package3. Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable? This program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up. Later I have listed things like Windows XP Hotfix see Q329048 for more information. Some of the patches just things like Q810655 instead of saying see Q329048 for more information. So I give up on Moviemaker and decide to download the Digital Plus Package. I get told I need to go enter a bunch of information about myself. I enter it all in and because it decides I have mistyped something I have to try again. I try (typing) the right stuff in 5 times and it just keeps clearing things out for me to type them in again. com is a terrible website I haven't run Moviemaker and I haven't got the plus package. The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind. When Seattle Pi recently asked Gates about the email, he replied, "There's not a day that I don't send a piece of e-mail ... There was no mention as to whether or not Gates had time to take names.
Also, it gives a more human feel to Mr Gates that I don't think many of us felt before now. Case in point: Windows updates STILL take 10 minutes to install, 10 seconds to download.
Their inability to clearly convey a message is evident that they should simply shut up. I am not speaking about spelling or grammer, i am speaking about context and content. This statment does not reference whether he was searching for something, or any of the steps he used. It will get you much further than any of your skills, awards, or laundry lists of web technologies on your resume. Well really everyone else in the company still thinks youre just a retarded as the developer from Grandma's Boy.
I thought his email was succinct, especially if you've ever been on a MS page before you'd understand the silly "top5" things they list, etc. Remember he's speaking to the heads of departments here. They shouldn't need to waste time discussing the intricacies of their projects.
QAdam: Uh he was writing to the people that would know exactly what he was talking about. When you search for something it brings up what it thinks are the top 5 most "wanted" results for that search. If you what you actually wanted is not in those top 5 you can click a button which expands a "tree" that contains all the other results of the search. The people he was writing to knew exactly what he was referring to.
Experiences FAR worse than this have been shipped by Microsoft, with astronomical price tags affixed to their "solutions". Don't get me wrong, it's nice on some level to know that Bill Gates does care about user experience. I always figured he did, and his ability to convey his frustration is no surprise... But the bottom line is that usability is not the driver behind why a Microsoft product ships or not. The product's existence (to counter some rival offering, probably), and your dependence upon it, is far more important to Microsoft than its quality.
Plus, it was obviously meant a complaint email to cover a lot of things in a short time, and highlight an issue. After something like this, you would expect a meeting for each step of the process to be gone over with a fine tooth comb, so extreme detail in the first email would not be necessary. There *are* times in tech support and dev when more detailed information is required, i agree, and it bugs the hell out of me too when people can't communicate properly, but this is not one of those times.
QAdam: "Their inability to clearly convey a message is evident that they should simply shut up" "it is nice to see that Mr Gates writting is right up to par with most other people in Dev" I wouldn't get too comfortable on your high horse.
he picks out just about every single thing that windows users hate. he would have blown his top to find out that the program is absolutely worthless, impossible to use and freezes up everytime you try to import anything. this article made my day, and i was already having a good day.
QAdam: Maybe you shouldn't preface that with "Speaking as a QA Engineer"... The QA I've worked with don't know how to to ANYTHING without step by step instructions. I don't think I should have to tell you how to wake up, put your clothing on, how to operate a car and drive to work, how to use the stairs, how to start your computer, and how to login to the network to start your workday. Yet, you ask a guy in QA where his test plan is and he proceeds to freak the fuck out because you didn't tell him what a "url" was and how to work an "address bar".
QAdam: Funny how the only person who says they have trouble understanding this email is the self-proclaimed QA Engineer. Maybe QA Engineers need to learn that people who use computers are just that. I'm an Apple service tech, and if I try to tell most customers what was really wrong with their machines, I get a blank stare. I usually have to dumb-down my explanation a bit, because not everyone understands techno-jargon.
If one of the richest persons in the world, The Man, The Head Honcho at Microsoft, can't get stuff like this fixed by his own people, what are the chances that this crap will ever get fixed? There are probably soo many layers of management, so many hands in the soup at MS that there isn't a chance i...
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