Topic: Interesting Read: MS and users resisting change

[Ceric]

In particular I like Smash_Brother to read this article.

Its an interesting article that talks about how Microsoft is having a hard time progressing on with its software because of the users.  Its much like on a computer old standards are hard to drop even if they make the whole machine faster.  It sort of goes with what I've been arguing for a while.

On the Mac side of things:

These two articles are interesting as well

[Galford]

Users are to blame in MS's case.  
As someone who works at a telecom company in Internet support I case safely say end users don't like change.  
Even change for the better.

On a side note, one reason OS X rarely crashes is Jobs controls both the software and hardware end of things.  
If MS did the same thing, Windows would never crash.

[Kairon]

Of course, if MS did the same thing, they'd have never gotten so big in the first place, right?

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[KDR_11k]

Quote
Originally posted by: Galford
On a side note, one reason OS X rarely crashes is Jobs controls both the software and hardware end of things.  
If MS did the same thing, Windows would never crash.

Indeed, since 2k my only system crashes were related to faulty hardware. There were other minor bugs though.

[GoldenPhoenix]

All I know is that I love Office 2007, it does so much and is so much easier to use.

[Shift Key]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ceric
Its an interesting article that talks about how Microsoft is having a hard time progressing on with its software because of the users.  Its much like on a computer old standards are hard to drop even if they make the whole machine faster.  It sort of goes with what I've been arguing for a while.

The example they cited there (new version of Hotmail similar to the Gmail interface - Web 2.0 applications for those playing along at home) is a case of Microsoft making a product that didn't suit the users that they targeted.

Unlike Gmail users, Hotmail users are not as computer savvy. They're more likely to be using dialup connections and are happy with the current Hotmail interface. So when Microsoft produced this spiffy new interface with functionality that mimics desktop functionality such as drag-and-drop, the problem is not the users but the software development process.

They didn't give enough consideration to what their current users wanted.
They didn't factor in how a new system would affect current Hotmail users.
They didn't consider user feedback in the development process, which is suprising considering this product would be applied to a large existing userbase.

Nailing down requirements and getting user feedback is the toughest part of software development. This just shows that even the biggest companies are not immune to this.

[UltimatePartyBear]

It's not so much that users resist change as it is that change for change's sake is an epidemic in new versions of software.  Rarely are changes made for the better.  They're usually flashy and designed to attract new users.

[Ceric]

Quote
Originally posted by: Shift Key

Quote
Originally posted by: Ceric
Its an interesting article that talks about how Microsoft is having a hard time progressing on with its software because of the users.  Its much like on a computer old standards are hard to drop even if they make the whole machine faster.  It sort of goes with what I've been arguing for a while.

The example they cited there (new version of Hotmail similar to the Gmail interface - Web 2.0 applications for those playing along at home) is a case of Microsoft making a product that didn't suit the users that they targeted.

Unlike Gmail users, Hotmail users are not as computer savvy. They're more likely to be using dialup connections and are happy with the current Hotmail interface. So when Microsoft produced this spiffy new interface with functionality that mimics desktop functionality such as drag-and-drop, the problem is not the users but the software development process.

They didn't give enough consideration to what their current users wanted.
They didn't factor in how a new system would affect current Hotmail users.
They didn't consider user feedback in the development process, which is suprising considering this product would be applied to a large existing userbase.

Nailing down requirements and getting user feedback is the toughest part of software development. This just shows that even the biggest companies are not immune to this.

I disagree a little here because they did change it to the classic side of things before releasing to the general public and made the necessary changes.  

GoldenPheonix:  I really like Office 2007 as well but sometimes the autoformatting for the space between lines is really really annoying when you just want to make a list.

MS is sort of Darned if they do Darned if they don't.  The vocal parties want MS to release new OS's in a more timely fashion and be more like OSX.  MS makes a move towards that direction and another party becomes vocal because its not what they had before and don't want to have to deal with an OS upgrade every say 2 years.  I'm sort of surprise that the ribbon and Office 2007 hasn't gotten really ribbed yet.  I personally enjoy using the ribbon and like.  I also really like the new shortcut key system.

Anyway personally I rather OS's follow a game console lifecycle, 4 year minimum - 10 years.  Then a generation that is just an enhancement and something totally new after that.  Yearly updates and the like are just to much of a hassle in IT land.  Service Packs are a little better because they don't really need a wipe to be done properly.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ceric
In particular I like Smash_Brother to read this article.

I can only imagine that MS must be pulling their hair out when they look at the situation of people not wanting to update to a newer Hotmail but then look at the situation of millions embracing the Wii for being so drastically different.

Quote
On a side note, one reason OS X rarely crashes is Jobs controls both the software and hardware end of things.
If MS did the same thing, Windows would never crash.

There's a hacked Intel version of OSX out there which can run on any Intel PC and it doesn't crash, either.

[Athrun Zala]

Quote
Originally posted by: Smash_Brother

Quote
On a side note, one reason OS X rarely crashes is Jobs controls both the software and hardware end of things.
If MS did the same thing, Windows would never crash.

There's a hacked Intel version of OSX out there which can run on any Intel PC and it doesn't crash, either.

sorta.

Regarding processors, it runs on A64s as well, and must have AT LEAST SSE3.... it does "work" on SSE2 processors, but due to the lack of SSE3, you have to either patch a lot of stuff (apparently Rosetta depends a lot on SSE3) or get a specially patched version.. either way, last I heard it wasn't too stable in these cases...

And regarding the rest, you need Mac-supported hardware. Otherwise setting things up can be a real pain, have very limited functionality, or might not even work...

EDIT: typos fixed... (I really shouldn't post at 3AM XD)

[Ian Sane]

Change is awesome when you're unsatisfied but it sucks when you're content.  At home I'm still on Office 97 because I'm content with that version and any new version has just added a bunch of annoying autoformating sh!t I don't like.  I don't want a new Hotmail because I'm content with Hotmail.  Right now I don't want a PC because I'm content with my PC.  However when I bought my current PC I was really annoyed with the limitations of my old PC and was happy to change.

[Smash_Brother]

...and you don't own a Wii, even though I offered to sell you one at cost.

[Galford]

KDR, what are you running on your 2k setup?

The only time I've seen 2k crash consistenly is when someone installed the lasted Lotus Notes or was using it on a mechine that was vastly out of spec for it.

Lotus Notes is the only piece of software I've ever used that is more bloated then Office.

Ian, nothing wrong with Office 97, though I prefer Office 2000 for my Win9x machines.  
It has most of the features from 97 but a lot more polish, but it does run a little slower.