Vista isn’t really that crappy – says Gizmodo this morning.  Well, I won’t tell you what I think ( I’ve done my fair share), I'll  just let  you decide.  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words… well, then how about a video?

Yes, all I was trying to delete empty folder structures from my own computer, using an account with full Admin rights. Makes me wonder whose permission I need.. Bill Gates?  Steve Ballmer? 

Incidentally, I am typing this on another Microsoft product – the one I actually think is really good – Windows Live Writer.  Too bad I recently clicked on an update link and downloaded the latest Beta version.  If you have that – beware!  Don’t switch to source mode, it’s shortcut for crash… not the long crash that brings your system down – speedy, immediate fly-away.. as if you never had your program open.. or you work saved.   Of course I can’t just revert, going back to a previous release of a program is typically a nightmare…

In the meantime my little McAfee icon is showing heavy activity – this morning it forced me to reboot again, having updated itself.  On this dual-core machine it’s not too bad, but on the slower, older laptop it’s lethal… it can get busy just maintaining and protecting itself, leaving me with no available resources at all.  I can’t wait to switch to better Anti-Virus protection from the Cloud. 

Recently I detailed the unnecessarily complex and wasteful process of reviewing a presentation: a lot of hassle, and a huge footprint, when doing it online would have been a lot easier.

Need I go on? Desktop software is a failed model. It served us well for the first two decades of personal computing, when a typical household had one computer, or none at all – and mostly, when we did not have the Net. Today having several computers is no longer a luxury, but keeping them synchronized, protected, the OS, tools and applications updated is becoming a major nightmare.  Time for a better model: accessing your apps and data from anywhere, anytime (as long as you’re connected), never get obsolete version, and easily collaborate as you need it.

Yes, I know we’ll always have at least an OS and a browser of some sort.. although if Google has their way, the bowser will become the OS.   And if innovators like DeviceVM have their way,  I can use a Splashtop-blessed  Netbook or lightweight Green PC and even feel good about it.