badmigraine 0 Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I am in pain and feel the need for the following: 1. Instant On, Instant Off. Get it? No boot-up time. Just like turning on a calculator or a TV. OK, maybe you wait 2-3 seconds, but not 2-3 minutes. A corollary of this would be not having to click 3-4 things (including the "Start" button!) to shut down. Another corollary would be that the "Off" function would work even in the worst of crashes, so I wouldn't have to hold down the button or unplug then remove the battery. I know you know what I am talking about. 2. Perfect Crash and Support Service It would go like this: The computer would hardly ever crash...maybe once per month. In a crash situation, you'd get a pop-up box saying "We're sorry, but your computer system is about to fail. We have stopped all computer operations before the crash. Please click here to save all work and automatically fix the problem. Whether or not the automatic fix works, within 5 minutes you will receive an explanatory e-mail from [Microsoft/Apple] explaining in plain language the cause of this problem, how it is fixed, and what we are doing to guarantee that this problem never occurs again. In-depth technical explanations, should you wish them, are also available by a simple one-click request. Please accept our apologies for this inconvenience." Yeah. I would like that. And so would you. 3. Permanent Condom Feature. With this unheard-of feature, a single click would render your system totally anonymous, totally virus-free, spyware-free, hack-free, etc. No exceptions. No backdoors. No excuses. 4. Anylanguage Menu Feature. Why this wasn't done properly a decade ago is beyond me. Don't bother to tell me about single byte vs. double byte code etc. With this feature, there would only be one version of the OS distributed worldwide, and you could simply choose from a pull-down menu which language you wanted all system and software menus to appear in. No reboot required either. Like choosing the subtitle language on a DVD. It's incredibly frustrating to get puzzle-like menu items and error dialog boxes in YOUR OWN language, let alone a foreign language. But there they are. How much would it cost MS or Apple, for Pete's sake, to make a bit of room on the installation CD for this feature? Apple had this capability awhile ago, though it was hard to implement, and Win2000 Professional Edition (only available to companies--WHY, Bill, WHY?!--had it a couple years back. Not only would this be a boon to people like us who live in at least two linguistic worlds, but also think what a great language-learning tool it would be for kids all over the world to have fun toggling their system from English to Spanish, from Chinese to Japanese, from Polish to Russian, etc. What is the deal with this? Why? Why? Why can't we do this right now?! Well, I can think of a lot more features that I am crippled without, but I want to make room for all the wish-list items that the rest of you SJG posters are clamoring to air in front of all the Internet. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 To be fair (it certainly goes against the grain, and I'm making a huge effort), my latest computer starts up pretty damn quicksmart. It's not instant, but it's also not long enough to get annoyed. So a combination of Windows XP and a fast processor is recommended here. Microsoft does seem to have an automatic fault reporting system, and they do send updates to their software, so one assumes that the support service is being taken care of, after a fashion. A multi-language function could be more annoying than anything else. The translation software I have presents me long menu lists of languages I don't need, and it annoys me. While it's not a bad idea in itself, it would need an option to select languages in which you have an interest. Until software makers learn to think like users (and everything suggests that this a very long way off), I'd rather not have more functions like that. As for what I want, can every interface item please have a 'don't show me this again' button (unobtrusive) so that I can disappear functions I never use? I am soooooo tired of having the goddamn clipboard menu pop up in Word everytime I inadvertantly copy something twice. The clipboard doesn't need to be a full-featured application in itself for crying out loud. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 my latest computer starts up pretty damn quicksmart >> give it a couple of months when it get weighed down in its own code, it will slow down pretty quick. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Re: point 2 I would not be happy if my computer crashed once a month. I would also certainly not want Bill to contact me and let me know anything about my computer without me sending it to him. (This feature is pretty much already in place BTW) The links to the knowledge base after a crash are a good way to do this. I would like better shell customization. When I tell a window that I want it to be in List mode I don't want to open it up in a few days and have it be in Thumbnail mode. How does that happen? An advanced registry interface would be cool. Registry change tracking while we are at it to stop all those pesky spyware worms that are infesting XP PCs these days. Less digital rights management - let's just nip this little bastard in the bud before it isn't safe to turn on your computer. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 > When I tell a window that I want it to be in List mode I don't want to open it up in a few days and have it be in Thumbnail mode Damn right! How is it that the computer can be so forgetful? scouser, I've had my 'puter for a good few months now, and it's not getting any slower. It always pays to get the fastest processor you can possibly afford... Link to post Share on other sites
AET 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 If they could be a little more user friendly all round, and better assistance, I'd be happy. Get some new software and its usually a massive task getting your ed round it. Link to post Share on other sites
cal 6 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Instant on/off - definitely. I hate waiting for the thing to power up. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Those wanting the on/off function on a computer can you not suffice your requirement with sleep mode and log off/on which is much quicker than the present on/off. I agree being instant like most other periphial devices would be great. Perhaps you can have a background load to boot the HD? Link to post Share on other sites
rachael 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Perhaps you can have a background load to boot the HD a WHAT??? Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Author Share Posted October 8, 2003 Ocean, maybe I didn't explain it properly, because I couldn't understand your comment about multi-language systems. I'm not talking about machine translation of content such as menus and on-screen items...that seems decades away, if the current state of machine or web-based auto-translators is any indication. Instead, I'm just talking about collecting all of the currently-available language versions of MS menus, dialog boxes, help files, etc. (these already exist in each localized language version of Windows), and making them available to anyone who buys any language version of Windows, anywhere. You open Control Panel, click on "system language preference", a list of all available Windows languages appears, then you can click on your favorite language...German, for example. From then on, until you change it, your PC looks just like one bought in Berlin...you're effectively running German Windows XP. When your Chinese pal visits from Shanghai, he can toggle your system to "Chinese" and be up and running in that language. When he goes to the bathroom, you can quickly toggle to English or Russian to screw him up. They already have this feature on Windows 2000 Pro (only available to companies in licenses of 5 or more), but it required a re-boot and was still slightly buggy...MS had only succeeded in internationalizing 96% or so of the OS using Unicode. Some guys at my company were using it. The company never offered it to me and I had to use Japanese Windows...not a problem on ordinary days, but let's say I suddenly wanted to use an advanced Word chart feature, or read the help file for some weird Excel thing...it would have been confusing enough in English, but in Japanese, I just couldn't do it. Meanwhile the guy in the next room could just toggle his system to English and be up and running. Mogski showed me that Apple's OSX can do this, but that also required a re-boot and some stuff still showed up as martian characters. Maybe Apple has perfected that now? My wish was that this feature would be bug-free, available to individual users (not just companies), and not require a re-boot. If it were readily available, my Japanese wife and I could exist with only one computer in the house. She could use it in Japanese, I could use it in English. Sure there are inconvenient and marginally acceptable workarounds for this...dual boot systems, installing different language versions of apps, etc. Or just having 2 computers. I and some others on this board, you included, probably know a lot about that arcane corner of never-perfected bilingual computing, because we've had to deal with it for years. As to why this problem still persists, there are two answers. First, it is actually quite a technical challenge to have a system that toggles 100% perfectly from one language to another. Second (and most important), there is little incentive to do so when the many isolated, localized versions of windows in each language sell so well and clowns like us have to buy another version or another PC when we move...what computer software or hardware company would complain about THAT state of affairs? And having localized versions limits piracy, just like region coding of DVDs...in other words, if you could put on 1-2 CDs a version of XP that could be used anywhere in the world and toggled into any language, then the entire globe would be flooded with illegal copies of this single goldmine OS. Link to post Share on other sites
oblivion 5 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Wouldnt things like different keyboard layouts etc then be a problem? Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Author Share Posted October 8, 2003 Yes, but they already are under the current state of affairs...dual boot system users don't usually have two separate keyboards, though I know a couple people in Tokyo who used to... Remember KanjiWord and those programs that let you input Japanese on a US-version computer? And the MS IME that came later and obviated them? If it bugs you, you can re-map your keyboard. This feature already exists. Most people prefer to stick to one layout though, even if it is not the one that matches the language version they are using on-screen. Hunt-and-peck typers excepted, of course. I've used the Japan layout keyboard for so long, I actually prefer it to the US English layout now. I'm running Japanese Windows ME, with a number of English MS apps installed: US English Word, Excel, Powerpoint. But my IE and Outlook Express are in Japanese. I don't have any trouble with it anymore, because after 8 years of this crap I've gotten used to it. But when my family or friends stay over, I have to babysit them on my computer. And don't get me started on trying to set up my router and home network using Japanese Win ME. I got so confused, I actually borrowed a friend's US-version ME to have a look at the exact same menus, in English. Know what? I couldn't understand THEM, either. It's then that I realize that there has to be a better way. Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Author Share Posted October 8, 2003 Mogs, sleep and hibernate features on all my Windows systems have been really buggy. Some drivers fail to wake up, and things always seem to go wrong after a short time. In particular, audio- and image-intensive stuff never works on my IBM or Vaio after a sleep. Which is not to say this isn't a great idea...just that its implementation has been bungled along with so many other things. Does sleep/hibernate work perfectly on your Apples then? Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 I only reboot my entire system every month out of preference or when I load up a software fix for my many applications. Other than that the thing is as stable as a concrete block. As for the multi language thingy there on a Mac you don't actually reboot. You log off and log on under a different alias which you preset and your entire systme and all the third party programs are all of a sudden in your choosen language.(Mine Japanese.) I can of course use Japanese in my English environment on my Mac, but programs like Safari which are buggy as it is anyway, do not seem to like more than one search in Japanese on Yahoo or Google at a time and sometimes cannot read Japanese characters on the screen. However, Japanese lang soft in the Mac ahs and will always be my best and easiets to use over Windows. It was buggy about 8 years back often crashing my system, but so to then was the system soft. I can honestly say that in my year of a OSX I have never had a system failure and only program failures. This is more to do with the Unix than anythying else I suspect. BTW, this is not intended to be a plug for Mac nor a war or Windows. It is just how I see it so feel free to rebut if you will, I will not bite. Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Author Share Posted October 8, 2003 Quote: I only reboot my entire system every month out of preference or when I load up a software fix for my many applications. Incredible!! I want that!! My sis and her whole company use OSX on great stonking Apple machines, and they crash all the time. But probably only during incredibly memory- and processor-intensive graphics rendering operations. I can't see OS X or Windows XP crashing much when just used for e-mail, web browsing and the occasional Word document (mostly resumes and complaint letters). These are my main uses. As reported elsewhere, my Win ME crashes 3-4 times every day, and has since I bought it. Another thing: if my wife and I must have 2 computers, dammit, then let's do one PC and one Mac. Why the hell not. Anything is better than the steaming fecal broth we use right now. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 I have yet to have a system crash with over 2 years of XP. Programs sometimes go down, but that doesn't affect the system. However, I shut down every night, so I don't know about long term stability. migs, ME is widely known as a complete disaster area. My wife had it on her awful Sotec laptop, and the whole thing was just a vortex of unhappiness, frustration, and wasted time. BTW, I see your point about multiple languages - my comment was not particularly relevant to what you said in fact. Some of my translation software sometimes presents me with English and sometimes Japanese menus. This gives one the feeling of generalized and unidentifiable unease reported by those infested with lice. You know something is wrong and that something bad is happening, but you don't know quite what. I'd like to get some bug powder for that. Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Author Share Posted October 8, 2003 Ta Ocean and Mogs. Looks like the only thing I'm going to take away from this thread is that I need a new computer. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Or a course in puter programming which opens up a whole new line of code! migs I have said in it the past and I say it again, YOU CANNOT BE PLEASED unless it is wearing boots and holding a whip and kitted out with some electrical stuff that is meant for other purposes than those you use them for. Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites
TheOrange 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Keyboad only being backup. Talking to the machine. Link to post Share on other sites
IP 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Your number 2 sounds a bit worrying and not something I want either. No way! Just give me decent product that does not crash and actually works. Thats all I want. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 On number 2 there, I understand that there are actually some programs that automatically do this anyway (not the extent where they send you a reply back) for all who have BB connections. It is written somewhere in the fine print of the software liscence that NO-ONE reads and just clicks yes to get on with the already time consuming software installation. Take the time next time and have a wee read. Link to post Share on other sites
echineko 1 Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 I would like to see more eary to understand message. Sometimes I just don't know its meaning at all, and I must answer Yes or Cancel. It's worrying Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 I'd like to have a dancing echineko on my toolbar... Link to post Share on other sites
DumbStick 13 Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 A "CLEAN" button. Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 A clean button would be good. And someway to really get rid of software we don't want on a machine. I always seem to get messages saying that it would be "dangerous" to delete a file or something can't be deleted. It's a real pain. Link to post Share on other sites
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