Que sera, sera

I wanted to run some FPGA simulations, and some of the software (specifically the FPGA simulator environment) runs better on Windows, rather than Linux. So, like a good citizen, I go out and buy the 'Business' version of Vista, since that's all that Microsoft will licence to us Parallels users. That costs me $300 + Tax. I expect to get something I *want* when I pay that much money for something...

So, I get it home, install it under Parallels (which seems to go smoothly). So far, not so much of a rant... Have patience (something I am fast running out of)... What is it about Windows Vista that I dislike ? Pretty much everything in fact...

Top of the list has to be this 'genuine windows advantage' debacle. Advantage to *WHO* exactly ? I had started to download / install the FPGA software. Two thirds of the way through a 1.6GB (yes, Gigabyte) download, I get a popup saying it can't tell whether the machine is a genuine Windows machine, and the download hangs.

Ok, [deep breath, these things happen, I'm new at this I probably didn't read some documentation...] Cancel the download, go to the windows site, and validate. No, that doesn't work - "come back later" it says. Fine. Get another dialogue popping up about 5 minutes later telling me Windows is about to stop working, and I should reboot. WHAT ?? [sigh] Ok, reboot. That usually fixes operating systems from these guys.

Fine, now we're ready. Ok, restart that 1.6GB download...Wait for it... Wait for it... Yep, there's the dialogue, and *boom* goes my download. Cue significant swearing. Ok, so go to the site again, this time it wants to install an Active-X control, I let it, and I now have to reboot my computer. WHAT ??? [big sigh]. Ok reboot... The first thing that happens is I get the dialogue box (hey! look on the bright side, I didn't wait for 20 minutes and get 2/3 the way through my download this time!).

So, I visit the Miscreant^WMicrosoft site again and this time it announces my installation is apparently genuine. Well thank [insert random deities] for that.

That one has to be top of the list, but how about:

• That (on a 20G partition) it's had the hard-drive churning away now for over 3 hours! I'm assuming it's indexing it for search, but [insert more random deities] THREE HOURS for a mere 20 GIG ? And counting! It's making a hell of a racket in my otherwise quiet office
  
  
• That by default, I can't click on a zip file to download the thing. It pushes a dialogue in my face and blanks the page. So, I get it, the security model on Window is so appalling, it can't tell the difference between a virus and a zip file, but that's still annoying.
  
  
• Xilinx (in their infinite wisdom) have https:// urls with http:// elements within them. IE hates that. Every single page I went to, I had to click 'yes, I really want to be here'. How annoying is that ? And this is the *default* behaviour! Eventually I found the preference to turn it off, hidden amongst a half-million other options, all sounding pretty similar. I'm reminded of the adventure line "you're in a maze of twisty passages, all alike"...
  

This is just scratching the surface. I've been using XP for an evening, and already I loathe it; and I loathe it not because it's different, I loathe it because it's annoying, fiddly, exasperating, and seems to actively get in my way when I want to do something. I don't care that (for example) the menus are different - I can cope with differences in OS's, I've used well over a dozen of them over the years. I care that (a) I want to do something, (b) I make a reasonable attempt, (c) it recognises the attempt correctly, and then (z) prevents me from doing it, or at least makes it difficult. That gap in the middle is what is missing from the OS.

Computer operating systems are not supposed to be like "Adventure". That maze of twisty passages shows what a poor job the designers of the OS have done - it's simply awful. Both Linux and (to a far lesser extent) OSX have their issues, but nothing at all along the lines of how difficult Microsoft makes it to use your computer. Contrast the above with the OSX credo of "it just works", the lack of any "OSX genuine advantage" program, and perhaps we can see why 1 in 6 laptops currently being sold are Macs, even though they *don't* run all the "office" apps...

So, I want an upgrade to XP. I don't want to use this weeping pus-ridden leprous scab of an OS any longer. XP was merely awful, Vista is so much worse.

[rant over]

This is another rant. Apologies in advance....

When I signed up for the ‘Do not call’ registry, I was (mistakenly, it turns out) under the impression that it might prevent nuisance cold-callers from calling me. Oh if it were only that easy...

It seems that there are a few loopholes in the whole thing...

The politicians (obviously) have to still be able to call. I’m guessing the FTC wouldn’t have got this bill passed if the politicians couldn’t hassle “their” voters come election-time. These guys are easy meat though, no matter who calls, you just say you’re voting for the other guy because of all the sleazy things the caller’s party has done recently. The call is quickly over.

Charities still get to call you - now lest you get the wrong idea, I give ~$200/month to charity, a not-insignificant fraction of my income for the month. However, I want to *choose* who to give it to, and not be hassled by people wanting my money. The sad fact is that once you give to a few charities, a lot more of them start phoning through as well - it sometimes does feel as though you’re on a “sucker” list [sigh].

Telephone surveyors. Aaarrrgh. *Why* would I want these people to phone me ? Apart from the philosophical problem with having someone make a profit selling an aggregate of my (and others) opinions, and wasting my time to do it as well, why can’t I decide these people ought not be able to call me ?

Companies who do business with you (including any subscription-based companies) can call you up to 18-months after you last did business with them. This seems to have been , um, enlarged... because I’m getting calls from subsidiary and/or parent companies as well. This sounds like it’s reasonable, but then you realise that AT&T will call you every week. Every week. Trying to sell you something you already have. By FAR the worst offenders though are Dish Network - these guys called me every day (late in the evening and at weekends) for 3 solid weeks. It’s Dish “we’re so stupid we want to really p*ss off any potential customer” Network that you have to thank for this rant.

So, since I *pay* for this service, I ought to have control over how it’s used. I’m wondering if I could send a notice to any company that cold-calls, explaining that any further calls will be billed as consultancy at my standard rates of $1000/hour, minimum charge of 2 hours. Then send them an invoice the next time they call, and take it to court when they fail to pay. Hmmm... interesting...

Rant over.

The cowardly attack (let's face it, any terrorist attack is that of cowards) on London this morning merits mention, I think.

The terrorist announcement mentioned the Brits being in fear from North to South, East to West. Whereas that may have described some countries' reactions, it didn't come close to ours. Let's just look at some of the reaction...

There was an interview of a woman who was on one of the bombed trains, 2 carriages down. She was calm and concise in how she described the events. She was confident that they would be caught. She said others around had a similar disposition.

The Mayor of London released what I thought was a pretty good statement. Let me just pick out the part he addressed to the cowards:

Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life.

I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others - that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail.

In the days that follow look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential.

They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don't want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.

And finally, a piece I found on a football forum:

No-one in Britain has over-reacted, it's not in our nature to do so. There'll be many dark, scared days ahead for everyone who lives or works in London or any of the major cities in the UK, and there will be overwhelming feelings of sympathy for those who have lost friends, family or loved ones in these cowardly attacks today.

But it won't change anything. There will be no sudden feelings of "these people have a genuine issue", no hands of friendship offered, no olive branches extended. There will be no immediate "Let's invade " or severing of diplomatic links with any countries. There will simply be a very thorough, in depth, but quiet investigation.

And when we find out who did this they will pay.

Rest in peace those thirty people who died today. Their lives have meant nothing to their killers, but their deaths have brought tragedy to those who loved them.

From those who were attacked, to those in power, to the common man, the theme is the same: complete disdain for the cowards; controlled anger that will focus the effort to find them; and an unshakeable determination that above all, the cowards must not win.

What does that mean ? It means that life will go on, and that (apart from the personal tragedy of the victims families) nothing will change. There's no magic bullet for terrorism, but ignoring the effects of the cowards actions whilst seeking them out and (I suspect) simply eliminating them, quietly, would appear to be the best option.

I'm actually in two minds about that last sentence. There is a lot of good PR to be had from publically arresting, trying, convicting, and treating a terrorist like any other murderer. The IRA members jailed in the H blocks long tried to argue they were political prisoners rather than murderous cowards...

On the other hand it could create a martyr. The other option is simply to quietly kill the coward and claim (perhaps even accurately) that there was no other way, if it ever got out to the public. I can't imagine many things more terrifying to a terrorist than to have colleagues just turning up dead. "Am I next ?" is a real problem for a coward...

Simon