Now as you all know, I love Microsoft Windows. I have used it and its predecessor DOS since the early 1980s (yes, I\u2019m old); its evolution over the years has been little short of amazing. And of course I worked for Microsoft here in the Pacific Northwest for a decade and a half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have a number of everyday gripes that I just wish Microsoft would fix for once and for all. None of these are, in my view as a software developer of fifty years\u2019 standing (wow) appear very difficult \u2013 so please, team, just fix them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In no particular order:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike my younger comrades, my iPhone is not an appendage to my body. Often (real often) I\u2019m at my PC and some account times out, I have to type in the magic number and\u2026where did I leave my phone?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I imagine there\u2019s some Bluetooth security issue with making it work on the watch, but why can\u2019t we fix it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n How many times have you had to sign into your email account (using Authenticator) and moments later had to repeat the process with Teams?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This feels like the relevant engineering groups have to have a meeting. Just saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just this morning I was attempting to move the default location of Windows Update from C: to D:. It\u2019s not clear this is even possible, but searching for answers yields any number of inconsistent results \u2013 because with nearly every release of Windows some Settings move, change, are deleted, or move from Control Panel to Settings, or whatever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear Microsoft: rid of Control Panel for once and for all. Or Settings. Whatever. And then don\u2019t change the UI. Ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Save the last volume setting and don\u2019t reset it to the super-loud default for no apparent reason. Every time I load Teams or YouTube Windows blasts my ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This one\u2019s a bit esoteric but applies, I imagine to any musician attempting to use Windows. I play the pipe organ (badly) and use Hauptwerk<\/a>. There\u2019s a known issue with the Windows Audio subsystem in which input from MIDI keyboards is batched \u2013 which means when you press a key there\u2019s noticeable latency. It makes Windows essentially unusable for MIDI (music) devices unless you buy external hardware (I use an inexpensive Presonus AudioBox<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This works with no issue on a Mac \u2013 should be easy to fix on Windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve complained about this before<\/a>. Microsoft installs apps on C:\\Program Files, C:\\Program Files (x86), C:\\Users\\You\\AppData (and three folders within)\u2026why? (And \\AppData is hidden!) Macs just have \/Applications. It\u2019s a mess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover: there\u2019s so much junk on the C: drive, some of it from Microsoft, a lot of it from vendors \u2013 like the 13GB (!) installer for my keyboard and mouse from Razer. There are .DMP files, log files that never get purged or deleted but rather grow forever, literally occupying tens of gigabytes of space. Microsoft should develop and enforce rules about how the C: drive is used. It\u2019s the Wild West now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I have a relatively small C: drive (256GB SSD) I keep an eye on free space (I wrote my own df command-line app to report free space.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n One day I have 13GB free. Another 8GB. Then 4GB, 2GB. Then 10GB. Why? What changed? (It wasn\u2019t a Windows Update.)<\/p>\n\n\n\nLet Outlook and Teams Share Identities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Settings and Control Panel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sound: Part 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sound: Part 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Clean Up the C: Drive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Changed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n