Dear Microsoft –

Well, my old ThinkPad laptop finally got too long in the tooth to be useful, so I bought my first PC with Windows 7 installed.  Wow, what a difference.  Now I finally understand those “Windows 7 – it was my idea!” ads you were running awhile back.

I sell a software system I designed to law firms, so I was already aware of some of the fabulous Windows 7 features.  I want to thank you for those, because they keep me busy.  Once my clients started switching to Windows 7, I went from almost never receiving tech-support calls to receiving them on a regular basis.  That’s when first discovered that you had incorporated one of my favorite ideas:

When an installation program creates a new folder and writes files to that folder, the files should all default to being read-only with permissions denied to everyone.

“This is Tom Naughton, may I help you?”

“Yes, I’m trying to attach the database, and I know I’m doing it exactly like you showed in the tutorial, but I keep getting an access-denied message.”

“Hmm, let’s fire up TeamViewer so I can see your system.  Okay, the database files are in the correct folder … the script is pointing to that folder … what the? … Let me look at the permissions … Oh, boy, everything is set to read-only and permissions are denied to everybody.  You have to manually grant yourself permissions on the database files.”

“I have to give myself permission to use the database files I installed on my own PC?”

“Yes.”

“I have no idea how to do that.”

“Well, you right-click the files, then choose Properties, then Security, then you have to click the Continue button, then … ah, never mind, I’ll do it for you.  Let me take control for a few minutes.”

I never got that call when my clients were using Windows XP, and I have to tell you, it’s great to get to actually talk to so many of them on the phone.  With email and Facebook and Twitter and all that, people just don’t spend enough time actually talking.

Here’s another one of my ideas I already knew you had incorporated:

Some common folders should be automatically marked read-only, and when users de-select the read-only option, the folder should remain read-only even after they click the Apply button — with no warning that the read-only setting wasn’t removed, of course.

I learned about that terrific feature when I started hearing from clients that they could no longer use the mail-merge feature of my software.  As per your instructions, my software installs itself in the Program Files directory.  It’s been doing that for several years without creating any problems.

So you can imagine my surprise when (after several hours of detective work) I realized the mail-merges were failing because sub-folders created within the Program Files directory are read-only and – this is the fun part – that setting can’t be changed by anyone!  Since my software could no longer create a mail-merge data file in a permanently read-only folder, the merges failed.

Brilliant!  What kind of crazy software program would ever need to write a data file inside one of its own folders?  You must have had countless software vendors beg for that read-only feature – because again, that gives us the opportunity to spend time on the phone with our clients as we walk them through moving a program out of the Program Files folder.

But I didn’t realize just how many great ideas you incorporated into Windows 7 until I bought my own Windows 7 PC and started trying to install software.  I know from working in corporate environments that the corporate IT people in charge of PC security believe the ideal computer is one that doesn’t allow anyone to actually do anything (we all stay out of trouble that way), but I didn’t expect you’d apply that philosophy to an operating system with “HOME” in the version name.  Pure genius.

I really appreciate the multiple warnings whenever I try to do something that would make the computer useful.  For example, I double-click an installation program, select “I agree” on the license-agreement screen, enter my serial number, and then – BANG! – up pops a dialog box:

A program is attempting to make changes to your computer.  Do you want to allow this?

Thank goodness for that feature.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve accidentally double-clicked an installation file, agreed to a license and entered a serial number, only to discover to my great horror that this series of inadvertent mouse-clicks and keystrokes was about to make changes to my computer.  Always being given another chance to correct this situation was my idea.

And I especially appreciate the constant warnings that only an Administrator can do whatever it is I’m about to do.  Sure, I made myself an all-powerful Administrator on the PC immediately, but the ego-boost was disappointly brief.  So I enjoy being reminded of my lofty position when I’m presented with frequent dialog boxes that say, in effect:

Only someone in the powerful role you already occupy can do this.  Click OK to continue, Oh Mighty One.

That was definitely my idea … as was this one:

When people logged into the PC as an Administrator copy files from a backup drive, they should have to go through several steps to grant themselves permission to use the files before actually using them.

Again, even with an operating system clearly named as the “HOME” version, you can’t be too cautious about security.  Just because you’re an all-powerful Administrator, that doesn’t mean you should start accessing files willy-nilly without having to take a moment and reconsider whether or not you want to give yourself permission to do so.  You may just decide you’re not trustworthy and refuse to grant yourself access.

It was also my idea to keep Administrators on their toes by making them consciously run installation programs as an Administrator even though they’re already logged in as an Administrator.  You’d be surprised how often Administrators get lackadaisical about this.

Just today, for example, I was attempting to install a package of programming tools, only to see the installation roll back time after time after the progress bar had reached 90%.  So I had to get on the phone and call a tech-support person (who no doubt appreciated the opportunity to talk to someone for a change).

“Oh, in Windows 7 you have to install that package using Administrator privileges, or it will fail.”

“But I am an Administrator.”

“Yes, but if you just double-click the .exe, you’re not installing it with Administrator privileges.”

“Say what?  I am the Administrator.”

“I know, but instead of double-clicking the .exe you have to right-click it and choose Run As Administrator.”

“So I’m the Administrator, I’m logged in as the Administrator, but if I just run the installation program, I’m not installing it as an Administrator?”

“That’s right.  You have to choose to do that by right-clicking and then clicking Run As Administrator.  Otherwise you’re not installing as an Administrator.”

“Even though I am the Administrator?”

“That’s right.”

“Who the @#$% thought that was a good idea?”

Then I remembered:  I did.

Windows 7 … it was my idea.

Thank you, Microsoft.

6 Responses to “Windows 7 Was My Idea”
  1. Sam Mackrill says:

    Tom, looks like you have been ignoring Microsoft best practices! Now Windows-7 has decided to bite back 🙂

    http://stackoverflow.com/questions/946420/allow-access-permission-to-write-in-program-files-of-windows-7

    Microsoft is slowly turning into IBM, deciding they know what’s best and created hurdles for others to jump. I can understand blocking writing a file to the root drive, designated system drives, etc., but blocking writing a text file to my own software’s program folder? Ridiculous. And this whole hyper-security issue with Administrators having to grant themselves permission to do anything — on a HOME version of Windows — is just stupid.

  2. As an end user, there are quite a few things about Windows 7 I like. As a software developer, I’d convert the entire free world to Linux in a heartbeat if I had my way.

    I’ve never used Linux, but Windows is really starting to annoy me as a developer.

  3. John Hunter says:

    Well, at least you didn’t come up with vista.

    I heard the horror stories and avoided Vista.

  4. Elenor says:

    I wish I could laugh…. but having struggled with all these things… (and do tech support for my 89-yr-old mom across the continent {wince}), I feel your pain Tom!

    Microsoft is trying to become the nanny-“state” of the world, by requiring us to pay regular taxes (buy upgrades); do things their way (legal and illegal, and no sense to either) and their way ONLY (no more customization); and keep up or be marginalized in an unsupported environment (yes, my netbook still runs WinXP). (Heck, my late husband’s business machine still runs on Win 98! And I can’t change it because his accounting program is so old.) (My new accting program, on my machine, runs in Win7.)

    I DO (finally, usually but not always) love Win7. So, now, of course, I am looking at Win8 with great trepidation and dismay: there is NO WAY I will ever be using a touch screen on a desktop! (Can you imagine having to reach up from the keyboard to touch stuff on the monitor?!? We thought we had backaches and carpal tunnel before!!)

    But I’ve had to ‘bolt-on’ several “fixes” to make some of WIn7 work the way I want. (old XP-style start menu… love that!) Have you run across the stupidity in Windows Explorer — where when you close an external drive or MP3 player, Explorer closes itself — cause you could never want to look at any other folder after having looked on an external drive… (ARGH!) Or the idiotic “folders” view down the left pane — which does NOT go to the folder you’re looking at in the right pane?!? Oh well, at least the Windows world doesn’t call their internal tech support folks “geniuses.”

    I’m running across those issues, plus I discovered a new one: My Windows 7 PC can’t see my XP machines on the network and vice-versa. Apparently Microsoft decided no one would ever want to keep an XP machine around after getting one with Windows 7.

  5. Anna says:

    (sigh) I instantly miss XP. I’m a writer and photographer, XP was good to me. It was simple, like my understanding of things like “.exe” and “DOS” and I could navigate it intuitively, for the most part.

    Now, I have a new hobby which I call “Ferociously Ignoring All the Extraneous and Unnecessary New Features on Windows 10 That I Never Use and Can Never Remove.” I liken it to speed walking down the center aisles at the grocery store past thousands of bizarre, brightly packaged processed foods to get to the bacon and sour cream at the back. I’m getting pretty fast.

  6. Elenor says:

    Doubly weird!

    Went to my RSS reader — NewsBlur (in Firefox, latest v., on a Win7Pro desktop PC) — and enjoyed (?) your new and interesting (if frustrating!) description of your ISP problems. Clicked to go to your page: Suspended.

    WEIRDLY — I COULD read the whole thing but not the comments — IN Newsblur! But your FatHeadthemovie page won’t come up on its own. (Is TomNaughton.com on a different ISP/server?)

    I have just worked through problems with my emails not going to MY accountant (and she’s mean)! My ISP said that the entire (shared) SERVER my site was on was blocked by her weird little ISP… So, they moved me moved to a new server and bingo!

    (And NOW, stupid Win7Pro won’t recognize any USB thumb drives/chip readers! Except it DOES recognize the ext. USB HDs plugged in for years — just NOT any new USB anything — even if it worked just lat Monday (cause, you know, {sigh} patch Tues…. honest-to-god, when they quit up-dating Win 7 — EITHER there will be new magical computers — or I’m moving to Linux!!)

    Well, you know what they say about computers: can’t live without them: can’t SHOOT THEM!

    How things have slowed down for you — SOME of farmin’ is just sittin’ and rockin’! Yes?
    Elenor

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