In his regular ZDNet column, David Coursey came out last week and said that Apple's "iBook is simply the best consumer laptop on the market today." That's somewhat strange for someone who is usually happier telling us just how bad Macs, the Mac OS, and Apple are. After reading this week's column, however, we have a better understanding of what is going on with Mr. Coursey. It seems that Mr. Coursey is going to devote two entire columns to talking about the things that hates most about Microsoft. The most interesting thing about his list of complaints is that many of them are issues that Windows users put up with all the time while Mac users wouldn't tolerate for a second. Perhaps that is why he is so fond of the new iBook and PowerBook G4?

In the ZDNet column, there are tons and tons of comments from people coming out to express their own disgust with Microsoft. You might expect that these complainers are smug Mac users or Linux heads come to tell the Wintel Hordes how stupid they are for putting up with this kind of stuff. That's not the way it is at all, as the vast majority of the comments are from other Windows users who are equally frustrated with their computing experience! Why do they put up with it? This is the question that vexes many Mac users every day as we know there is a superior alternative that is thriving, the Mac. Linux users will try and tell you that their own platform is the obvious choice. While I disagree with that when it comes to consumers, this is a matter of opinion, and I respect their different thoughts on the issue. What remains is the fact that no one seems to like Microsoft's Windows offerings, not even those that use them.

The following are 11 things about Microsoft that drive Mr. Coursey nuts, with commentary from me on each point.

1. I am tired of software that doesn't work very well. Specifically, I am tired of Windows crashes and the version of ActiveSync that requires me to restart my iPaq if I want to sync it to my desktop.

I don't use an iPaq, but having to restart it just to sync is pretty darned stupid. Of course, we don't have Palm connectivity in Mac OS X at all yet, but that's another issue. About that software that doesn't work very well: I personally feel that Classic Mac and Mac OS X both work very well. The same things goes for my apps. They just work. How many Mac users have you heard say that? A lot. On the Windows side, we see the Wintel Hordes lining up behind Mr. Coursey in agreement that their software sucks.

In the meanwhile Microsoft's own Mac offerings are also top-notch. It is one of the most ironic things about Microsoft, in my never-humble-opinion, that even their own Mac products beat the socks off of their Windows counterparts. I talked a bit about this in another piece from early 1999 where I said that the very fact that our market is so small dictates that only the strong survive. In the Windows world, if you put out just about anything, there are enough goobers that will buy it that you can make a living, whether or not your product is worth a darn. This, along with the fact that Mac users have more taste than most Windows users, is part of the biggest reason that Mac apps are so much better than Windows apps. They have to be for the developers to make a living.

2. Constant "critical updates" for security fixes bug me. Not because Microsoft sends them, but because they are necessary so often. If Internet Explorer can't be made secure, how is something like .Net going to succeed?

Preach on Brother Coursey! We have asked that question publicly and privately at The Mac Observer since .Net was announced! The company that had stories about security problems last Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday (look for the Microsoft section near the bottom of each page) wants us to keep all our data, as well as our personal, credit, and medical information on their servers! Microsoft has absolutely the worst record with security in the entire history of computing. Free Hint For Windowsheads: Don't put up with it. Abandon ship. It's sinking anyway.

3. It bothers me that I have been giving Norton or McAfee money all these years to provide decent versions of utilities that ought to come free with the operating system. If Microsoft can't stop viruses, why can't it at least give me software to prevent them?

We don't think that MS should necessary have to provide free anti-virus software with Windows, but we do think their users should demand that the OS be made much more viral-resistant in the first place. The Mac and most Unix variants are all relatively virus free. Microsoft has a gillion times the resources and should be able to do this job correctly. Most of all, they need to be held accountable by their customers who should vote with their pocketbooks. Another Free Hint For Windowsheads: Don't put up with it. Abandon ship. It's sinking anyway.

4. It bugs me that the longer I use a machine--installing and attempting to uninstall applications that I am testing along the way--the more unstable it becomes. Eventually I have to start from scratch. And that means trying to reinstall Windows, which doesn't really reinstall Windows, so sometimes I wipe the hard drive and start from scratch. I hate doing that.

We couldn't have put it better ourselves. Mr. Coursey, please note that this is something that Mac users hardly ever do. We don't need to reinstall our OS every few months (there isn't enough history for OS X on this yet), and on those rare occasions when we do, it's not a big pain in the butt. I personally installed Mac OS X 10.0 on a PowerBook and a PowerMac G4 simultaneously and the whole process was over, including setup, in less than 30 minutes. Again, why do Windows users put up with this?

Check out this one comment from a ZDNet reader who says he supports some 1500 Windows machines (uhhh... we don't believe that, but whatever). He says Mr. Coursey is just not outsmarting Microsoft and provides an incredibly convoluted way of trying to deal with the problem that Mr. Coursey is complaining about. You simply have to read it to understand how insane it is that this person has to go through so much effort to "outsmart" Microsoft. Judging from his comments (he means well), he doesn't even get the irony of his situation...

5. I truly hate the system registry. Why isn't it possible to move an application from one drive to another or even one machine to another just by moving the application? I shouldn't have to do a full reinstall for this.

Hey, guess what, Mac users don't deal with any type of Registry, and we routinely move apps from computer to computer and have been doing so for years and years. Wait a second, let me see if I can do this with Mac OS X. I'll be back in a second... OK, a quick test of transferring OmniWeb, Fire, Eudora 5.1, and Eyeball X from my PowerMac G4 to a Pismo found Eudora, Fire, and Eyeball X all launched properly after being copied over. OmniWeb crashed on launch, but it is still a Final Release Candidate, and not a final version. Note that I also did not try and find the problem as this was simply a test for this editorial. So, it seems that what Mr. Coursey wishes is already here, and it has been for a long time. This is yet another things that most Mac users take for granted, while the Windows world takes for granted the fact that you can't do this. I have a friend who just bought a new laptop with Windows ME and is hosed because she can't find her installer CDs.

6. I am sick of paying for features and whole applications I never use. Why can't Microsoft give us a list of desktop apps and let us pick and choose and get a discount based on buying the ones we want, not what Microsoft wants to bundle? Hot news: I don't use Access and don't like buying it as part of any bundle just to get something else I want.

This is not a Mac vs. PC kind of thing. This is about what makes Microsoft, well, Microsoft. Bill Gates must win every thing. Every contest, ever competition, and everything that is even remotely perceivable as a contest. The Office productivity suite is a nice example of this. You get the whole kit and caboodle in Office, whether or not you need it, so that Microsoft can be omnipresent. As with all things relating to Microsoft, it is not about what their customers want, it is about extending Microsoft's monopoly power into every market in which it competes.

7. Speaking of which, I am pained that Microsoft doesn't have a simple-to-use database application, like FileMaker or the online QuickBase service from Quicken. Yes, I know people use Excel as a database, but I don't want to, and Access is more work than it's worth for casual use.

Note that FileMaker Pro was developed by an Apple subsidiary, Claris (now called FileMaker, Inc.). Check out some of the comments from ZDNet readers about this point. Several people suggested that Access is designed to be a consumer database. The only reason they would say this is because they have not used FileMaker. Access is a convoluted pile of capable crap that is extremely difficult to master. FileMaker Pro, on the other hand, is a (very slightly less) capable database app that is easy to use and easy to master. Better yet, you don't have to master it just to use it, something that Access can hardly claim. It's even available for Windows.

8. Why doesn't Outlook make it easy to sort for duplicate or near-duplicate contact entries and offer to merge or delete them for me? Perhaps even standardize the addresses so they are in good USPS formats, complete with 9-digit ZIP codes? Outlook doesn't do a very good job of managing data.

I have no comment on this.

9. Please make some sort of peace with Real so everyone can read everyone else's media formats. Writing them would be nice, too, but I am sure that's out of the question.

I have a feeling that Mr. Coursey is going to get more in this in the 2nd half of this 2-part column, because this is another case of Microsoft needing to win in everything it does. There is no real reason for Windows Media Player to exist as there were other technologies already doing the job before Microsoft noticed that someone else was already doing it. As with all other things Microsoft, they developed their product (I think they may have bought this product actually) after they saw others doing it. They will NEVER reach a peace with Real or Apple (whom Mr. Coursey left out) unless they buy one or both companies. They must win, so they will use any tactics needed to achieve that, and compatibility is not one of them.

10. I don't ever call Microsoft support because I don't think it will do me any good, and I don't want to pay money for support of things that shouldn't be broken to begin with. Most of my real problems with Microsoft aren't features I can't find but odd crashes I don't understand.

Then why put up with it? Apple doesn't have a crystal clear record on support either, though I personally have had 3 out of 3 outstanding interactions with their support center in the last 4 weeks. The real point here is the idea of having to pay for support for things that shouldn't be broken. Yet Another Free Hint For Windowsheads: Don't put up with it. Abandon ship. It's sinking anyway.

11. When I use the Web-based help, I sometimes find it impossible to describe my problem in a way that provides useful assistance. Even entering the number and/or full text of an error message didn't work the last time I tried it.

This is a technology issue, and I am not personally going to hold Microsoft responsible for it. I do, however, expect Apple's and Microsoft's online help to improve with time.

Those are my thoughts on this issue. What do you think? Make sure you also check out the tons of comments from other Microsoft users that also hate the company, but also add your thoughts to our own comments below. I am interested in hearing what you think.

Thanks to Observer Ed for pointing me to Mr. Coursey's column.