Vista Makes CNET UK's List of "Worst Consumer Tech"

Several anonymous readers pointed us at CNET UK's Crave blog for a list of what is or was, in their opinion, the worst consumer tech in history. Vista comes in at number 10, in company with Apple's puck mouse (number 6) and Sony's CD rootkit (number 9). According to Crave: "[Vista's] incompatibility with hardware, its obsessive requirement of human interaction to clear security dialogue box warnings and its abusive use of hated DRM, not to mention its general pointlessness as an upgrade, are just some examples of why this expensive operating system earns the final place in our terrible tech list." That's gotta hurt a little, coinciding as it does with Apple's Don't Give Up On Vista attack ad.

Comments

Where's the DRM?

[dedazo]

The DRM boogeyman rears up again, but other than maybe WGA (which is not even related to media) and a checkbox in Windows Media Player, can anyone tell me again where is all this "hated DRM" in Vista? And where's the media that's supposed to take advantage of all this new DRM that didn't exist in XP? And please don't regurgitate that thoroughly debunked dumb Peter Guttman "paper" where he even admits he doesn't even use Vista.

And seriously, that UAC bullshit FUD is getting old by now. Nothing beats a meme that people repeat just because everyone else is saying it as well. I get a UAC prompt every time I try to do some admin task, which is no different than the root prompt on Linux or OS X. I could turn it off, but why? It's a good reminder that I'm doing something "dangerous" under my default account. The rest of the time I never see it. My nephews run in non-privileged accounts and they never see UAC unless they need to install something, in which case it actually has a password field and they need to call me. If people are bitching because they run under a non-privileged account and they get the damn prompt when they try to restart a service or uninstall a driver then maybe they should consider Linux, where that doesn't happen. Oh wait.

If they're bitching about it because some application is trying to crap all over the hard drive, well, maybe they should run *that* under a privileged account and deal with the prompt once, or just replace the app. Either way, UAC is working as advertised.

Re:Where's the DRM?

[dedazo]

The whole problem is that there is no ROOT account.

And this is bad how, again? Please, explain.

You have to explicitly tell an app to run as Root and even then it balks at you.

I thought there was no root account?

and even then it balks at you.

This is Vista's fault how, again?

And a shitload of apps didn't work on it and many still don't.

Well, most of my apps worked fine so I guess I'm sorry yours didn't.

How much did Microsoft pay you?

To argue with random morons on the interwebs? About $4.25 a day, but I'm hoping to get a rise soon.

Re:Vista is #10?

[Shadow-Copy]

LOL... Vista from Microsoft is the best OS they have ever compiled, I HAVE GOTTEN A VIRUS FROM CNET/download.com.. Besides, a mass consumer online corporations like download.crap only hate Vista because of its new security features and how it blocks out all the virus trends.. or spyware, and addware tactics that Cnet/Download.com takes in Loading a system more then with the third party software/patch the user downloads from cnet... Cnet is a joke.. they attach malicious threads to they're junk-ware.. cnet has gone beyond cookie observation.. they install paths an trash in when you download a program.. they attach runtimes to each installer.. for "learning" purposes you should read theyre online policy... they will allow you to use the software they supply but if it installs something bad... OOH WELL! lol cnet is a joke.

Re:Meh

[SEMW]

I'm using Vista, no big deal for me. ... I make up my own mind ... No operating system is the holy grail ... Woah -- Broad neutrality? Cultural liberalism? Acknowledgement of individual preference? You do know none of that's tolerated at Slashdot, right?

Don't worry, we'll have you converted to an irrational, frothing-at-the-mouth, katana-wielding *nix advocating Slashbot given time.

Re:Ha ha, nice to see you come clean.

[dedazo]

Yes, he did, actually. Pretty much anyone who thinks they're being clever by suggesting someone who doesn't practice their religion tends to piss me off. Ring a bell?

It's a long way from being systematically modded down for trolling and having to post at -1 by default like you, but I'm sure I'll survive.

Thanks for taking the time to post though. I understand they let you do it twice a day now? Well, you can always fall back on the sockpuppet if all else fails.

Re:Vista is #10?

[The_Mystic_For_Real]

People can be shot, stabbed, strangled with pretty much any sort of wire (network cables...

Really? How do you shoot someone with a network cable?