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PaperclipPerfector  10mo ago (text post)   4281 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 23, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Does anyone have an explanation for why Microsoft products in particular feel so bad?

I've been using a Macbook Pro since 2015 as my personal computer. It does everything I want with nearly no issues. The phrase "it just works" is a perfect encapsulation of my feelings. (This isn't just Apple fanboy-ism speaking; everything else I own like TV, phone, watch, etc. is non-Apple).

I've recently had to use a Windows computer for work purposes and it has been a god awful experience. It frequently won't boot up from sleep, it often overheats while I charge it overnight, sometimes it won't connect to Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi settings button is completely missing/inaccessible, getting it to change the scroll direction for the mouse wheel takes 5 more steps than it should, etc. I've also had to use Microsoft Teams instead of Zoom and Microsoft Outlook instead of Gmail, both of which have been massive downgrades along every dimension (lag, dropped calls for Teams; awful UI, lag, and terrible search/organizational functions in Outlook).

I think that your experience is not representative.

I've recently had to use a Windows computer for work purposes and it has been a god awful experience.

I can't say that Windows is the best software in existence, but I haven't had any major problems with it.

I've also had to use Microsoft Teams instead of Zoom and Microsoft Outlook instead of Gmail, both of which have been massive downgrades along every dimension

I haven't had any major problems with these programs, either. (It would be nice if Outlook had Gmail-style labels rather than just folders. But in my experience such functionality is necessary only very rarely in the workplace. And, when it is necessary, Outlook does allow you to copy-and-paste an email and put the copy into a different folder as a workaround.)

Isn't that what categories are for?

Categories can't be nested.

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