Why can’t Microsoft fix bugs that have been around forever

This is going to be a negative post – a rant to put it bluntly.  I may have complained on here before about this issue but it hurts my brain trying to understand the logic surrounding this issue.

Here is the issue: There are many Microsoft programs out there that have had the same bugs for years.  Examples include an annoying mail merge bug in Word, an Outlook issue with switching default browsers, jumping through crazy hoops to force automatic updates through on Windows Server.

Yet, many consider this standard operating procedure.  Let’s add another negative to all this.  Licensing.  You pay for licensing for the operating system, the applications and the connection for each computer to a Microsoft server.  For all these licenses I want everything to “just work.”

I just had another security updated fail to install.  Had to dig through a few forums to find the answer.  Still better than the last security update that took me months to figure out.  When these security updates fail it stops all scheduled tasks.  I don’t understand the logic of refusing to start a program automatically just because an updated failed to install.  It is asinine.

Did I mention that I HATE Outlook?!  Powerful mail application..I read that all the time…but like anything else who knows how to use all the tools with it?  If you don’t run it with an exchange server you will have even more problems with it.

Before I am labelled as a linux geek or a Mac lover and therefore I hate Microsoft, let me explain myself.

First off, I do own a Macbook Air, several Windows Desktops and have had a TechNet subscription for several years.  Secondly, I manage both Windows and Linux servers.  I am a firm believer in having the right tools to do the job but I also believe in practicality.  Those that insist on having Visio or the latest Word and Excel, 99% of these people don’t know how to use what they have.  Hell, outside of a simple SUM formula they probably don’t know how to do anything else in Excel.  Web based tools such as Google Apps or open source software such as LibreOffice will work just fine for these companies.  Why should an owner shell out $150 for 10 copies of Word or $1500 total for the latest Microsoft Office when Libreoffice is free and his employees write just letters?  That $1500 can go towards a lot of other things than Microsoft’s bottom line.

I recently swapped out a Windows Server 2003 for an Ubuntu Linux Server.  No licensing to worry about, no overcomplicated group policies (small office) and no worrying about failed backups.

I will certainly continue the rant at another time but I hope people continue to open their eyes to these issues.  There are just so many other ways to do the same job now.