I use Microsoft products everyday at work. We’re a .NET/MSSQL shop exclusively, so this is what I have to work with. It’s not a bad system. The Visual Studio IDE is a great programming environment - at the feature level. SQL Management Studio is a great product as well - also, at the feature level.
I’ll tell you where things start to break down. My last project encompassed wait times of ~2 minutes per compile. It was not a large project by any means. This is totally unacceptable - a level of torture when you’re recompiling repeatedly to track down a problem. This isn’t the only problem. The IDE is buggy. Very buggy. “I can’t believe I don’t see moths flying out of the box” buggy.
Load times are horrendous. Basic functions cease to do just that. The ability to delete anything - controls, text, all encompassing - is torn from my arsenal on a whim. The only cure for such headaches is to restart the application. The Web IDE suffers from slow, no, that’s not the word. Let me try again: The web IDE suffers from non-existent response times. Changing from control to control is literally nothing more than a visual cue. The underlying effect on the properties box is not there at times.
That machine is a P4 with 2.5G of memory, so I don’t think it’s a hardware issue.
I recently got a new laptop for work which I’ve begun using exclusively for development. After a few days, I began experiencing blue screens. This is frustrating to a level indescribable with the english language. For those who are unfamiliar with the infamous bsod, the errors are extremely cryptic - even to those of us considered “computer literate” - and they always require a restart of your computer.
Long story short (long being a few hours, short being a few words), the blue screens were caused by a conflict between Microsoft SQL Management Studio and my mouse drivers. My mouse, which happens to be Microsoft branded, was running on the newest release of the Intellipoint drivers, released by Microsoft.
Microsoft SMS was conflicting with Microsoft Intellipoint causing Microsoft Windows to crash. How am I supposed to respond to this?
The solution was to downgrade my Intellipoint software (I believe to 5.2) for anyone else out there that wasted a few hours researching this problem to no avail. The problem appears to be recognized, albeit unmanaged.
Today, a new issue reared its ugly head. A Windows Update was pushed out to our machines. Now, this is not entirely the responsibility of Microsoft. Our parent company screens these patches and decides when to push them out. While I’ve always thought it was silly of them to play firewall to Microsoft’s own updates, and it’s turned out to be ineffective anyway, I suppose it’s been proven somewhat necessary.
The patch updated the .NET 2.0 framework. The result was a handful of broken .NET 2.0 applications. I don’t know how this happened. The resolution involved installing the update on a development box, recompiling the applications, and redistributing them to all the necessary employees. Now, I won’t go into details on this except to say that it was a giant spear in my side. A dirty, rusty, spear in my now sore, bleeding, infected side. The damage hasn’t yet been totally contained, but it should be tomorrow, so it’s not the end of the world - this time.
What if one of those applications was mission critical? We have a plant full of people relying on our software that would have come to a screeching halt if the wrong apps had been affected. This is a big screwup, and it needs addressed.
The point. Sorry, that was a long rant, longer than I had expected at least.
Microsoft has hooked a ton of companies with their Visual Studio line of products, and for good reason. They are generally very reliable IDE’s that offer a very intuitive way of developing software. On the downside, we’re all dependent now. It would be extremely hard for us to switch to an alternative. Microsoft obviously recognizes this (though they’re feeling the heat), and that’s good. Capitalize extensively Mr. Gates. But, don’t take advantage. Don’t get comfortable.
Releasing buggy software is a sign of complacency. Your reign won’t last if you screw your customers. You have a huge amount of businesses eating out of the palm of your hand, renewing thousands and thousands of dollars in licensing year after year. And we do it gladly, as long as it works. There’s a strong, loyal following there. Keep it that way. Sure, you have control, but a group of pissed off prisoners cursing high switching costs will not keep a business moving.
If you’re lucky, some will never see the light that is Linux, but to assure the survival of your business, you have to give people a reason to continue paying for what could be free.
92 responses so far ↓
1 Vic // Jul 18, 2007 at 11:39 am
Well in the Microsoft world the Patch is already online before the new software is even released.
2 Investor Bloke // Aug 21, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I agree that Linux is the way forward, although I’m currently being forced to use windows so I can VPN into work.
I have tried both Mandrake and SUSE linus with the latter being an excellent product, I’d recommend it to everone as its an easy way to save lots of money and not contribute to the microsofts coffers.
Actually, given its profile, I’m surprised that google hasn’t thrown its weight behind a linux distro as they have to audience that could give linux the final push it needs.
3 Dutch Oven Recipes // Jan 24, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Two minutes for a compile! I wish. The environment I work in (large, complex embedded sytems) can take hours for a full compile and 15-20 minutes for a minor change. I would give almost anything to have a 2 minute compile.
4 Community Information // Feb 7, 2008 at 12:12 pm
#2 an excellent choice for a linux distro is Ubuntu.
5 Izrada Stranica // Apr 22, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I remember when I’ve patched Windows and something was wrong with my computer. After I’ve googled it and found out it is because patch, so I had to remove it.
6 zohai // May 22, 2008 at 1:52 am
I love linux and have been using Ubuntu for the past few months but then there’s just not enough exact software replacement for it to replace Win OS. And Linux UI is so bloated @.@ It’s eating up so much space compared to Windows. That’s why now I still stick to my XP and Vista.
7 Annabelle Mcgowan // Jun 26, 2008 at 12:23 am
completely relate .
8 Neuwagen // Jun 28, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Yeah. Hehe. Microsoft brings out stuff sometimes…hehe i allways wait a little before getting the new microsoft software..
9 Get Rich Stress Free // Jun 30, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I always love Microsoft software!!!
10 cheap lingerie online // Jul 4, 2008 at 3:01 am
I also love microsoft software.
11 Aaron Mayer // Jul 5, 2008 at 11:31 am
First class! I’d love to read more of your stories
12 Computer Repair Las Vegas // Jul 24, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Hrmm, I’m still of opinion its only a matter of time before microsoft craps out in some area. But maybe not, there are a ton of products out there that are by far not the best in their class.. Yet they sell more than the products that actually work much better.
13 nepali modelling // Jul 25, 2008 at 6:22 am
I would give almost anything to have a 2 minute compile.
14 A. Georgiev // Aug 11, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Hello, I never liked microsoft but I can`t leave without windows. Everytime when I update my windows XP and My computer goes crazy..bugs. And this is the reason that I patched it.
15 Crazy t-shirts // Aug 17, 2008 at 9:42 am
I haven’t had very many bad experiences with Microsoft stuff but in with the couple problems I have had I came to find out that there support services are close to worthless and they have so many departments it takes a long time to talk to the right person. -Nick
16 insaat sonrasi temizlik // Aug 19, 2008 at 4:20 am
thank you for sharing
17 Dresses // Aug 20, 2008 at 6:19 pm
It’s ridiculous to buy any microsoft product right when it comes out unless your filthy rich but still…. Now microsoft is a corporate giant but as far as big companies go they run a pretty solid ship and they have support for all they’re products, plus there return policy is better than most. As far as linux and these new browsers that become hot every month or so some of them are a breath of fresh air but there is nothing that’s gonna change the internet that doesn’t have Googles or Microsofts fingerprints all over it.
18 Gageet.com - Technology News and Reviews // Aug 31, 2008 at 12:23 pm
It happens. I recommend testing the software on one machine before in stalling it on your network or running mission critical apps with it.
19 kaspars // Sep 21, 2008 at 4:12 pm
yes I fully agree!
20 techdude // Sep 27, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Microsoft programmers got caught in recursive function.
Another example. Just recently I was trying to get some help on Windows Live Writer. Got to their online help page. Click on the Live Products link. New page open up with. I click on Windows Live Writer. Live Products page opens again. And so on and on…. Never got any help on WLW
21 Julie // Oct 19, 2008 at 10:29 am
I waiting until I can get my hands on an old machine then I can install Ubuntu and play around with Linux…
I think every computer user has pulled their hair out when using Microsoft’s products
22 Dbz // Oct 26, 2008 at 10:01 pm
I tottaly agree with you, best advice I can give is dont buy a microsoft product as it arrives on the market, Let everybody else iron out the bugs
23 Richard Carlsen // Dec 18, 2008 at 7:52 am
It’s ridiculous to buy any microsoft product right when it comes out unless your filthy rich but still…. Now microsoft is a corporate giant but as far as big companies go they run a pretty solid ship and they have support for all they’re products, plus there return policy is better than most.
24 Sleuthy // Dec 31, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Definitely do a good search online (forums, wikis, etc) and see the complaints people have for the product before you buy.
If someone has a comparable product that is not Microsoft I try to go with that first.
25 Registrazione Audio Video Concerto // Jan 3, 2009 at 5:06 am
La Oltrelogo effettua registrazioni audio multi traccia 24bit/48Kh, grazie al nostro studio mobile possiamo registrare la band direttamente nella propria sala prove, o in una sala da noi fornita.
26 Jewelry // Jan 30, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Now microsoft is a corporate giant but as far as big companies go they run a pretty solid ship and they have support for all they’re products, plus there return policy is better than most.
27 Tom // Mar 1, 2009 at 5:21 am
Thanks for all the informative information. Will be sure to check it up soon. Keep it up and look forward to your future posts.
28 Eco wash balls // Mar 2, 2009 at 9:35 am
Dissin Microsoft is the cool thing to do for a while now
I hate Linux though…
29 Valerie Bertinelli Diet // Apr 14, 2009 at 2:11 am
I really cant wait for windows 7!
30 Google Conquest // Apr 29, 2009 at 10:08 am
Excited!
31 Voice Mail Saying // May 20, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I have tried both Mandrake and SUSE linus with the latter being an excellent product, I’d recommend it to everone as its an easy way to save lots of money and not contribute to the microsofts coffers.
32 Home Tutor // Jun 5, 2009 at 6:15 am
nice post, I have bookmarked ur site, keep the good work
33 Film ?zle // Jun 6, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Good work . . .
34 IP PBX // Jul 4, 2009 at 6:47 am
Microsoft programmers got caught in recursive function.
35 Findurhost // Jul 8, 2009 at 12:12 pm
an excellent choice for a Linux distro is Ubuntu.
36 googlehomebusiness // Aug 3, 2009 at 11:19 am
Excellent! Valuable information. Really helpful. Thanks for this one
Anyways, do you want to make money online? Try the newest google money master, and start earning bucks. This is your chance now! Don’t you miss it 
37 Uhm, Gee? // Sep 6, 2009 at 7:24 pm
This is mind boggling. Who would ever believe this could happen? Buggy, slow and bloated Microsoft products? Inconceivable!!
It hasn’t hurt them yet. I don’t see the masses getting off their virtual butts and doing something about it. I don’t expect that’ll change much anytime soon.
That being said. 2 minute compile times is long? Man you are so spoiled!!
38 Daily Tech News // Sep 21, 2009 at 4:00 am
I don’t really care if .net has any kinds of problems or not. I wouldn’t go saying the patch needs a patch or anything like that though. I think Microsoft has a fine line of products and there are bugs every now and then - but you are going to get that with anything.
39 Writer // Nov 9, 2009 at 9:16 am
I am confuse with your profession. I though at the first that you are online marketer now you speaks about web development.
You are total package…
40 dvd box set // Dec 2, 2009 at 5:54 am
I have been using a Microsoft product!
41 XBox LIVE // Dec 4, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Microsoft has a very buggy infrastructure.
42 PayPal Money // Dec 4, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Post on this blog more often!
43 Wii Points // Dec 4, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Microsoft is doing better now, with marketing tactics and development similar to Apple. Look at Windows 7.
44 iPageRank // Jan 3, 2010 at 8:54 am
I really cant wait for windows 7!
45 Donna Parker // Feb 24, 2010 at 5:59 am
Microsoft is the best in building softwares
46 Donna Parker // Feb 24, 2010 at 6:14 am
Always my favorite Microsoft. everyone trust the products of Microsoft
47 susan rose // Feb 24, 2010 at 6:17 am
all products of Microsoft are cool
48 Web Designing Company // Feb 26, 2010 at 4:01 am
No doubt that Microsoft is No.1 company in this world. thanks!
49 SAMANTHA // Mar 16, 2010 at 6:47 am
always no 1 Microsoft !!its best one around the globe
50 Row Boats // Mar 18, 2010 at 6:36 am
Hahahaha.. This articles reminds me of a time when I was trying to learn C#. I was fairly competent in Java before trying. I got a rude shock when the compile time for the Visual Studio IDE was much larger than my Netbeans. Also my IDE came up with vague errors as mentioned in the article. Though I dont hate Microsoft, sometimes I wish they came up to the mark when open source softwares like Java are concerned.
51 SAMANTHA // Mar 19, 2010 at 2:38 am
Microsoft is the best company .
52 boutique hotel in new york city // Mar 25, 2010 at 5:43 am
Its a good company, but it does not transalate to the best.
53 Rain Barrel // Apr 27, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Just another reason I don’t use Microsoft anymore.
54 iPad Ron // May 10, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Microsoft need to get their act in gear or seriously lose out to all that is apple
55 Landscaping International Directory // May 13, 2010 at 9:56 am
This is a great article. It is always good to consider what is going on to a web page. Keeping it fresh and high quality makes all the differnce in the world… Getting your web page and information out there is huge, and besides who wants to read old articles and useless information. Great reminder for everyone involved with the internet.
56 Cosmo Disk // May 18, 2010 at 5:24 am
Its a good company, but it does not transalate to the best.
57 SKYVIEW MEMORIAL PARK // May 18, 2010 at 6:43 am
The content about Microsoft Patch Needs Patch (or How to Crumble an Empire) is good and excelent.really fine posting.
58 Kim // Jun 20, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Microsoft always has something good coming to the market
59 Free Wii Points Cards // Jun 25, 2010 at 2:58 am
microsoft is the best
60 Becker // Jun 30, 2010 at 4:32 am
Linux is the future direction, although I am currently forced to use Windows so I can VPN to work.
61 sampson // Jul 19, 2010 at 1:45 am
I especially like the part about Microsoft.
62 Daniel Heinze // Jul 20, 2010 at 9:14 am
@Kim - that’s not really your opinion, isn’t it?
But o.k. - we’ll work with it
63 Xbox Live for Free // Jul 21, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Microsoft is pretty sweeet. Apple FTL lol
64 admin // Aug 6, 2010 at 7:33 am
This is microsoft, nothing serious!
65 kevin // Aug 10, 2010 at 11:14 am
Linux FTW! Forever!
66 sabota // Sep 7, 2010 at 8:47 pm
i think microsoft have more bugs
67 Fernando Versteeg // Sep 12, 2010 at 8:59 pm
this blog is amazing !! good work buddy
68 Backlink Checker // Oct 2, 2010 at 7:50 am
So far windows 7 is doing great, love it
69 Perpendicular Blog // Oct 24, 2010 at 3:10 am
I think Microsoft, in general, needs one gargantuan patch!!!
70 Alvaro Castio // Nov 7, 2010 at 2:15 am
I remember when I hit a patch of Windows, my computer is out of order. When I search for it, and discover its because patch, so I had to remove it.
71 Joe @ Hair Removal Creams // Nov 7, 2010 at 5:52 am
In general, I like Microsoft products. But, their constant updates and patches are getting annoying. Also, Windows Vista was a huge deception - probably the worst product they ever released. Joe from Hair Removal Creams
72 Yang Pachar // Feb 7, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Good information, I’m planning to have my site just as popular
73 PHP programmer // Jul 11, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Microsoft is costly, I rather go to open source. But I admit Microsoft is more popular.
74 Hasibur Rahamn // Jul 25, 2011 at 1:57 am
It was very useful for me.This was actually what I was looking for, and I am glad to came here!Thanks for sharing the such information with us.
75 plumber in milwaukee // Jul 25, 2011 at 8:33 am
You’re right about MSFT. Simply compare the “internet explorer” web browser with Mozilla firefox, it’s a WORLD of difference. IExplorer crashes very often, even with what seems to be little strain or other reason. I switched to firefox years ago and I do not recall ever, even once, it crashing with an error message “has encountered an issue and must be closed”. Boo IExplorer, yay Firefox.
76 Rhinoplasty Surgeons // Aug 2, 2011 at 5:29 pm
I have also used Visual Studio in the past and found it to be a pretty good dev environment. Anyone know what their latest version is called?
77 Calgary Blinds // Sep 23, 2011 at 2:16 am
IExplorer is very slow and always failing . i agree for those who yay for firefox .
78 Calgary Boilers // Sep 23, 2011 at 2:17 am
FireFox lol
79 web design Hertfordshire // Dec 8, 2011 at 4:22 am
Descriptive information pleased to found the great site of you.
80 serwis laptopów // Dec 9, 2011 at 4:36 am
you’re actually a good webmaster. The website loading pace is incredible. It kind of feels that you’re doing any distinctive trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterwork. you have performed a wonderful process on this topic!
81 Photo Capture Software // Dec 12, 2011 at 5:05 am
I always prefer firefox because its works very fast then IE
82 vet in Tampa // Feb 7, 2012 at 7:04 am
Any company, including microsoft, that releases software that is not fully ready yet is doing a disservice to consumers.
83 John Smith // Feb 22, 2012 at 6:52 am
Microsoft is a real brand! I” never substitute it with smth else!
84 cpanel server // Mar 8, 2012 at 2:09 pm
They did mess up pretty hard core awhile ago but I like their new products
85 plumber in cleveland // Mar 25, 2012 at 4:13 pm
Like many other things microsoft has both good points and negative points.
86 Merrill Balcos // May 21, 2012 at 3:40 pm
I have taken note that of all forms of insurance, health insurance is the most marked by controversy because of the discord between the insurance coverage company’s need to remain adrift and the client’s need to have insurance cover. Insurance companies’ commissions on wellness plans have become low, thus some firms struggle to profit. Thanks for the suggestions you discuss through your blog.
87 Fibroids Miracle // Jul 20, 2012 at 9:12 am
well there are many companies MUCH worse than microsoft, even if they could do better in many ways. Some products are OK, good or even better than simply good. And some, like “Internet Explorer” are horrible and low quality.
88 cpanel server // Sep 3, 2012 at 11:48 am
I hate it when that happens
89 Get good grades in college // Sep 30, 2012 at 7:26 am
Aside from the very low quality “internet Explorer” I don’t have anywhere near as negative a view of them compared to some more recent entries, and it would appear most college students strongly agree.
90 Best Make Money Online // Oct 10, 2012 at 6:04 am
Microsoft and patch, in the same sentence, could this be a money-making opportunity possibly for a competitor.
91 Best Make Money Online // Oct 21, 2012 at 1:00 pm
A patch on top of a patch, not very befitting a former king of the internet, how will they ever make money online or any other way with patches on top of patches.
92 Shane Watson // Nov 6, 2012 at 6:59 pm
I hate it when that happens…….Thanks
Leave a Comment