I recently decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my system to Windows 7, including replacing my peer to peer network with a real server. That way, I’ll be all set for several years and can avoid Windows 8 which promises to be more or less a disaster for people like me who work primarily at desktops or laptops (as opposed to smart phones or iPads). The most recent news being that Windows 8 will not play DVD movies without an extra expense. Also in line with the principle of avoiding every other release of Windows.
The first issue that comes up with Windows 7 is security. The general principle behind all security issues is the more secure you make a system the more of a pain it is to use. This is compounded by Microsoft’s drive to make it easier to do simple and easy things with its programs, resulting in making it more difficult to do complex things with them (look at Word 2010). Passwords are the tried and true case in point: it could be argued that a firm where all users have the identical password of “Password123" don’t really have passwords at all, although they are certainly easy to use. So requiring real passwords provides actual security despite the “inconvenience.” On the other hand, IT types who create “strong” passwords that are so complex people write them down on a piece of paper and tape it to their monitors are equally worthless (I once had a client where one user had no less than 8 passwords taped to his monitor).
The first thing I did was to disable the User Account Controls. If you never make any changes to your system, this is not annoying. But if you are frequently changing things (as I am, as a consultant), it is very annoying and can interfere with installing some programs. Get rid of it (most consultants I know disable UAC).
The second annoyance was: I create a shortcut on the desktop. Every single time I run the program it asks me if I want to run it. Yes, I want to run it, why do you think I created the shortcut? There is supposed to be a way around this using the Policy feature, but I could never figure out how to make it work (harder to do complex things).
Some directories are not available, even if you are logged in with admin rights. What sense does that make? A partial workaround is to right-click on any shortcut and select “run as administrator.” For example, I had to set up an IIS server and was bedeviled with repeated claims that I lacked rights, even though I was the server administrator. The whole thing was a nightmare and took over an hour when it should have taken about 15 minutes.
The Microsoft mantra sometimes seems to be: “You want secure, OK, we’ll give you secure. And then you’ll be sorry.” My wife just got a new laptop with Windows 7. Her reaction: “Why can’t I get XP. This is so HARD.”
Lastly, any discussion of security inevitably comes around to computer “security” on airlines. The TSA requires putting laptops through separately when you pass security, but not iPads, smartphones, tablets, etc. What sense does that make? A recent article in the New York Times seems to hit the nail on the head. The author quoted a security expert who has worked with the Department of Homeland Security: “He said that the laptop rule is about appearances, giving people a sense that something is being done to protect them. “Security theater” he called it.” This is reinforced by recent reports that airlines are trying to get permission for pilots to use iPads instead of physical documentation in the cockpit. So iPads will be safe for Pilots to use but not safe for passengers?