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Windows Vista installation rant

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I wonder if I'm the only person who finds this annoying. Whenever I install Windows Vista (or XP or any previous version for that matter) I have to set the date and time. And the default time zone is always USA Pacific (GMT-8hrs). It's easy to change the setting, but it really bugs me that the default is not set to GMT. Why does most of the world have to scroll endlessly to find their time zone in the drop down list? Wouldn't it be more sensible to set the default at the mid-point in the list of available time zone options? We don't all live in Redmond, you know!

The other thing that's bugging me today is that during installation Windows Vista (like all previous versions) asks me to "Please wait a moment while...". Yet this moment lasts for what seems like an eternity. (It's probably only about five minutes, but heck, I'm in a hurry!) Since when did a moment last anything more than a few seconds? A little more honesty wouldn't go amiss here. Setting my expectations for Windows Vista and then dashing them before the installation is complete is really dumb.

At least the 2007 Office system seems to have got it right. There are no promises of waiting for mere moments there. Just a simple honest "Please wait while Setup prepares the necessary files". It seems to take even longer than Vista but in this instance I don't mind because at least the software was honest and upfront from the beginning. Mind you, I'm beginning to wonder who this mysterious "Setup" person is... Perhaps I'd better stop thinking about this before I explode.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    September 29, 2006
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    September 29, 2006
    my bugbear is the fact that I change the locale and yet nothing else follows so the  keyboard and language remain american english - again why?
  • Anonymous
    September 29, 2006
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    September 30, 2006
    I did an MVP presentation yesterday on Vista and one attendee bemoaned the fact that you can't join a domain during Vista setup now. the balance between getting a speedy installation and offering options I guess (though this can be scripted or built in to an image of course).
  • Anonymous
    October 30, 2006
    The comment has been removed