I don't usually, but... 10045

snips

"Easy to use" is a relative thing. I just delivered a box back to a client. The box had anti-virus, anti-spyware and other buttorted defensive tools installed, yet AdAware found over 100 "critical" spyware items, not including cookies, and there were a couple of viruses on the machine to boot.

On top of this, the owner was complaining that the system was running very slowly. Indeed, it was, and a "refresh" (installing Windows overtop itself) significantly improved performance.

Explain to us how a system which has the defenses, still gets infected, and, thanks primarily to the registry, tends to slow down more and more as time goes on, to the point of being effectively unusable, is "easy to use".

Yes, it's easy to get running - because it's usually sold pre-installed. Sure, it's easy to launch your web browser or mail client or word processor or game... using the exact same mechanics you would in Linux or most other modern OSen. It's a little too easy to install and remove software, change system settings and the like, for obvious reasons, and it is virtually impossible to protect from malware, or even the effects of cumulative clutter from installation and removal of programs.

Linux and Unix and, as far as I'm aware, OSX don't have these problems. In fact, about the only bad thing one can say about Linux from an "ease of use" perspective is that plugins can be a bit of a pain, sometimes, to get working... but that has nothing to do with the OS, it is the plugin vendor's shortcomings.

Easy to use, eh? My Linux systems, I don't use AV software, and I don't get viruses. In Windows, I see machine after machine that does use AV software, keeps it up to date... but still gets viruses. And the same for spyware, adware and the like.

Here's a chuckle. Earlier today, I downloaded a file. Not a large file, it was something on the order of a couple megs, zipped. The machine, prior to running the contained program, was reported clean by AdAware and AVG. After running the program - which did what it claimed to do, BTW, it just took several minutes - a subsequent scan revealed zero viruses but over 100 items found by AdAware.

One program, 100+ bits of malware as a result. Most rated "critical". So yes, Windows is, in fact, easy to use - for the malware developers. It's not nearly so easy to use for the honest users.