Yes, we all know it already. Still, I cannot help but write about my own experiences. Actually, I don't have much of a rant against Microsoft (this time), because Windows XP is a great piece of software. Vista on the other hand sucks ass, which is the reason that I finally chose to upgrade my Sony Vaio from Vista to XP. Well, that, and the fact that my Vista was Japanese, and Microsoft doesn't allow me to change the language of the OS without paying for it...The fun began when I found out that all the drivers I downloaded from the Sony website chose not to work for my laptop...
Sony's policy for users is simple: all users are idiots. They have no clue what they're doing, and to prevent them from doing something wrong (or, god forbid, something RIGHT), they only allow you to install drivers that match the notebook's model type exactly, even if a slightly different notebook has exactly the same hardware components. This annoyed me to no end, because I was browsing the American Sony website to get drivers, and my notebook hasn't been released in the US, so I tried downloading drivers for the same hardware from a different model that was released in the US. No go, of course. That left me with no choice but to navigate the horror that is the Japanese Sony website. I did indeed find one English web page on the whole Japanese site, stating that Sony Japan will never release drivers in English, and that I can forget about any support for XP as well. Thanks a lot, Sony...
Which showed me again that the only true solution is to ignore Sony completely, give it the finger, and find the drivers myself. It took some hours, but at least the laptop works like I want it to.
Well, this must be a great promotion for me if I ever want to work at either company... I do hope that MS and Sony find this and read this. I'll make it extra clear:
Microsoft:
- Why is Vista slower and more buggy than XP? It's not worth releasing!
- Why is it impossible to switch OS language? That's a serious lack of foresight...
- Why, why oh why, can I not install a driver for a piece of hardware, just because the version of my NOTEBOOK is different!?!? It's the same hardware, for crying out loud!
- Why force people to use your crappy software when vendor-made software is way better and faster?
- Why is the Japanese website only available in Japanese? Anybody who buys a laptop in Japan will only be able to get drivers if they know Japanese!