The week in your words: Windows 7, EU and Wi-Fi worries

 

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Posted on 16 Nov 2007 at 18:02

In a week that saw Microsoft lose its Windows 7 "wishlist" on the internet, the UK consumer lose their trust in Wi-Fi and the EC lose its temper with... well everybody really, we find out what the PC Pro faithful have made of it all.

First up then, the leaking of the Windows 7 wishlist, Microsoft's top-secret way of finding out what people want in their next OS, a story which had our forum members leaping around like giddy school children with suggestions, beginning with qpw3141 who made the fatal mistake of being sensible,

"I wonder how many people would agree with me and just say, give us an XP that works properly, with all the bugs fixed."

Not many apparently, especially with barnettgs, still pining for a lost love,

"Bring back Windows 98 SE but with no annoying restart or BSOD!"

Quite a good suggestion if you forget that 98's response to the internet was to curl up into a ball and cry quietly in the corner. Still, even 98 wasn't old school enough for jamesrs,

"Don't be so unambitious - forget GUIs and let's get back to MSDos!"

Or etching numbers onto cave walls and dancing around fires. I agree. No-nonsense duneplodder, didn't though, skipping all that chatting malarkey and getting straight to the heart of the matter with a mighty impressive list that won backslaps and hearty cheers all round.

"1. Scrap the Registry - store settings with the software. 2. Core Operating System in ROM. 3. Boot Up in less than 10 seconds. 4. Programs start "Instantly" (It is a "Wish" list!) 5. Stability & Security."

Anybody ready to top that? Yes, Gindylow, what diamonds of insight can you offer us?

"How about replacing the Egg Timer with a shiny new Egg Whisk function? It would of course require extensive "beta" testing... Mwahhaaaw"

Which coincidentally was the noise emanating from Brussels this week as the EC, still flushed from its victory over Microsoft, took a few minutes out of its busy day to stomp all over misbehaving airlines, propose a pan-European telecoms authority and suggest that a deal between the web's biggest online search company and biggest online advertising company, might be a tad uncompetitive. A display of machismo that had Amnesia10 cheering loudly.

"It's amazing that the EU are far better regulators than the national regulators either here or in the US. I am surprised that red flags have not been waving in the US about this. It is not bad for competition then fine, but when a company gets to a certain size maybe all its take-overs should be investigated."

Perhaps, but it didn't take long for SwissMac-sized cynicism to creep in.

"Whatever happens, if National Regulators remain the norm you can be sure Britain will continue to have the worst of everything. Highest prices, slowest speeds, poorest public transport, richest Fat Cats."

And he wasn't alone, was he cheysuli?

"I don't want broadband cheaper, I just want to get what I'm paying for! i.e. pay for 8Mb, get 8Mb - not 6Mb restricted to 1Mb at unspecified times. Mind you, nobody could do a WORSE job of policing telecoms than Ofcom, who we refer to round here as the regulator that's just "off"."