Informing the User

If Vista is going to grind to a halt while it installs updates, I don't mind...Really I don't! What I do mind is that it doesn't tell me what it is doing. The solution is easy, after a reboot is required to install updates a progress bar (one that works) should tell you that the system is busy, until it is ready. It should not allow you to log in as if nothing is happening, then suck 99% processor power while installing updates and telling the user nothing.

It's a little thing, I grant you... but it is these sort of user interface niceties that Microsoft always gets wrong, and Apple always gets right! Take for instance what happens when you wipe and rebuild a Mac, or a PC.

1. The PC reboots for its final time, then starts indexing the drive
2. It sucks as much processor power as it can away from the user, making everything run at a crawl
3. There are no messages to say this is happening, and the user is left to wonder what they did wrong
4. When you try to use the instant search feature instead of telling you that it is not ready yet it tries its best and fails miserably, generating an error
   
5. Then the computer slows down as it asks you to join the windows customer experience improvement program!
6. It takes several minutes before you are able to restart the system, but since you don't know if the indexing process has finished you don't have a clue when you can turn the machine off.

Result: Hair being torn out, and swearing.

Contrast this with Apple.

1. The Mac reboots for its final time, then starts indexing the drive.
2. It uses as much processor power as it can, but not so much as to affect the logged on user. Everything runs smoothly.
3. When clicking on the spotlight search box, it gives you a message to say that it is indexing the drive, and how long it will take before being completed, in English.
4. If you try to use spotlight, it will tell you that it is busy until it has finished indexing the drive.
5. It takes several minutes to finish indexing, but you know exactly how long it has left until finished.

Result: calm and peace, a smile...



There is no problem with what windows is doing.... the problem is how it does it. Windows needs to understand that there is a user sitting there trying to use it!

Rant mode [off]