In very early 2007, my trusted China-built HP laptop died. I needed to reformat the hard drive of that computer I bought with my savings from Basic Training and the DVD player died, making it impossible to install a new operating system. I went computer hunting, but because Vista was being released in 3 days, there weren’t any powerful enough laptops available in the stores.

…

That was the longest 3 days of my life.

The morning of Vista’s release, I waited outside the Best Buy in Vienna, Virginia to take advantage of a really great deal for a powerful HP computer. No, I didn’t get there at 3am, but I was still there before the doors opened with a few other people who had needlessly camped out. I got in, got my computer, put in a full day and overtime at work, went home, and turned on the machine.

I loved it. It was pretty. I thought it was the greatest thing since, well, Windows XP.

Then I plugged in my video camera… nothing happened.

Then I plugged in my TV tuner… nothing happened.

Then I tried exporting video with the S-Video connection… nothing happened.

Then I tried the wireless internet connection… nothing happened.

Then I tried printing a timesheet for work… nothing happened.

Windows Vista was non-compatible with this incredibly powerful computer I just bought! I took it to Best Buy and they offered to buy it back for a “store credit” and another computer – but because I got a good deal on this computer, the other laptops at this price all stunk to high heaven. They installed a few of the drivers so I could at least get wireless internet in my apartment, but with all the video stuff I was doing at the time, it was unacceptable.

Well, my video camera was outdated, so I thought if I got a USB camera, that might work. I went to Best Buy, bought a HDD camera for myself, went home, plugged it in …. nothing happened.

I got a new printer… nothing happened.

How I didn’t punch a hole in the wall of my apartment during this period is beyond me.

Frustrated, I went to the Apple Store and bought the cheapest Mac available.

IT WORKED! EVERYTHING FREAKING WORKED!!!

Eventually, I got a copy of Windows XP and put that on my HP Laptop and most everything worked on there, too. Still, I find myself using the Mac a lot more than the PC (partially because HP’s quality plummeted between 2003 and 2007 and the wireless internet card died).

Technically speaking, I spent $1050 for my MacBook and $700 for my PC. However, I spent another $120 for an old operating system and $500 for a new video camera. In reality, I spent $1320 for the PC when the $1050 for the MacBook would have worked out of the box with everything I had.

Now it’s two and half years later and everybody has had the same problems with Vista that I had. Thousands of mad as hell consumers abandoned Microsoft and went to Apple – maker of their beloved mp3 players – and were not disappointed. Now, Microsoft wants to convince us that we NEED to buy a 3rd computer (Vista computer, Mac computer, Windows 7 computer).

And of course, the media is telling us that we NEED Windows 7, too. Because without Windows 7, we won’t be able to get all the software that’s going to be developed for PC’s on the new operating system. Just like we NEEDED Windows Vista. Just like how it changed how people were going to develop software for PCs before.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m sorry. But I am no longer a Micro$oft whore. Just like the quality of consumer electronics in PCs, the quality of Microsoft’s operating systems has become more about style and less about function. Microsoft came as close as they are going to come to perfecting an operating system with Windows XP. Windows XP is not outdated. There is nothing out there that consumers want that Windows XP isn’t stable, fast, or powerful enough to handle. The only reason Microsoft is pushing new operating systems is because they need to improve revenue, which has been stagnant for years and forced them to lay-off 5,000 employees.

All they’re doing, however, is convincing consumers that Microsoft is no longer worthy of their trust or loyalty. And as the old saying goes, “The customer is always right.”

If I get a new computer, it’s going to be another Mac.