So I had the misfortune of working in Windows XP for a bit today and I have to say, I have no idea how it is so popular, other than the fact it’s just there, pre-installed.
I have a PC running XP here at Thistle Dew to support some Windows-specific stuff, and I had to power the machine on today for the first time in a while. I decided to install the requisite bajillion software updates and hotfixes that had been released since the box was last used. Hoo boy, 13 of ’em.
Oh well, no matter, we’ll just get the process started and do something else . . . . maybe. Does no one else find the constant focus shifting to be a nuisance? I’m in a browser window (hmm, you can still find a browser that doesn’t support tabbed browsing? How innovative.) and I’m typing when, the menubar dims and my keystrokes aren’t picked up. Apparently part of the Windows update process felt the need to focus the interface on itself. It didn’t need any user input or intervention: it just wanted me to know it was there.
This happened a couple more times, and I found myself getting really irritated with it. How is this a feature?
But then I decided I would take a look at my site in IE6 and boy, was I sorry. I downloaded FireBird to make sure it was IE and not Windows in general. Ouch, it looks awful.
Now, I need to figure out what to do about this: for me, Windows users are not the overwhelming majority, but I don’t want this to be a totally crappy experience (at least visually: the content is another matter).
Now playing: Radio Paradise