Steve Thackery

> Unless Vista Service Packs fix the bugs, the
> profound lack of customization options, and the Windows Explorer and
> Office
> toolbars disasters, I will keep using XP for quite a long time.

Well, of course we can expect the service packs to fix the bugs. I'm not
sure how this contributes to the main thrust of your argument.

As for me (and pretty well every magazine reviewer I've read) I think Office
2007 is a big improvement on Office 2003 in terms of its user interface (the
overall functionality is much the same). I think the Vista interface is
much better than XP (with it appalling colour schemes, patronising and
childish sound schemes, the dreadful 'My' in front of everything, etc).

Both Office and Vista user interfaces had *extensive* tuning and tweaking in
the useability labs as well as during the betas. Microsoft almost certainly
does more useability testing than any other software supplier. That is why
I'm pretty certain you won't persuade them to change.

I'm sure I won't change your mind, but your reaction does sound like you are
simply resisting any kind of change. Unfortunately I don't know how you can
give feedback to Microsoft, but I don't think you'll have much chance of
diverting them now.

It does sound, though, like OpenOffice would be well worth looking at for
people like yourself.

Steve