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I don't even know what to type out for this blog...I mean, I know what I want to say...I just don't know **how** to go about wording it. See, I've been under the impression that Microsoft and vendors who utilize Microsoft products write easy to use operating systems and software suites. Today I noticed something strikingly similar to "Linux user-unfriendliness".

Now, I personally don't care what the user-friendly camp says. The only argument that makes ANY sense is that the more friendly the software is, the bigger the user base, and that leads to more attention from hardware vendors in the form of drivers. Ok, I can live with that argument...it makes sense...but every other pansy cry for more user-friendliness is void and null, IMHO. (Feel free to disagree). And the hardware driver argument is pretty lame, too, considering most Linux users watch the HCL's pretty closely...

So don't take this posting as a whine about Windows or Linux...think of this as an apples-to-apples comparison.

To get to the actual event that took place, I was setting up two Dell machines today for BusinessObjects installations (quite possibly the one company I despise more than Microsoft), and I had to install PERC6/E drivers. Now, I'll give you that we're in a vastly different environment here from typical user-friendly-Windows environments...but follow the logic here: I download the driver, which is an executable, and transfer it to the server. I perform the typical Windows "double-click-it" installation, and I'm shocked to see that the executable simply unpacked itself and then opened the directory where it placed the files! No fancy automatic driver install. No fancy graphics to look at while I wait. Nothing.

I stared at the screen in disbelief for a few moments...whaa?? You mean I have to **do something**?!

Then it hit me. Here I am, in a Windows environment, albeit a professional server environment, and the software vendor is expecting me to exercise some intelligence in figuring out how to get this driver installed (well, ok...they are expecting me to RTFM). I open the README, scroll to the appropriate location, and start reading. I end up pulling up the Device Manager, right-clicking the device that isn't configured, and click "Update driver". I follow the screens, tell it where to find the drivers that were unpacked a few moments ago, and click "ok".

Now, many of you will disagree with this next thought, but how can the people at Dell get away with a driver installer as crappy as this one? Simple: I'm a sysadmin (not a Windows one, but that's besides the point). It's expected that I be able to figure things out for myself. How is that **any** different from Linux? Sure, there are user-friendly distros out there, but in the days before Ubuntu or Mint or whatever, Linux was viewed as an environment where users were expected to utilize intelligence in operating the system. The user-friendly crusade has **ruined** that about the Linux community.

I've since moved on to OpenBSD (as long as Theo is in charge there, users will be expected to use their intelligence to operate the system), but it's always been an issue I think when an operating system pushes the user-friendliness envelope to the point it starts sacrificing stability, security, and reliability. You need look no further than Linus' thoughts on the "masterbating monkeys" on the OpenBSD side of the world to see how far Linus is willing to go to sacrifice security.

Call me an elitist prick, but that's how I see it.