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The Weekly Round-Up: 18.04.08
Microsoft: "Annoyed? It's for your own good"…

By silicon.com

Published: Friday 18 April 2008

This week - a chance to help write your own gags for the Round-Up.

What sort of company admits to introducing features in its product designed to deliberately "annoy users"? Microsoft, apparently.

Insert your own general Windows joke here…

Not willing to take the Round-Up's word for it? Then take the word of the Microsoft product manager in charge of implementing Vista's User Account Control (UAC) feature.

David Cross said one of the security features in Vista was deliberately designed to "annoy users". It was done in order to put pressure on third-party software makers to make their applications more secure.

Insert your own 'pot and kettle' joke here…

Cross was the group program manager for UAC, which, when activated, requires people to run Vista in standard user mode rather than having administrator privileges, and offers a prompt if they try to install a program.

Speaking at the RSA Conference in San Francisco recently, Cross said: "The reason we put UAC into the [Vista] platform was to annoy users - I'm serious."

Insert your own "we know you're serious, we've been using your software for years" gag here…

Cross, whose surname - as serendipity would have it - matches the mood of the users of the product he implemented, added that "annoying users" had been part of a deliberate strategy to try and force independent software vendors to make their code more secure. Insecure code, so the argument goes, would trigger a prompt, discouraging users from executing the code.

Has annoying users been a success? Hell yes, according to Cross. He claimed it's a myth that people just turn UAC off.

Insert your own "using annoying software has become part of the industry standard for operating system user experience so why change the habit of a lifetime" gag here…

Microsoft had apparently collected opt-in information from users which showed that 88 per cent were running UAC. It's also a pile of festering animal dung (courtesy of these guys perhaps?) that users blindly accept prompts without reading them.

Add your own "So that just leaves 93 per cent of Vista users risking RSI from repeatedly clicking "'yes', 'yes', 'yes' in faux-orgasmic fashion" quip now…

So, "annoying users" part of the user experience design cycle at Redmond. A brave and honest admission.

Insert your own pithy closing comment and segue into the next bit here…

Tech savvy? Sick of being lumbered with a four-year-old laptop and want the latest? Of course you do, it's your God-given right. Go tell your IT manager right now.

Within two years, the brand and model of the enterprise laptop could be decided by the user, not the IT department.

According to Gartner, end users' preferences will soon account for up to 50 per cent of all purchasing decisions relating to hardware, software and services within the enterprise.

Just as the democratisation of content is part of the web 2.0 revolution, the democratisation of the IT procurement strategy is part of the brave new world of IT manager 2.0. Joy.

Or - look at it this way. You're an IT manager. Just pretend…

It's Tuesday morning, you have a headache and the weekend is a distant memory. Meanwhile, your configuration management officer has fouled up again, your load balancing test has gone bad and the security patch for your entire desktop range has failed. Suddenly, the marketing manager waltzes in and demands a MacBook Air for her and one for her assistant. Now. Her counterpart in the rival firm has one so why can't she?

Meanwhile, your webmaster wants a top of the range Alienware laptop, all the sales team wants an iPhone to replace their perfectly functioning BlackBerries and receptionist wants a larger monitor to place her ever-increasing pile of gonks on. Sounds like fun, right?

The bold statement was part of Gartner's 10 predictions for 2008. Another prediction was that by 2012, 50 per cent of all laptops would be ditched in favour of smart phones and another heralded the increase in the role of green computing in the enterprise.

Interestingly, there may be a correlation between the first and 10th predictions. The first was the user preferences influencing kit procurement decisions. The 10th was that by 2011, Apple will double its US and Western Europe unit market share. Coincidence? The Round-Up thinks not.

Check out the other predictions here.

There was one bright ray of hope for entrenched IT managers, though. Gartner said that companies need to keep up with these endless demands or else risk losing their best young talent.

No you can't have a new smart phone. OK, bye...

Also this week - Google is a company that wears its heart on its sleeve, from its corporate philosophy to the terms of its IPO, the search giant has always held on to its core values. But now it seems there has been a quick update on the famous "Don't be Evil" motto that features so heavily in Google's corporate ethos.

The very latest clarification of the company's ethical position comes courtesy of Google VP Marissa Mayer who this week told the Sydney Morning Herald that actually the Don't be Evil motto isn't actually a motto at all. It's more a guideline than a rule - a bit like the Pirate's Code, Captain Jack Sparrow fans.

"It really wasn't like an elected, ordained motto," she told the paper. "I think that 'Don't Be Evil' is a very easy thing to point at when you see Google doing something that you personally don't like; it's a very easy thing to point out so it does get targeted a lot."

It's also an easy thing to point at when you put it at the centre of the company's corporate ethos.

Obviously, Google can't just drop the motto but it is a bit of a reeking albatross slung about its corporate neck. Still, the Round-Up has to chortle at the latest part-divestiture of its moral core.

Like any other company, Google has to keep its stakeholders happy and make sure the billions of dollars that pour into its context-sensitive coffers don't suddenly stop flowing just because its might upset some people and devalue its hippy roots.

Don't Be Evil, it must have sounded like such a good idea at the time...

Ever been the victim of a computer burglary? The Round-Up has and it was rubbish, up until it received a brand new desktop and laptop from the insurance company. But now you can increase your chances of getting your stolen goods back by installing software that 'phones home' and alerts the authorities if it's been stolen. Brilliant!

Broadband in the sewers, Ofcom has smelled the opportunity and it likes the bouquet. Super fast broadband could be on the way just don't mention the smell.

Here come the girls.

Until next week, chance your arm, or your wit, in the caption competition.

And relax with your MP3 player of choice and the silicon.com Weekly Round-Up podcast.