Dear Ray

Mr Ozzie,

I read in a recent Wired article:

According to Microsoft, one example of a successful service is Windows Update, which automatically installs patches and bug fixes on users' operating systems

How do you define successful? Is it that

• the patches successfully get downloaded to my machine?
• the little shield icon in the tray tells me there are updates to install?
• or the cute bubble telling me there are new updates to install?
  

Here are the ways in which Windows Update is unsuccessful

• Features in remote desktop sessions stop working
• Attempts to install updates hang the machine (Windows is installing new updates...)
  
• Third party vendors can't (or don't) use windows update to update their software (how many of your processes are update daemons?)
  
• The machine shuts down without warning (telling you afterward doesn't count)

In short, the easy part, which any company could do, and saves us a single click on a web site, works really well. The hard part, which is critical to our every day experience as desktop users, has major problems. Have you googled "windows update problems"?

This is a head-in-the-sand success. Keep it up, and we'll all be on Macs.

Love,

The Schmitzer