I'm afraid that the problems aren't limited to Microsoft.

Another recent example comes from Adobe.

I have, and still use, PhotoShop Elements, version 2. It will not load in Win7 without Administrator permission each and every time I open it. I bought Elements version 9, which runs okay, but the menus have been rearranged and "iconized" so that they're unintelligible, and are in a fixed color system that on my computer makes the icons virtually INVISIBLE. Everything is "automated" so that any functions that were once useful have been eliminated, or so completely hidden that they're inaccessible. Most useful functions were just deleted. I also have version 10, which is not much different than version 9.

Adobe "Help" files are very thorough. You can enter " How do I **** " for almost any function and it immediately finds " You can *** " but without anything further to tell you HOW TO ***!!. In rare occasions when it says " click on the #### " there's no clue as to where the #### is buried among those unintelligible invisible unidentifiable icons, but it must be somewhere deeply hidden. (Or maybe it's in another program you're supposed to have?)

"Computer" hardware is now pretty much sold just like washing machines. It's literally impossible to find specifications complete enough to distinguish between any two possible machines. They're all pretty much the same, and most retail sellers only offer the bottom scrapings from the barrel, available for the cheapest price (or at the maximum mark up).

Microsoft probably needs to quit trying to claim they're in the "computer business" and admit that they're just another "telephone company" now, since their only interest seems to be in "not so smart phones."

John