Back from the Brink

Posted on August 13, 2002 · 1 min read

I have decided what my next desktop computer will be. I’ve spent almost two years with my once top-of-the-line aluminum-sheathed Windows 2000 box.

Apple is stealing me back. Those new dual-processor beasties bring a tear to my eye. Of course, I have to wait at least another year before I can afford one… by then they should really kick butt!

Why? Windows is a pain, and I don’t trust Microsoft, especially with the licensing of WinXP. I will not be able to run Windows 2000 forever, and even if I wanted to, there are features of their latest service-pack that make Win2k surprisingly similar to WinXP, at least where their more dubious practices are concerned.

This evening, about an hour ago, Windows 2000 turned on “FilterKeys”, which is an Accessibility feature that locks the keyboard if one key is pressed for too long. This is nice if, for instance, I was handicap in some way that I might mistakenly hold a key down that I didnt want to hold down, or maybe if a book or something fell onto the keyboard while I was away.

The problem is, I specifically told Windows NOT to install any of the accessibility features when I ran the original install. Guess what. The feature activated, locking out my keyboard. Windows Help told me how to deactivate FilterKeys. In the Accessibility control panel. Guess what was not installed? The Accessibility control panel.

Windows is crap, plain and simple. No thanks.

Give me that single-button mouse, baby!