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Your criticism of Microsoft is typical, but unfair and silly.

I soldered (4,000+ joints with zero bad) my first computer (Digital Group) from a kit in 1976. Each 1 k memory card kit cost $440. I, too, have an attic and basement full of stuff. The various Macs people gave me have all been disposed of.

I've been using Windows for ages at home and at work and I hardly find appropriate the word 'silly' a description of the irritation caused by that that bloated product. Windows 7 on new laptop with a good chunk of RAM (with very few additional applications on it) still has irritating 'pauses' and lockups. I marvel at their 'genius' of change for the sake of change.

Almost every day I have a 'Bill Gates moment.' That is what I call it when something happens that makes me want to have Bill there with me to ask, "Why did that happen?" or when I try to do something the new 'improved' way on each release of Windows, "Why did you design it this way?" I find Windows 7 their most irritating release yet.

I apologize. I have done far more than my share of soldering over the years also. I wasn't thinking of a person with the experiences that you have had when I said your criticism was silly.

I assist numerous coworkers, family and friends with their computer difficulties and without exception they all whine and complain about Microsoft's products whenever they are having any type of difficulty. 95% of the time the difficulty that they are experiencing has almost nothing to do with Microsoft. Most of the time has to do with them not bothering to even trying to learn even the most rudimentary basics. How is it that someone who has been using a computer for ten years can have no concept of what a folder or a directory is and how to navigate a hard drive?

I have many associates who call me almost as soon as their computer acts up. The first thing that I usually ask them is if they have tried restarting their computer? Then I ask if they have tried using system restore. Most of the time they haven't tried either.

As far as bloating goes... it is annoying after you reinstall Windows XP on an old computer and it function perfectly, but if you allow the computer to take all of the updates it will slow to a crawl while your functionality and security have barely improved. So we definitely have common ground their. However, Windows XP was first introduced ten years ago, and the fact that it still is the operating system of choice in many organizations speaks volumes about the robustness of the Operating System.

I have no doubt that you are accurately describing your problem with Windows 7. Generally the first thing that I do with any new laptop is to figure out a way to get it to back to a completely clean system to avoid that type of problem. With Windows Vista there was a very simple technique where you saved your OEM registration information to a flash drive using a small utility; then you used an upgrade DVD and chose the same operating system that you already had. This gave you a completely clean install, then you would copy back your original OEM registration from your flash drive. After that I would make an image of the hard drive and make sure that I had a working restore point saved before installing any new software.

Laptops are notorious for coming with loads of crapware installed these days that cause the types of issues you are describing. My experience with Windows 7 has been completely positive. I have never had a noticeable lockup or pause on the $350 Lenovo laptop that I am currently typing on and I have installed a lot of applications on it. For me Windows 7 has been a significant improvement over Vista for a number of reasons.

I don't need to tell you that because of the limitless combinations of hardware and software available for Windows machines that there could be many reasons for the difficulties that you are experiencing. I have had people complain to me about pauses, most of the time it has something to do with their anti-virus products starting scans or if they are running a program through their network from a server or over the Internet it generally has something to do with their connection.

I am sorry to have said that your concerns about Windows 7 were silly. Apple does have software and hardware that appear to go through more rigorous testing together before being released. This is more difficult and not done to the same level of perfection with manufacturers who sell hardware running Microsoft Operating Systems. It would be a bad argument to make to say that there was no reason many people choose to pay a little more to avoid what can amount to a significant amount of frustration.