On 14/07/07, Tony Smith <ajsmith@rivernet.com.au> wrote:
> Actually, it's the programmers & 'power users' who tend to put stuff in
> weird places, not the average (ie uniformed) users.

Not programmers and power users. Mostly people who have used computers
longer than Microsoft was able to tell them how to think and people
who think that "C:\stuff" is shorter than "C:\Documents and
Settings\UserName\My Documents\". Not to mention that code isn't
documents.

Compare unix for example. When I save my files it'll go into "~"
instead of "/stuff". Now that's an improvement from the
user-friendlyness perspective. Programs are a bit worse off though.

> The users just hit
> save, and it all ends up in their 'My Documents' folder, or on the desktop.
> Programs are supposed to use the 'Applications Data' folder for their stuff,
> and there is one for each user.  Registry stuff is a bit trickier, but I
> think the 'transfer user' wizard thingy handles that ok.

The setup is such that it is a likely place to save stuff, but not
likely that all your applications will conform. Applications have too
much freedom on Windows, they can put their stuff where they like to
without any complaints. Including on system files and so on, where you
receive an error AFTER the program has demolished your system. What
about checking that before you allow it to wreck it?

> As alluded at above, you can move the 'special folders' to anywhere you
> like, so 'C:\Program Files\' can be 'D:\Program Files\', ditto for 'My
> Docs', etc.  Then you find out which applications have dumb-arse
> programmers, who assume it's always 'C:\Program Files\'.  Or whatever the
> equivalent is in German.

Programmbestanden?

Anyway, the only way you really find out about that is when you create
a computer /without/ C drive. I have one here and I am pretty sure I
have two programs I plain can't install because it wants to check the
C:\ (stubbornly) before it allows me to tell it not to be an idiot.
About half the other programs defaults to C:\Program Files and the
other half to E:\Program Files (which is where my harddisk is).

Most annoying. My C:\ is my mp3 player. Not to be used for installing
stupid programs.

> Users like myself find it hard to break out of the DOS days, and dammit, if
> I want a folder called 'C:\Porn\' *, I'll damn well make one.  Then I'll
> complain when stuff is all over the place.

My GF thought it weird that I'd label my porn folder with the name
"porn". I figured, if I was going to hide it it'd be exactly as
suspicious.

> I've found that taking away Admin rights solves quite a few problems, or at
> least slows most people down.  Much politer than saying 'If you keep
> downloading crap I'll punch you, and then set your computer on fire, rather
> than fix it'.

The only way to fix Windows is to lock down the computer so that all
the user can wreck is stuff the user put on it. Then make sure the
user isn't the one installing the computer and you're all set.
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