FreeLists / openbeos / [openbeos] Re: Windows Vista Performance Kludges (that Haiku does not need)

[Simon Taylor <simontaylor1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> The SuperFetch feature compensates for bad memory usage and for all the 
> stupid memory eating background apps that Windows needs to keep 
> functioning (virus scanning, defragmenting, etc.)

I couldn't help laughing either:
"SuperFetch uses an intelligent prioritization scheme that understands which 
applications you use most often, and can even differentiate which applications 
you are likely to use at different times (for example, on the weekend versus 
during the week), so that your computer is ready to do what you want it to do."

And ReadyBoost uses USB sticks for swap files preferentially rather than the 
HDD, which MS almost try and sell as a sensible alternative to upgrading 
physical RAM:
"Windows Vista introduces a new concept in adding memory to a system. Windows 
ReadyBoost lets users use a removable flash memory device, such as a USB thumb 
drive, to improve system performance without opening the box." Unbelievable. 
And obviously stuff has to be swapped out to the HDD first anyway, in case the 
user pulls out the stick at any time. So yet more work for windows to be doing 
in the background, copying memory from HDD->flash drive. Well at least there's 
SuperFetch so all the memory these extra tasks are taking will be automatically 
replaced with MS Word for when you get back from lunch.

I guess when you have 12,000 people working for 5 years on an operating system 
you have to give them something to spend their time on.

One of the things I've really started disliking about MS software is this 
hidden "intelligence" that they try to put in. One of the reasons I'm efficient 
with computers is that I can quickly work out the logic that they're using to 
do stuff. This is getting increasingly hard with MS stuff - I swapped a couple 
of columns around in excel by copying and pasting and it took me ages to 
discover that Excel had also kindly changed all the references to those cells 
so my formulas still produced exactly the same results. Very clever, might even 
be useful sometimes, but there was no indication it had done this. Grrr.

I'd take simple and understandable over hidden attempted cleverness any time.

Phew, that turned into quite a rant.

I can't wait to use Haiku and actually understand what my computer's doing the 
whole time. What a novel concept that will be.

Simon

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