A far more valuable contribution that Microsoft could make to increase our free time would be to set to work and build some software that doesn't keep falling over. And don't tell me that "it's quite stable now", even with a fully-current XP machine I still get at least one dead stop every day. Minimum. Add to this the hours wasted loading fixes and patches every month. Plus the time I have to spend keeping the other two systems in the house up to speed - they are different vintages, so have different quirks and foibles.

Microsoft has had several truckloads of our cash, and still can't deliver a decent product. I've been using the stuff since the days of DOS, and frankly, it does little more (that I personally need) than it did then, and it does it at one tenth of the speed.

It wouldn't be so bad if it were possible to buy a non-Microsoft machine, but in the meantime it would be nice if representatives of the company stopped patronising us with lectures on how to free up our time with even more technology.

It must go with the territory though. I'm sure it was an ex-Microsoft man, his pockets stuffed with loot, who lectured us interminably some years ago about how we should all spend more time with the kids.

Pah!

“half of our working year is spent in meetings;
an extra quarter of the year is taken up in travel to and from those meetings;
we average 12 meetings a week, 4 of them out of the office; and
we are away from our home base for 30 per cent of the working year.”

Oscar sure lives in a world different to most people. If his above statement is true, it is no wonder windows is so useless, with the work force always in meetings.

Now not only do you have to have paper copies of everything, but you have to have electronic documents, email documents, hard drive documents, down time, trying for up time and having lots of time trying to make up time. The downsizing of business means that there are less people to do more work.

Pericles, I use an AMD based system, that runs Linux. My Linux system hasn't crashed or locked up for more than 2 years and patches and updates are all orientated to improving the system rather than fixing it. When purchasing my last computer, I went to numerous dealers only to be told that their systems all came with windows bundled, when it comes to laptops, it is really a closed shop. As it turned out, I found someone that built my system to what I wanted, for less with twice as many features. My AMD chip is far superior to Intel and the system just purrs along without a hitch.

It is time we put people like Oscar out of a job by boycotting Microsoft and Intel, but that won't happen as the sheep of the world will continue to line up and be ripped off.

The Linux AMD system doesn't need a baby sitter. Getting calls from staff asking how to fix the POS system have stopped, the office staff do most of their work from home which has enhanced their output and happiness. Technology could bring us great benefits if only people would step outside their comfort zones and implement change and diversity within the work place.

Alchemist, spot on.

Unfortunately it will take many years before the general public can get the Microsoft drug out of their system.

It still boils my blood to watch such an arrogant and slipshod company continue to get away with it, year after year. Microsoft is a convicted monopolist, but as yet not a single finger has been lifted against them to prevent them from continuing to exploit their stranglehold on the market, and stop them feeding their scag to the unsuspecting public.

For many years they have been able to use the mountain of cash we gave them to continue their control over the market, limiting our choice by buying out or squeezing out any would-be competitor. Ultimately it will be the maturing of the Free/Open Source Software movement that finally gives us back our choice, since Microsoft doesn't understand the concept, and cannot mount its usual scorched-earth campaign against it.

In the meantime I suppose, we will have to put up with these holier-than-thou pieces from minions of the Borg.

Truck drivers, production workers, nurses and farmers all over the country will be jumping for joy when they find out how much time extra time with their families Microsoft will give them. I think OLO should have seen this article for the piece of advertising it really is.

The irony is that the topic is worthwhile, but Oscar has missed the point. IT can be used to allow some office workers to work from home and thereby spend more time with their families. This also reduces transport congestion and saves fuel.

I would love to see large corporations like Microsoft genuinely embrace this concept and prove they were serious about using technology to enhance family life and save energy. I'm yet to hear of any that promotes working from home for all staff - its usually reserved for the select few who can be relied on to work long hours.