Can Microsoft find a better way to annoy its users? Upgrade Windows 7 RC

I thought that the two most annoying Microsoft related events where:
- Restarting after every Windows update, which apparently happens every two days or so
- Getting a bazillion emails from Microsoft for everything, which qualifies Microsoft as a huge spammer.

But I guess we have a new winner. I received the email today, which I copy-pasted below. Apparently someone at Microsoft thought it was a brilliant idea to annoy users by restarting their machine every two hours without saving their work so that they will upgrade.

I can only imagine this meeting…. I bet they laughed so hard about how their users will get the point when the computer reboots, so they will feel compelled to upgrade the RC for Windows 7. But haven’t they stopped for a minute to think that this will be a completely frustrating experience which will just get users to start hating Windows 7 like they did with Windows Vista?

Come on Microsoft! Think of a better way. Something more user friendly, find a way to motivate people! Make them feel excited about Windows 7 so they upgrade. But don’t do something as stupid as this!

Here is the line I love from this email

Starting on March 1, 2010 your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Your work will not be saved during the shutdown.

And here is the full email

It’s time to upgrade from the Windows 7 Release Candidate

While most people who tested Windows 7 have now moved to the final version, some are still running the Release Candidate. If you haven’t moved yet, it’s time to replace the RC.

Starting on March 1, 2010 your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Your work will not be saved during the shutdown.

The Windows 7 RC will fully expire on June 1, 2010. Your PC running the Windows 7 RC will continue shutting down every two hours and your files won’t be saved during shutdown. In addition, your wallpaper will change to a solid black background with a persistent message on your desktop. You’ll also get periodic notifications that Windows isn’t genuine. That means your PC may no longer be able to obtain optional updates or downloads requiring genuine Windows validation.

To avoid interruption, please reinstall a prior version of Windows or move to Windows 7. In either case, you’ll need to do a custom (clean) install to replace the RC. As with any clean installation, you’ll need to back up your data then reinstall your applications and restore the data. For more details about replacing the RC, see the Knowledge Base article KB 971767. For more information, visit the Window 7 Forum.

Thanks again for helping us test Windows 7.

The Windows 7 Team

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 12:02 and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  1. Christian Saborio says:
    02/16/2010 at 14:54

    I do agree that Windows restarts on updates a mayor nuisance, especially in Windows XP.

    That being said, I think Microsoft is doing the right thing to force users out of RC for various reasons. The first one is the user’s security. There is no guarantee that security software will work the same way in RC vs. RTM, so a user’s anti-virus/firewall program might not function properly without the user realizing this. Secondly, I don’t know if an RC machine is able to go through Windows Updates, and a machine w/o these updates is a clear target for disaster. An RC candidate is not meant to be used as a production machine, and this was very clear when they made this public.

    Perhaps the approach is not the most friendly one, but people these days do not pay attention to e-mails requesting action. So yeah, very aggressive from their part but that’s the only way people understand these days.

    BTW, A Windows Server 2008 R2 machine beyond the 180 trial will shut itself off every 2 hours as well. Note that this happens on the RTM version, not the RC.

    My ¢2.

  2. Xavier says:
    02/16/2010 at 15:39

    Christian,

    I do agree of forcing users out of RC versions, but find a better way than shutting down every two hours. This annoying, frustrating and a horrible way to treat users.

  3. willvv says:
    02/17/2010 at 14:02

    I agree with Christian, they have to force the users to upgrade, and they’re warning you with enough time, my computer also displayed a message the day before I got the e-mail.

    I think if you’re affected with the shutdowns it’s because you want to, I mean, I’m using RC also and I know I’m using beta software that might not be as stable as released software, I didn’t pay anything for it, and they’re being kind enough to give me enough time to upgrade (or downgrade if you don’t like Windows 7 enough).

    Regards

  4. Xavier says:
    02/17/2010 at 14:24

    I do like Windows 7 (except that I can’t install the printer) and I know people should upgrade.

    But just think about this, it is not upgrading, it is actually PAYING what Microsoft wants :)

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