Last week really did it for me. I'm going to remove all Apple assets on my PC! Those guys are getting more and more like spyware/adware, yes I'm NOT censoring here.

I have 1 (!!!!) piece of Apple software on my machine: QuickTime, aka Apple's Trojan horse. I subscribed to updates on QuickTime; using Apple update (as a good citizen does). Wondering why they don't use WindowsUpdate / MicrosoftUpdate. However lately it became blatantly clear that Apple thinks we're all "Click "Yes" monkeys", people that click "Next" on whatever is put on our screen.

I don't want iTunes (I don't have a iPod, I have 2 Zunes), I don't want Safari (I already have a browser!), I don't want anything else!

So for crying out loud why are they continuously annoying me with "QuickTime + iTunes" and now they added Safari. Both important updates...hello???? I never used the software so why would I need an update for it?

One way argue that Microsoft does the same, not true. I asked for optional / additional updates, they're not pushed to me if I didn't ask for it. I didn't ask for Safari, nor iTunes, so they shouldn't be pushed in my face every few weeks.

Either way, QuickTime is removed from my machine, and so is AppleUpdate. If Microsoft pulled a stunt like this, the entire world cried wolf, Apple does it..everybody thinks it's OK.

The world is full of double standards....

The last couple of weeks I hear more a more that Windows Vista is Windows ME II. I disagree.

Maybe I'm biased, but Windows ME was a child of its time, and its time was short lived...

I used Windows ME at home for years, until I replaced my "old" Windows ME PC with a brand new Windows XP one in 2002. I'd been a happy Windows ME customer for about 1,5 years. Nevertheless I also make fun of it.

When Windows ME was released there was still a separation between business operating systems (Windows 2000 Professional at that time) and consumer operating systems (Windows ME).

When talking about Windows ME everybody focuses on its stability and that can be largely attributed to the flaky and inherently unstable Win9x kernel.What a lot of people forget or don’t even recognize to begin with is that Windows ME was actually a rather innovative and forward-looking operating system.

With the help of Wikipedia, here’s a short list of the most notable features that were introduced or improved in Windows ME. All of them carried forward to Windows XP and Windows Vista.

• Windows Movie Maker (new) - allows basic editing of home videos.
• System Restore (new) -allows the restore of system files, drivers and the registry to a previous known state to recover from a system failure
• System File Protection (improved) - monitors and restores undesired changes to important Windows system files.
• New TCP/IP Stack (improved) - adds ability to sense whether adapters are connected to a network, improved performance and reliability and home networking features.
• Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) (new) - adds the ability for the computer to request ports autonomously to the router. (An inherent security problem, but simplifies home networking in many scenarios.)
• Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) (new) - a standardized framework for imaging devices (cameras, webcams, scanners) to communicate with Windows. Before this, device vendors had to write a custom solution on their own, leading to many compatibility problems.
• Automatic Updates (new) - allows for download and installations of Windows Updates directly in Windows. (Before, users had to manually check the website.)
• Inbuilt ZIP support (improved) - allows the creation and extraction of ZIP folders natively in Windows.
• Image preview (new) - inbuilt picture viewer for many of the popular photo and image formats.
• Bundled games (improved) - Pinball and Spider Solitaire.
• USB Mass Storage generic driver (new) - the first consumer Windows OS to support any USB mass storage device without third-party drivers. (Before, you had to install a custom driver from a floppy to use any USB drive.)

Could you imagine the security problems if Windows XP didn’t ship with Automatic Updates? Or if WIA was never introduced - how difficult it was to install a scanner in Windows 98? What about having to download a third-party utility to view a JPG? Or not having to plug in a USB drive and just have it work.

It's hip at the moment to write bad about Windows Vista, but aren't we forgetting the innovations that have been introduced, and that will enhance consumer's computing experience for years to come?

The legacy of Windows ME is still present in Windows Vista, maybe the legacy of Windows Vista will become clearer in Windows Vista +2? Will it take another 10 years to recognize the value of the new platform enhancements that have been put into place?

• DirectX 10
• UAC
• .NET Framework 3.0 (with WPF)
• ...

Windows Vista isn't destined to be a failure, but we should give it the time to show it's full potential.

What’s more, Windows 98 Second Edition was released on May 5, 1999 and Windows XP on October 25, 2001. Between the two, Windows ME was released on September 14, 2000, giving it the shortest Windows lifespan of only 406 days. Any product preceded and superseded that quickly would have suffered the same fate.