What could the newly-released beta of Windows 7 have to do with paleotechnology, you ask? It has everything to do with it, when good ol’ DOS is looking better and better all the time!
I don’t know about you, but the following disclaimer on the Windows 7 download page bothers me. The emphasis is mine; the apocalyptic language is all Micro$oft’s…
To protect your MP3 files
1. Before you install this Beta release, back up all MP3 files that might be accessed by the computer, including those on removable media or network shares.
2. Install the Beta release of Windows 7; download and install the Update to Windows 7 Beta (KB961367) located on this page.
I think I just got inspired to try out Linux as a desktop OS this weekend. No OS — and no application — should ever consider itself as the be-all and end-all music file Gestapo. This is exactly what I don’t like about iTunes/iPod (and to be fair, similar features in Windows Media Player; I’m an equal-opportunity curmudgeon.) Data (be it text, graphics, mp3s, presentations, whatever) should be in as open a format as possible. This is why mp3s are so popular in the first place.
Whatever prompted Microsoft to issue such a worrisome disclaimer about mp3 files (and not hide it deep in the EULA-that-nobody-ever-reads) has got to be bad. What does it do, automatically collect all mp3s it can find into a WMP library and “thoughtfully” convert them to WMA for the user’s “convenience??”
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
