You're probably (even more than that, actually) right, Bruce.

Which means that we can continue to look forward to unstable and erratic systems for the foreseeable future.

Too bad that MS didn't take mr. Gates up on his notion that they need to get closer to their users and to listen to them more (he passed the torch to Mr. Ballmer, I recollect, shortly after saying this).

Cheers (not),

Jim N

>>I certainly have no idea as to HOW MS could be 'convinced' to change.
>>
>>One hope is that, as more and more non-techies get computers to simply use, they will get frustrated at a device that is far more frustrating than a dishwasher or a TV or a car. I remember the days when a car needed frequent oil changes and maintenance and still broke down regularly. We don't see that any more. Hopefully we can get there with Win before too much longer.
>
>I don't know Jim...I know we all have problems from time to time, though most of mine are in some way network related.
>
>But for home use, my Win98 and its apps are so far ahead of DOS, 3.1, and even 95, there's no comparison. People with very little computer knowledge can actually now use applications and get online with very little instruction.
>
>So for casual hone users, technology has come to a fairly stable point now, and enhancements only improve an already pretty good situatuion. But I would agree that the same cannot be said of network/server environments...