We spent about 20 hours over the last few days trying to resolve a few 'minor' computer glitches whose persistence could serve to explain why Microsoft is doomed. Go ahead and argue if you like. Our PC-savvy friend Cyrus says the firm's hold on the O/S market is so entrenched that the company doesn't have to even remotely care what customers think of the product. He says the Microsoft could sell the worst crap imaginable 'which, probably tens of millions of PC users are ready to attest, they already do ' and that neither PC users nor computer manufacturers would have much choice but to suffer along with whatever ill-conceived version of Windows the company comes out with next. Fair enough. But we didn't say Microsoft was going to die overnight. More like eight to ten years, but possibly as few as five if some company ' Google comes to mind -- is able to exploit the software giant's innumerable weaknesses with a comprehensive, Web-based solution. Meanwhile, more and more PC users are bound to discover what is becoming more and more obvious ' i.e., that resolving even the most seemingly minor PC problem can eat up hours or even days of one's time; and that, moreover, some of these minor problems are ultimately insoluble, even by tech wizards. Up Till 4 The three glitches that had us laboring till 4 a.m. last night, on top of ten hours spent earlier on them, seemed innocuous at first: 1) Outlook could send e-mails via Comcast but not receive them; 2) a laptop screensaver would not work; and 3) when accessing a POP mail server at G-Mail, Outlook would not save a password for which it prompted repeatedly. Concerning that last item, if you Google the phrase 'Enter Network Password problem,' you'll
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