'Windows sucks,' former Microsoft Engineer says, explains how to fix it

Retired Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer has waded into the argument over where Microsoft has gone wrong with Windows, suggesting that perhaps the OS needs a hardcore mode to offset some of its fluffier edges.

Plummer comes from what was arguably a golden era for the Windows operating system: the final days of Windows NT 3.5x and the advent of Windows NT 4. Although it has been decades since he was last involved in the Windows codebase, his code can likely still be found in the OS, in part, due to the blessing and curse of Windows's obsession with backward compatibility.

Plummer's complaints boil down to two main areas: a desire for a hardcore mode that optionally removes all the fluffiness added to the operating system for the benefit of non-technical users, and a combination of transparency and an end to the 'Microsoft knows best' attitude that has ...