Dave Plummer, a retired Microsoft engineer who wrote Task Manager, responds to the claim that Windows sucks. He describes how he would fix common annoyances, in what he calls a love letter to Windows wrapped in a rant.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN people share it in Windows 11 backlash threads as an even-handed insider's view of what is wrong with Windows.
“I find this take (from the guy who wrote the Windows task manager while at Microsoft) to be evenhanded.”HN comment, 2026
Retired Microsoft engineer on what is wrong with Windows
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That's an entertaining read. I binned Windows 11 recently (only kept it around for gaming) because I didn't like the direction it was clearly going (and has been for a while - including their shoehorning of AI into everything when I don't want it or need it) and don't game enough that I care much any more. For the first time since the 80's I'm not running a Windows OS on any of my machines. I doubt they'll care, I'm one user of hundreds of millions but I don't have to consider whether every update is going to turn on something I don't want/hate so I care. The linked video (via a linked post) from Dave Plummer does indeed sum up my feelings pretty well - this video
RecommendspipesDec 2025
“does a good job of explaining what the issues are”
Explains Windows 11 issues from a former kernel dev
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The average home user probably won't know what power shell and GitHub are. I can't run the scripts you are talking about on my work pc. I can sympathise with your point of view but it does feel a bit like "works for me because I know what I'm doing". Also how long before another Windows update that undoes what the scripts do. I used to be very pro windows simply because of backwards compatibility and hardware support was ridiculously good. I can't recommend Linux to relatives as they'd be utterly confused. Dave Plummer, ex windows kernel dev does a good job of explaining what the issues are: this video
RecommendsGeekyBearJun 2026
“I find this take (from the guy who wrote the Windows task manager while at Microsoft) to be evenhanded.”
Even-handed take from the author of Task Manager
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I find this take (from the guy who wrote the Windows task manager while at Microsoft) to be evenhanded. > Windows "SUCKS": How I'd Fix it by a retired Microsoft Windows engineer. this video
Cites itaccrualNov 2025
“Dave Plummer, retired Microsoft engineer from the early days, made a video on this 2 weeks ago”
Former Microsoft engineer's take on fixing Windows
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Dave Plummer, retired Microsoft engineer from the early days, made a video on this 2 weeks ago: > Windows "SUCKS": How I'd Fix it by a retired Microsoft Windows engineer this video
