Why is my computer so FREAKIN SLOW??

Now here's a topic everyone can relate to. We have come a tremendously long way in the computer industry over the last 30+ years. I can still remember (unfortunately) some of those early machines. They were "clunky". They were big. The screens were low-res, black and white or Green on black, or something similarly boring. And, interestingly, they were also

Dog Slow.

Which is something we ALL can relate to. Because, with all our wonderful reductions in size, increased resolution, graphics "acceleration", etc., for everyday tasks (booting up, starting an application, switching between applications, shutting down, opening windows, closing windows, etc., etc.) most of our computers, are still DOG SLOW. So much for 30+ years of computer industry "improvements".

But what really gripes me is, not that our computers are slow for these everyday tasks, it's that

---> Nobody seems to acknowledge this fact and, furthermore, nobody seems to be doing anything about it.

Yes, yes...I'm an engineer. So please don't start telling me that "it's all very complicated", or something like "things really are better"...blah, blah, blah. The reality is that engineers think performance tuning is boring. Further, most development engineers have the most tricked-out, memory-maxed, highest-possible-end systems on the face of the planet that they have personally tuned to the max for themselves. So guess what? It's not their problem. It's ours.

For what it's worth, I think we have allowed the architectural concept of multi-tasking to be taken to extremes,and that is a big part of this problem. Microsoft has created a "system" that allows processes to be spawned at will by almost any ISV that simply sit there and take up CPU time, disk access, and God knows what, and there is very little control placed over them at any level. That is why 1) Game manufacturers don't have this problem; they try their best to take over the machine and not let the offending code run at all, and 2) clearly this is why, after only a short time, our once fast running new computers slow down to an abismal crawl.

Yes, our computers are wonderfully fast when they are new. All of them. Not just the expensive ones. And they ALL slow down after a few weeks of use. All of them. Not just the cheap ones. Why? Because of a combination of the OS and ISVs. ISVs write code that abuses the operating system, and the operating system let's the code execute.

We need our computer OS to guard against performance-hogging processes the same way we guard against viruses (BTW, crappy anti-virus software is one of the biggest sappers of performance). The APIs need to enforce this process.

For example, why does an application, once installed, slow down your system EVEN WHEN NOT BEING USED? Suffice it to say that it does and this is unacceptable. The ONLY way an application I install should be allowed to run a single process is by my explicit permission; it should not be allowed to spawn process after process, leaving them to run not only when the application is called, but whenever the machine is booted. These processes are often hidden, and almost impossible for even a trained expert to find and extinguish.

And there are other reasons why, as I install more and more software, that my system slows down. One is the registry itself. The whole concept of "installing" software needs to be re-thought out. And soon.

What can you do? Unfortunately, not much. You could choose to not install any software on your new computer, but that's easier said than done as it is impossible to browse the internet without being asked(sometimes) to install something. There are also Windows "critical" updates, virus attacks, anti-virus attacks, etc.

What else can you do? Go buy a better computer... oh, yeah, not much choice their either. You could do what the industry wants you to do. Buy a faster computer, one with more memory, a more expensive graphics card, etc.

And when you do...after a few weeks, it will still be Dog Slow.