Giving Microsoft the boot!
Strike three! You’re out!
Yup, that’s me this week. Last night was the frosting on the cake. The straw that broke the camel’s back. The final nail in the coffin. What’s with the metaphor overload? That’s my tolerance level reaching critical mass.
As a user of various software products during the last three decades, I am ready to admit my frustration.
What set me off? It all began with Word 365. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great program, complete with all the bells and whistles, many of which I employed. It’s performed well for me personally and for work. However, when an aspect of the program continually falls short, it’s time to share my discontent.
I’m talking about READ ALOUD. For me, it’s a helpful tool when I’m writing or editing client books. It helps me fine-tune and enables me to catch mistakes that I may have missed. I came to rely on this feature.
What I love about 365 is the ability to use “natural” voices while working with Word documents. I’ve always selected a woman with a British accent. Why? It makes it sound, oh so professional. Ha! So, imagine my disgust when READ ALOUD suddenly reverted to its original annoying robotic voice. UGH! Trust me, I tried every solution under the sun, including altering “regedit” settings. Nothing worked. Okay, I’ll live without it for a bit. Well, that turned into several months. I was tired of hearing excuses from the big M. (If you’re curious, do a web search. You won’t have any trouble finding a multitude of discontented users experiencing the same problem.)
My next experience was my disillusionment with OneDrive. While it worked, I was always dissatisfied with the functionality. Am I working with an online file or the one on my hard drive? Even a techie like me found it confusing.,
My next experience was my disillusionment with ONE DRIVE. While it worked, I was always dissatisfied with the functionality. Am I working with an online file, or the one on my hard drive? Even a techie like myself found it confusing.
Common complaints include syncing issues (freezing, high CPU usage, a.k.a. slow performance), an unintuitive user interface (especially for restoration and mobile use), limited file management features (like handling ZIP files or organizing photos), and a perceived lack of control over which files are synced, sometimes leading users to feel forced into storage upgrades. There are also concerns about privacy and data collection, as well as the fact that it’s not an actual backup service.
Last month, after another round of frustration, I did the smart thing and completely deleted it from the computer. Good riddance. I’m now using a reliable cloud backup.
Then last night, after completing a post for my blog, I performed my usual preview/read-aloud via the Microsoft Edge browser. You guessed it. Yup, it didn’t work, and I reached the limit of my patience. Now what? Has yet another update messed with my system? Again, I ran through the gauntlet of supposed solutions. None of them worked, of course. So, I downloaded Mozilla’s Firefox and said goodbye to Edge.
Now that I’ll no longer be using OneDrive (it was included in the price of the suite – Word/Excel, etc.), there’s no reason for me to continue using Word 365. As soon as my subscription expires, I will cancel it. There are numerous competitive programs; there’s no reason to endure these persistent nagging problems.