I Like Outlook, But...

Ok, yeah, I said it: "I like Outlook". Me. A UNIX-guy and very much a non-fan of Microsoft. But, still, gotta appreciate when a tool's got useful features. OutLook's always had a fairly decent advanced search utility.

What gets me, though, is, as good as the functionality is, it almost seems like Microsoft doesn't want you to use it. While they continue to keep it in Outlook, it seems like with each succeeding release, Microsoft tries to make using the advanced search tool more and more difficult (to find). Each time I upgrade to a new version of Outlook, I have to play "find the find tool". And, each time, it feels like there's more and more hoops to jump through to get to it and to use it. Ugh.

Sometimes, I Don't Understand the News

Was decompressing after coming back from seeing Philadelphia play dead against the Penguins. So, I was using StumbleUpon to find things to read. I found this article talking about Microsoft's most recent advertising against Open Source. Reading it, all I could think was, "why would Microsoft spend money attacking a piece of software that Oracle's already killed?"

RSAT: WTF?

Ok, so, for whatever reason, Microsoft likes to make things painful when you want to do remote server administration from your Windows desktop. It used to be, if you were running XP, or even vista, you just installed the Server 2003 Adminpak and you were pretty much "good to go". Why they didn't just make this part of Windows - particularly the "pro" versions - I'll never know. It's just a headache you had to put up with.

Apparently, Microsoft didn't think that this was enough of a headache for people that wanted to remotely administer Windows systems from a Windows 7 system. They made it even more of a pain in the ass:

1. Go to the Microsoft website and download the appropriate MSU file. One would think this would be rather straight-forward. However, they start fucking with you, even here. If you're a 32bit x86 user, everything's pretty simple as far as which file to download: you just grab the "x86fre_GRMRSAT_MSU.msu" file. If you're running an AMD CPU, things are also pretty simple: you just grab the "amd64fre_GRMRSATX_MSU.msu" file. However, if you're using Intel 64bit, it's a little less straight forward. Most other vendors, they either have a specific x86_64 file or both the 32bit and 64bit files are in the x86-named package. However, Microsoft, in their infernal wisdom, puts all 64bit versions into the "amd64fre_GRMRSATX_MSU.msu". And, because that file's named "amd..." you assume, "oh, this is the version for AMD-based CPUs and download the x86 one, instead. FMEH
2. Run the MSU and install the binaries.
3. Wonder to yourself, why the hell the 222MB file you just downloaded and installed appears to have not actually installed anything
4. Google around to figure out where the fuck your admin tools are
5. Discover that, Microsoft, in their infinite bloody-mindedness, has decided to make you jump through hoops to actually be able to see and use the files
6. Open up the "Control Panel"
7. Navigate to the "Programs and Features" option
8. Click on the "Turn Windows Features On or Off"
9. Search through the available features to turn on until you get to the RSAT tree
10. Click on the top-level option
11. Go to find your tools and still find them not there
12. Go back to the "Turn Windows Features On or Off" and discover that clicking on the top-level box actually did nothing and that you had to actually individually click on each and every function you want enabled.
13. Go to find your tools are now findable with the search bar but still not in your Start menu
14. Google around some more and find out, "Oh, in addition to the braindead way that I have to enable each and every feature, I also have to tell my damned system 'please to be displaying these tools in my program menus'
15. Go in and enable the items to show up in my start menu.
16. Finally be able to access and use the remote administration tools that should have been part of the freaking OS in the first damned place

Fuck you, Microsoft. I just shouldn't be that involved to get access to these tools.