Microsoft’s update processes have been vexing me sorely of late. Last night I applied a .NET framework update to my XP gaming rig, one that required a reboot to take effect. Since I did not wish to interrupt my work in progress at the time, I elected not to reboot. A short while later, XP threw up another dialog advising me that I needed to reboot for the previously-mentioned update to take effect. I clicked “Restart Later” and went on about my business. That business, as it happened, was playing TF2.

Ten minutes into play, the same goddamn nag screen interrupted my game. Again, I told it to Restart Later. Ten minutes later, it happened again. Goddamn it, Windows! I thought I told you to shut up.

Apparently this bullshit is not exactly new. How I managed to avoid encountering until now is anybody’s guess. This is terrible UI. When a user tells an application or system to fuck off, that application or system should proceed to fuck right off, period. “Restart Later” should not mean “nag me again in ten minutes, ad infinitum”; it should mean “shut the hell up for the remainder of this user session”. Who’s the retard in Redmond making these design decisions?