Reminded how bad Windows is

Recently we bought a Toshiba netbook. It came loaded with Windows XP. I've been reminded how bad Microsoft Windows is.

Having used an Apple iMac for over a couple of years now at home, I really see the differences in terms of usability. Microsoft feels it's necessary to pop up and confirm every action, be it risky or not. I can't remember the last time I got a prompt to allow/disallow something on the iMac. My work PC uses XP as well, but it's "locked down" so most of the popups are supressed already, but that's certainly not typical of what consumers would experience.

Can't the geniuses at Microsoft understand that users don't like to be stopped in the middle of doing something important to read a dialog box that makes no sense to begin with, then answer Yes/No to something we don't even understand the implications of?

It's a well known fact that Vista was a complete failure for many reasons. Let's hope that Microsoft gets it right with the upcoming Windows 7. Curiously, it looks and feels alot like Mac OS X.