Computers have become, since their inception – more of a necessity than a luxury. These days, it is hard to find a household without either a desktop or laptop in it – and we all have Bill Gates to thank for that. The inventor of Windows, the world’s most popular operating system, his products literally run our everyday lives…

…but that does not make him God.

In my opinion, as Microsoft grows bigger and bigger, they intrude into our lives more and more – and try their best to force us to use their products whether we want to or not. Not a day goes by that my fingers do not tap a keyboard, either on my desktop computer at home – or my laptop in my travels. Due to the fact that I am an obsessive neat freak – I have both of my computers set up exactly how I want them. They both have the icons, files and programs located precisely where I want them to be, and whatever I do not want to use has either been deleted or removed from my computer entirely…

…and yet, each day, icons and files I do not want simply appear out of thin air – and it drives me crazy.

On each computer, I have a collection of my pictures, documents, songs and movies in a folder I call, “The Wein Files.” In this file, each of my items are separated into a folder of its own, named for the subject that it is. For example, I have a file named, “TLC” which contains everything from my time at the Taxi & Limousine Commission. I have a file named “Music” that holds all of my MP3s – and I have a file for nearly all of my ex-girlfriends labeled with their name – which contains the pictures we took together, as well as any e-mails and letters that they sent me.

But for some reason that I cannot understand, each and every time I open “The Wein Files,” new folders are suddenly incorporated with mine – that are named “My eBooks” and “My Pictures.” Each time I see them, I fume. I do not want them, I delete them every time I see them – and yet – they keep coming back. I even spent an entire evening once, delving into the inner sanctum of both of my computers trying desperately to find the source of these unwanted files, until I found them and deleted them – only to have them appear the very next day.

In addition to continuing to place files on my computer that I do not want, Microsoft also forces Windows Updates down my throat, never leaving me a choice as to whether I want them or not. When Microsoft releases an update, they alert you when you shut your computer down, by stating, through a message window, that when you shut your computer down, it will install the new updates before shutting down. And if you somehow figure out how to avoid installing these updates at shut down – it simply installs them when you restart. Granted, it is Microsoft and Bill Gates that invented the program I am using – but once I purchase it – who the hell are they to tell me how to use it? As I recall, you don’t get visited by the president of Ford Motor Company after you purchase one of their vehicles, and the owner of Home Depot does not come to your house after you make a purchase from them telling you how to use the product you bought, do they?

No matter the size of Microsoft or the amount of people that use their products, perhaps they should back off and leave the method of use of their products to the people that purchase them – because last time I checked, I bought an operating system – not a leash.