Microsoft Pisses Off Users...Intentionally.

ZDNet posted a very interesting article a few days ago entitled "Microsoft: Vista feature designed to 'annoy users'" (read full article here) in which Microsoft product unit manager, David Cross, states, "The reason we put [User Account Control] into the Vista platform was to annoy users -- I'm serious."

Since I like to be able to pay my bills and buy life's little luxuries (like food), annoying the user is a quality I try to keep out of my design.  So what is the deal?  Is it just Microsoft thinking way, way ,way outside the user experience box?  In a twisted way, maybe.  As the article explains, "...[A]nnoying users had been part of a Microsoft strategy to force independent software vendors (ISVs) to make their code more secure, as insecure code would trigger a prompt, discouraging users from executing the code."

I guess when you have the lion's share of the market you can hold your users ransom to get your vendors to fall in line.