In my previous post about OEMs extending Windows Vista, I talked about my IBM (now Lenovo) Thinkpad and the ThinkVantage suite of software that extends the out-of-box Windows experience; specifically the extensions for fingerprint logon and the Mobility Center. In this post, I wanted to share how poor of an experience I had installing all these updates.

For starters, my experience would have probably been much smoother if I read the README files that came with each update, but lets face it, no consumer is going to open a README file when a Setup.exe file is in the directory next to it. Yes, I’m a Unix guy too, but my expectation for a Windows install experience is much higher than doing a source install on Linux. Second, in Lenovo’s defense, If I had installed the System Update package first, the end-to-end update of my system would have been smoother (this package handles the nuances of each separate installer). However, if the OEM wants you to take that route, don’t burry the System Update package among all the other packages.

My experience of installing the myriad of updates for my Thinkpad can be described simply: not consistent. Some of the packages are self extracting archives that ask where to extract the actual installer; others are self extracting archives that don’t provide the user with an option of where to extract (only the default is available). Even better, some of the packages are the actual installer (not self extracting archives). It’s clear that either (i) organizational boundaries exist between these components, (ii) there was very poor coordination across components, (iii) there are no guidelines for ensuring a consistent installation experience, or (iv) all of the above.

Take for example the fingerprint reader packages: the Client Security package is an actual installer, whereas the driver for the fingerprint reader and the administrative tools for managing the security stuff are self extracting archives. However, one of the archives provides an option of where to extract, but the other does not. It took me a while to figure out that dependent files were in different directories, and that’s why my install wasn’t working.

Lastly, almost every install (successful) resulted in the following error dialogue, indicating the the installer was not authored correctly for Vista (I don’t know the details about this though):

Yes, the Thinkpad series is designed for mobile workforces which are usually managed by IT professionals, but I won’t buy that as an answer to such a poor experience. Our friends in IT hate poor experiences too! Can anyone else report a poor OEM experience? I need to know what PCs to recommend to my friends and family so I don’t end up becoming the IT administrator whenever they need to be updated

I post fairly often on the core Windows networking blog, but often want to share other topics both professionally and personally. I’ll use this blog as my primary means to not only talk about the things I do in my life, but also to professionally answer all the questions I hear from customers and partners I interact with. I will also frequently comment on other online writings which I feel need clarification, or I agree/disagree with. I’ll share my thoughts on products, strategies, and even gaps in various markets.

If you have questions or want to comment on anything I write here, please feel free.