As Peter Griffin would say "You know what really Grinds my Gears", I cannot stand annoying default installation options.  Today I installed Windows Live Writer, a great tool for blogging, but it just upset me during the installation.

The make Live Search my default search engine has come up in numerous occasions.  It would not be so bad, except they are always checked by default, encouraging the user to accept.  While it is a great marketing scheme, it is simply annoying when I miss it and have to go into my Internet Explorer preferences.  I do not want it and stop asking!  During the same installation Microsoft had the concept right.

Microsoft takes the correct approach here by giving the options and not marking them by default.  This problem is right up there with previous problems like not having an option to uninstall WMP and MSN messenger which are simply marketing schemes.  ARRRGH!

Microsoft Surface will be released on April 17th in select at&t stores.  This item is a bit pricey for the average tech gadget consumer estimated from $5,000 to $10,000.  It will be a great educational tool once the price comes down. 

Press Release

Microsoft Surface Demo

There are a few other competitors in this arena.  The linux community has been working on the multi touch devices too.  You can already download this software and start playing.

Jeff Han seems to be a bit ahead of the game.

However, at ten times the price, the Microsoft Surface may be a little more realistic.