Windows Weekly 603. Paul Thurrott is so very wrong.

Jan 10, 2019 | Accessibility, Podcasts, Server administration, Technology, Windows | 11 comments

Paul Thurrott, a tech journalist behind Thurrott.com contributes to a rather useful podcast on the Twit.tv network every week called Windows Weekly. I’ve listened to this podcast almost every week probably for at least 10 years.

This week, Paul went on one of his many rants but this rant was ill informed, damaging and utterly unhelpful. He makes certain arguements that could be perceived as being against inclusion and accessibility. Here are a few of the quotes from the podcast excerpt.

It’s done in the name of accessibility. That’s a crock.
Accessibility at any cost is just a brain dead mentality.

There’s this belief that anything that you add that is accessible is a win.

No offence to people who cant see or who see poorly and who want to set up Windows 10 on their own but if your vision is that bad the act of setting up Windows 10 is not a priority. In the background, Leo laughs. Paul continues: It’s something that is going happen once and you probably have someone else that can help you with that.

I have recorded a podcast that includes several extracts from this week’s Windows Weekly. Between the extracts, I have given my considered views on certain parts of Paul’s rant.

I would really hope that Paul listens to this and more importantly that as many people as possible who heard the latest Windows Weekly hears this as well.

Please comment here on the Blog. Facebook comments and Twitter mentions are great but it would be really nice to have the comments right under the post. Thanks.

IN this podcast, there are a number of audio recordings used. Here they are in full.

Differing opinion

An author on a site called BSG has shared an alternative opinion. The author states:

The blog has gone quite a while without me writing about twitter drama, but that is about to come to an end now. Blind twitter is all riled up and flipping out over something someone said on the Windows Weekly podcast. Spoiler alert, all the rage and offense is being blown out of per portion and there is 0 reason for any of it. People just seem to want to be offended, but of course I’ll show why this is all based on someone taking everything out of context to manufacture outrage.

The link to the full post is here.

I assume the someone the author is talking about is me. I have a few points in response and I have left a comment on that post but for your conveenience, I will include my comment here as well:


You have expressed a few interesting opinions and I except that you are entitled to them. However, I disagree that the origional blog post / podcast was out of context. I deliberately left most of the Windows Weekly podcast in my recording so as I couldn’t be accused of taking things out of context. I also provided a link to the Twit.TV Windows Weekly 603 show so that people could listen to it in full. In addition, I provided a link to a Youtube video showing the full Windows 10 setup experience.

My podcast is here for anyone who is interested: http://www.digitaldarragh.com/2019/01/10/windows-weekly-603-paul-thurrott-is-so-very-wrong/

And to show that I hold no ill will toward BSG for your differing opinion, I will include a link to your post as an edit to my origional piece.

I have been on social media for 10 years and I have had a blog for nearly 20 years. I stand by my content and my record. I have never insighted negativity toward another person however in this instance, I firmly believe that paul Thurrott’s comments were distructive, damaging, incorrect and misleading. Time and time again during the podcast and in messages, I have explained that my issue isn’t with the windows 10 setup. Microsoft can disable that feature I wouldn’t give it a second thought. As many have pointed out, it’s not an accessibility consideration. The huge problem I have here is in the way Paul Thurrott ranted. I have listened to Paul on podcasts for nearly ten years now and in the past few years, I have noticed his tendancy to launch into rants. However, this particular one went too far.

I am happy to discuss this with anyone. Including Paul Thurrott directly. My aim here has and is always to ensure that the message that Paul gave on Windows Weekly 603 is corrected. Not that he is attacked directly. And in faireness, I don’t see any indication that he has been personally attacked. In fact, messages to him on social media have been well worded and considered.

One final point. I respectfully submit that you consider that your take on Paul’s thought’s may be very different if you worked in the tech industry.


The podcast has now been listened to over 380 times. It has had 18 responses on Twitter, 4 on Facebook and 9 comments here on the blog. Not many in the grand scheme of things but for this low traffic blog it’s significant. I remain hopeful that the objective of this post will be achieved and TwiT will correct Paul Thurrott’s statements on Windows Weekly 604 due to be aired this Wednesday 16th January.

11 Comments

  1. Bill Haneman

    Well said, Darragh! Paul is – perhaps inexplicably – speaking from a position of ignorance. His “accessibility at any cost” jibe is a classic strawman argument; no one is proposing bottomless accessibility funds. I hope he listens to your podcast: he’ll learn something.

    Reply
  2. Justin Broderick

    Wow I am so glad to hear your podcast. I think you hit the nail on the head in your comments. While I respect his many years of work in Windows and technology I am sure glad I don’t have to live with him. It seemed a little strange to me, since he does indeed have a deaf son, that the comments he made are so demoralizing to someone who may have a disability.

    I do agree with his points that Microsoft could implement this feature better, Cortana was novel and even enjoyable the first time I heard it, I could even excuse the crazy high volume but once you re-install it for the 3rd of 4th time it’s annoying.
    And you are correct no system admin worth their pay in a professional environment would install Windows in this manner.

    Unfortunately because of his tweet, I am pretty sure he won’t take the time to really listen. Intelligent criticism isn’t exactly something he seems to deal with very well.

    Reply
  3. Rick Harmon

    Well done, Paul needs to come out here and say something to all of us showing that he cares but sadly knowing Paul, he’ll blow it off. That’s just the way he is.

    Reply
  4. Brian Moore

    Thanks for posting this. I, too, have worked in this industry for over 20 years. There are a few things which really concern me here.
    1 The cortan experience is * not * an accessibility initiative in the windows 10 space. If you actually and go through it, it couldn’t be done without site as it presumes that the user has vision for some of its parts. i.e Let’s connect to a network. How about this first one? It doesn’t inform you which wifi network it is asking about.. There are several other examples of this.
    It was intended, as you said, to attract regular users to the voice first interface.

    2. We have bigger priorities? I think you covered that well. In my case, yeah, being a single parent, doing well at work and lots of other things come before this stuff. However, the idea that we all have someone around to help on demand is simply ridiculous! Yeah, I guess I could ask my 11 year old kid to help every time I needed eyes but I was under the mistaken impression that his function in life was to be a kid and do kid things rather than be a substitute set of eyes for dad.

    However, this stuff really does matter. While I think portraying cortana as an accessibility enhancement to windows 10 was a mistake in itself, accessibility is a win all the time. Not sure how that is “braindead”
    For those of us who have to fight over and over again to be able to have careers where we are working along side people who have no disability and are rightly expected to pull our own weight, Having accessibility wins like narrator which actually works in a PXE environment are a huge win!

    I could go on but you have covered this stuff pretty well.

    Reply
  5. Mohamed

    By Thurrott’s own logic, his son shouldn’t have closed captioning because someone is always able to write down what’s being said on the TV for him. Also blind people should be pushing for Windows 10 Blind Edition, because we have no need for a lock screen or icons or any of that beautiful visual stuff, that’s all bloat for us. It’s mutual respect, Paul.

    Reply
  6. Sean

    This is why I don’t listen to a lot of the USA tech podcasts. As they are all full of statements to get peoples reaction and are design for entertainment with some useful information contained within. Thus his statements in the area of accessibility is more than likely design to anger some people or get those who are against accessibility to listen to his show, and to bump up his social media stats. In other words, pushing peoples buttons to get an reaction.

    We do not really know what is his true personal belief in accessibility as he is using a persona when he is on the show.

    Regardless, as he more than likely has a large following. The international disability community should use the social media engine to our advantage and hold him accountable for his public statements on slamming accessibility.

    Thus I encourage everyone who listens to this podcast to share it with your network and get it wide and far as possible. Then I would suggest people start slamming him via the social media engine in a constructive and educational means. Ensure your polite with your comments.

    Reply
  7. Amanda Rush

    Thanks for posting this. I’ve heard some pretty crazy anti-accessibility statements in my time and this one’s near the top. And no, just because he has a deaf son doesn’t mean he can’t be incredibly ableist.

    Also, you can absolutely pull reactions from Twitter back to your blog. Start here, and there are a ton of resources for getting this stuff done with WordPress.

    Reply
  8. Billy

    I’ve watched this show for years and I am very saddened by these comments. I’ve been in I.T. for over 25 years. You can install Windows using imaging software to automate it but most of those applications aren’t accessible. While this isn’t the most efficient way to deal with 10+ computers, it is efficiant enough to do it when receiving new machines from say Dell. It is also useful during an incident where having access to other means isn’t availible. How can people today be so dumb with their comments? This is why finding work in my field of I.T. is so difficult.

    Reply
  9. Lance

    I could not disagree with Paul any more. Darragh you are so eloquent and polite and rationally shot down any chance of Paul regaining any creditability after such an ignorant rant that he has only one way out, character assassination and silence … and hope that the pushback is short lived.

    Most people who are slightly humble, may take the opportunity to fight for their child’s future requirement for accessibility and inclusion. After all someone who is Deaf , is going to experience their share of accessibility challenges. One might say comparable to the challenges of blindness. As we all know, we have to fight for every inch of accessibility we get.

    An integral part of change is helping educate others and changing the attitudes and opinions of others one at a time. Unfortunately, someone who is in an influential position like Paul can change the opinions and attitudes of others forever. Paul, it is never to late for you to change and for your kids future start educating yourself , especially on Accessibility.

    Reply
  10. Barry Toner

    Thank you so very much for highlighting this. I have listened to Windows Weekly right from the very beginning. I did hear this episode, but to be honest I have been so battered over the last 10yrs of trying to get employment, steady employment tat I let it go. It’s this attitude that I have been fighting against for the past 10yrs or more. Despite losing my eyesight in an accident, retraining myself, obtaining IT certifications in both Microsoft and Linux, two Computer Science Degrees, I am unable to obtain gainful employment. I have all but given up at this stage. Paul, if you read this, please take note. My accident happened in 1999, in the space of no more than 3 seconds I went from someone who had partial sight, and after years of corrective surgery, my parents taking me as a young child to countless hospital appointments I had enough eyesight I could drive a car, it was all taken away. I along with other Visually Impaired and Blind computer users and IT Professionals jump through so many hoops to make both personal and corporate systems work for us, so we can work, gain an income, support our families, try and maintain good mental health through the ability of contributing in the workplace. You have an influencial voice. I would ask you to think over your statements here. Put yourself in the position of someone who requires this advancement in Windows 10. It really could be you at anytime, as my accident demonstrated. I just feel very sad, that someone who I have enjoyed their thoughts over the years, someone who I have smiled at their snarkyness could come out with such utter contempt for accessibility and those users who require it. As an aside note… Paul, you enjoy digging at Apple. Apple for at least the 7 years I have incorporated a MacBook Pro into both my personal and professional life, have allowed me to enable accessibility as part of their Out Of The Box experience. It’s true Windows installations can be automated. However, this requires extra steps, often outside of the reach of the average user. When I lost my eyesight at age 18 in 1999, what I would have given for Windows accessibility to be like this. It would have saved lots of frustration, and anger when my computer, my gateway to even back then socialising, and independence needed me to see the screen to complete setup tasks. Either as part of an Out Of Box, or troubleshooting. Instead, I had to wait until I could get someone with working eyes to read the screen to me. Even then, I had to bite my tongue, remain patient and guide them through reading the screen to me, because their IT littercey was such that even looking at a computer freaked them out. Could you even begin to imagine Paul what that is like? No, you can’t and I hope you never have to. Your statement pooh poohing accessibility at any cost is an utter disgrace, and I invite you to retract your statement, in the public forum you made it. Hopefully, just hopefully the same people who heard the original hear the retraction. No matter how positive or capable we are out here, words such as yours make that hill we climb on a daily basis, proving ourselves to be as good and in allot of cases better than our sighted peers, all that steeper.

    Reply
  11. Barry Toner

    Thank you so very much for highlighting this. I have listened to Windows Weekly right from the very beginning. I did hear this episode, but to be honest I have been so battered over the last 10yrs of trying to get employment, steady employment tat I let it go. It’s this attitude that I have been fighting against for the past 10yrs or more. Despite losing my eyesight in an accident, retraining myself, obtaining IT certifications in both Microsoft and Linux, two Computer Science Degrees, I am unable to obtain gainful employment. I have all but given up at this stage. Paul, if you read this, please take note. My accident happened in 19999, in the space of no more than 3 seconds I went from someone who had partial sight, and after years of corrective surgery, my parents taking me as a young child to countless hospital appointments I had enough eyesight I could drive a car, it was all taken away. I along with other Visually Impaired and Blind computer users and IT Professionals jump through so many hoops to make both personal and corporate systems work for us, so we can work, gain an income, support our families, try and maintain good mental health through the ability of contributing in the workplace. You have an influencial voice. I would ask you to think over your statements here. Put yourself in the position of someone who requires this advancement in Windows 10. It really could be you at anytime, as my accident demonstrated. I just feel very sad, that someone who I have enjoyed their thoughts over the years, someone who I have smiled at their snarkyness could come out with such utter contempt for accessibility and those users who require it. As an aside note… Paul, you enjoy digging at Apple. Apple for at least the 7 years I have incorporated a MacBook Pro into both my personal and professional life, have allowed me to enable accessibility as part of their Out Of The Box experience. It’s true Windows installations can be automated. However, this requires extra steps, often outside of the reach of the average user. When I lost my eyesight at age 18 in 1999, what I would have given for Windows accessibility to be like this. It would have saved lots of frustration, and anger when my computer, my gateway to even back then socialising, and independence needed me to see the screen to complete setup tasks. Either as part of an Out Of Box, or troubleshooting. Instead, I had to wait until I could get someone with working eyes to read the screen to me. Even then, I had to bite my tongue, remain patient and guide them through reading the screen to me, because their IT littercey was such that even looking at a computer freaked them out. Could you even begin to imagine Paul what that is like? No, you can’t and I hope you never have to. Your statement pooh poohing accessibility at any cost is an utter disgrace, and I invite you to retract your statement, in the public forum you made it. Hopefully, just hopefully the same people who heard the original hear the retraction. No matter how positive or capable we are out here, words such as yours make that hill we climb on a daily basis, proving ourselves to be as good and in allot of cases better than our sighted peers, all that steeper.

    Reply

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