The year is what, exactly?

I have just started work at a new organisation, and have therefore been thrust whimpering and fearful back into the world of Windows Desktops. The XP is not so bad - if all you want to do is research and write, it's serviceable if showing its age. No, sorry, scratch that. It is bad.

Then there's Internet Explorer. In 2008, there should be a law against forcing people to use IE6. No tabs, crude bookmarks management that they insist upon labelling "Favorites" with a blatant disregard for truth or international spelling, and a general impression of being out of step, behind the times and, fundamentally, Not Good Enough.

Install Firefox? No. I don't have Administrator privileges, it seems. They don't trust me. And because the IT person is not in the same building, I'll bide my time before asking her about it. Not having administrator privileges also means that I can't install the Google toolbar. Or do anything else that might be halfway useful. It's like being stuck in the Wayback Machine.

And then there's Windows itself. Alt-M to minimise the current window: Not available. Bulk renamer within Windows Explorer: Not available. The taste of impending doom? All too present.

But, intriguingly, when turning off I was given the option of "Install updates and then shut down." There was one update after the first day, 93 the second. I wonder what I'll come back to the next time I turn it on? A web browser which looks like one?