Software is developing slowly..

What's holding us back? The monopolies? That doesn't explain why Unix is hardly any more advanced than Windows.

A topic on /b/ was joking about how you can rename a .doc filetype to .jpg and it will automatically be converted. Why isn't this so? Why hasn't Longhorn incorporated this? This is one of the SIMPLEST features that could have such a huge impact on ease of use.

But how is it that programs today have no more capabilities than those of 1995? When is this going to change?

I agree, software did evolve. Not that much considering what it could be done and what was done in the early 90s in comparison, but still evolved.

So what >>1 wants is actually a converter integrated into Windows Explorer. Duh. There are so many standalone converters. GUI converters will suck, because they're all about clicks and finding files visually like an idiot when you know their name, and they cannot be automated from a script easily. Commandline converters will do the trick. I bothered to get CLI converters in the appropiate direction (BMP2PNG, for example). Since I'm in the command line all the time, it's much easier to use them. And if you really love the "convert file.type1 file.type2" ssyntax, you can very easily write a script for that. No big fucking deal.

It shouldn't be automagical, that's always a bad idea. The more retard-proof and luser-friendly (not to confuse with user-friendly) you want a system to be, the more headaches it'll give. Renaming a file is changing its name. You don't expect or want its contents to be changed, unless you're a stupid luser who doesn't know what you're doing and a file is like a little magical fairy to you - in which case I suggest you leave your computer alone and go watch TV.