Re: One tiny step, MS... one tiny step and you blow it.
Yep, this was the big one, the time they failed security forever. And why? What possible gain is there in hiding extensions?
The only - only - half-way plausible answer I can think of is, to make the computer's action less transparent to users. So instead of ".doc files open in Word", now the user is trained to know "files with a Word icon open in Word". How the computer knows to show a Word icon - is deliberately obfuscated.
Either because MS didn't want to burden the poor user's brain with technical details - or because they wanted Windows to look "smarter" than it really is. I know which one I'd bet on as the larger reason.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
