If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I was planning on buying a new laptop. Can’t find a new one without that on there.
Since I use Windows mainly for gaming, XP is superior in speed and compatibility to Vista. It is also smaller than Vista and costs alot less -— hey, MS, what is wrong with this picture?? :-)
For my other work I prefer MAC OSX or Linux where I can have file journaling and other advanced features that Vista does not have.
The new OS X Leopard will cost about $129 as opposed to Vista (full Ultimate version) at about $500 or so. Hey, Billy, you are losing alot of business :-)
In a year or two a gaming company will release a DirectX 10-only game that will force my upgrade. At which point I will be paying "$348" for the game.
Besides, my computer is using SLI 8800GTS for which nVidia's XP drivers barely work. I don't even want to think about installing the nVidia SLI drivers for Vista.
> ... but the response from consumers seems
> to be rather muted so far.
I’m still on Win2K due to XP’s annoying Activation
(I change my hardware a lot).
But XP looks positively benign compared to Vista,
due to the DRM infestation on Vista, not to
mention that a full suite of drivers is always an
issue on any new OS, and that many systems can
only run entry-level Vista.
If you’re planning to move to XP, do so before
the end of the year, when MS pulls the OEM
versions from sale.
And expect XP to contain a “bug” (time-bomb,
actually), that will turn up some years hence,
and require a patch infected with DRM.
Bottom line: if you can do what you need to
do with a Mac or Linux, stay away from Windows.
My Windows XP is so messed up with all their updates than I can no longer listen to sample music on Amazon. I have little confidence this would be any better.
Zone alarm ver 6.5 was a 13 meg download. Ver 7.0 is nearly 40 meg.
Lotsa good info here if you’re into comparing Vista to XP.
The popularity of linux made MS think the public wanted a bloated OS where it took two weeks just to figure out how to install thunderbird.
And for the people who can’t figure the new interfaces for the Office suite, they probably made it more Mac-like. People who aren’t OS zealots who know how to use Windows will walk two miles on campus to find a Windows machine because people don’t want an OS to tell them how to use a program, they want to use it the way it works. But maybe not anymore.
Vista sounds like Coca Cola’s New Coke. Linux and Mac couldn’t bring Windows down but MS had that power all along.
After only two weeks I finally figure out how to use yum and w/o ever having to read one of those awful, godawful, horrible, ugly, usless man pages, though I did run into a lot of OS Zealot idiots in the message forums who’s only advice was “man yum.” I hate those people, they should be in prision with GGW guy trying to bribe guards for bottled water from a hose while other inmates drag them around by their frufru pony tails.
So if someone like me who demands and OS that is easy to use can figure out someting as insane, stupid, and userunfriednly as linux, probably others will follow.
But I still have XP at home and will for a long time to come, it seems.
About a year ago, my motherboard failed, so I replaced it. That's when I discovered that Microsoft uses the motherboard to determine whether the consumer is installing Windows into a "different" PC. You are only allowed a certain number of installations of Microsoft Office onto "different" PCs, as defined by the motherboard (and apparently other components also.) Note that even the exact same make and model of motherboard counts as a "new PC," if the serial number is different.
Since I had also upgraged other parts of the system since initially installing Windows XP (including a new motherboard, CPU and memory about a year before,) the new replacement motherboard put me over the maximum limit imposed by Microsoft for installations of Microsoft Office onto "different" PCs.
I contacted Microsoft, but they refused to permit me to activate Office. So I ditched Office, and switched to OpenOffice. I also made an irrevocable resolution to never buy any Microsoft product ever again, for any reason. So when it comes time to get a new computer, it will be either a Macintosh or a Linux box.
Here's your plan for purchasing future computers, if you're low on money:
1. Buy a Mac Mini for $599 (or $15 a month -- can't afford that? Log out and go get a job!). You can use your existing peripherals (screen, mouse, keyboard) and get the entire Mac experience. With a KBM switch, which is very cheap, you can toggle between both environments easily. (Swordmaker, I'm doing research to find out if there is a way to use the Mac Mini in conjunction with a PC laptop... could use your help.) Use the Mini as long as you want (Macs have an extremely long life), and start saving your money for:
2. A notebook or desktop Mac, starting at $999 for an iMac ($24/mo), or $1,099 for the MacBook )$26/mo), either one an excellent choice at a great price. Your Mac Mini will still be very useful... you can use it to play DVDs, or as a Tivo (that's cool), as a external storage and/or secondary home computer.
However, I must warn you: After using the Mac Mini for such a cheap price, you may become completely bored with your PC, and want to jump into a higher performance range of Mac (not that you'll need it -- the Mini is about as much computer as any regular consumer needs). Upgrading is aasy to do, to the Mac Pro (desktop model) or MacBook Pro (its notebook counterpart).
Or, if you're really ambitious and have money to throw around, would you like a computer that can handle up to 3 TB of memory? Yes, you heard me right, terrabytes.
Terrabytes are no longer the future. Apple has brought them into the present. Terrabytes are today.
Years from now, when PCs make a big "splash" selling computers with TBs, Mac owners will do what they do every time some big PC improvement is unveiled:
Yawn.
Blu-ray and HD DVD: Is Your PC Ready for it?
It is a Vista related topic....
My macs suck. They are a sloppy mess of over expensive cartoonish systems.
My macs suck. They are a sloppy mess of over expensive cartoonish systems.
I’m running Vista Home Premium and I’m really enjoying the experience. Here are some of the programs/hardware I’m successfully running on Vista:
Supreme Commander, C&C 3 Demo, BFME2, AVG free anti virus, UltimateDefrag 1.48, Nvidia 7900 GS (latest driver 101.70), Audigy 2 beta driver, latest FirstDefence ISR beta for Vista, PerfectDisk 8, Vista Firewall (public profile), Linksys WRT54G router, Brother laser printer, FireFox 2.03, IE 7 in protected mode, K9 BlueCoat web protection (love this program), and a little more.
Speaking of wasting money, let’s talk about wasting time.
Since I bought my MacBook Pro in August, my productivity working on my computer has skyrocketed. I don’t spend time trouble shooting, I spend time creating and getting things done. At least I’ve suspected as much.
Last night I had an experience that confirmed my theory.
A former friend (I call him Psycho Bob) invited me to join him at my neighborhood bar. The bar is eqipped with free WiFi.
When he saw my Mac, he became very interested. He lives across the street and popped over to his house, bringing back his laptop.
He spent the next half-hour trying to get his PC to detect the free WiFi and get on the Internet. All he wanted to do was check his Yahoo mail. I’ve never had to configure my Mac to detect a WiFi signal or use it. Never. I just walk in, it detects it automatically, and I’m up and running.
While he was futzing, I was sending out emails, showing him my portfolio, adding him and another guy to my address book, viewing a movie, and downloading a new background picture.
I teased him about it, which he was not happy about. Just to stick the knife in a little deeper and make my message crystal clear, I brought up a Mac ad with the two guys (”I’m a Mac,” “and “I’m a PC”) pointed to the screen, and said:
Bob, you’re the guy on the left. I’m the guy on the right. Since you’ve been sitting here fussing, look how much I’ve done. You’ve haven’t done a thing except try to make error messages go away and and get on the Internet.
He admitted he wants his next computer to be a Mac.
Windows Vista - How Secure is the New OS?
Published by Vijay Anand on Thursday, 11th January, 2007
**************************EXCERPT******************************
Security and Family Safety in Microsoft's New OS
When you buy a product (be it hardware or software), it is natural to assume that it will work perfectly out of the box. On the contrary, this isn't always true, especially for the software industry, where most companies release patches/updates to resolve problems discovered during the product's effective life cycle. Microsoft is no stranger to this concept and has been practicing this ever since the company existed. Security issues are particularly problematic to both personal and company's productivity and in the bigger picture, a corporation's well operand Microsoft is always on their toes to provide solutions for their customers so that they would be less prone to malware attacks and the likes. One such instance that we vividly recall was the annoying malware issue plaguing the early days of Windows XP with Service Pack 1 (SP1) which caused system slowdowns and forced shutdowns. The malware problems then were so chaotic that Microsoft followed up with SP2 to put an end to those security flaws.
Like it or not, security problems can't be wished away with a magic wand. Even till today, Microsoft along with other third parties like Trend Micro and McAfee are constantly tracking malware activities and providing solutions to their customers on a weekly basis. Statistics show that up to one billion people in the world are using computers and have networking capabilities. Out of which 30 percent are potential cyber-victims to security threats. In today's context, cyber-victims are not just victims of malware attacks that mess up their computer systems. A large portion of the online attacks happening today are in the area of online identity theft and fraud transactions resulting from visiting phishing sites. With so many security concerns hanging over our heads, Microsoft isn't taking things lightly with their upcoming operating system (OS). In fact, security is a major focus in the development of Windows Vista to ensure its users can work and play on the new OS confidently and securely. You can expect a lot of new changes in Windows Visa that stands out from the current Windows XP operating system.
On that note, you might ask us what differences exist between Windows XP and Windows Vista with regards to security. That's what this article is all about and we'll show you some of the security benefits that Windows Vista users will gain when they migrate from Windows XP.