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THE MicroSoft Windows Thread (merged)

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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby shakespear1 » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 05:15:38

I'm not a computer expert so bare with me.

To run one of these Linux OS I would need to unload my Windows 2000 Pro ? How is this done?
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby sjn » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 10:09:54

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('shakespear1', 'I')'m not a computer expert so bare with me.

To run one of these Linux OS I would need to unload my Windows 2000 Pro ? How is this done?

With a livecd you just boot off the cdrom/dvd, no need to touch your Windows installation. When it comes to installing you'll need to make some space, either add an extra hard disk, resize your existing win2k partition or completely replace it depending if you still want to be able to "dual boot" into Windows (probably a good idea until you get comfortable). Resizing can be done with something like Partition Magic in Windows or with similar software under Linux.
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby pedalling_faster » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 10:16:03

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('shakespear1', 'I')'m not a computer expert so bare with me.

To run one of these Linux OS I would need to unload my Windows 2000 Pro ? How is this done?


2000 Pro is a good OS. i wouldn't disable a system that is running good with 2000. you might need it.

i suggest buying a cheap second system & running Linux on that. then transitioning to that as you get more used to Linux.

i'm not suggesting a dual-boot system, in the conventional sense of dual-boot. that can get complicated, and then the tail starts wagging the dog.

as far as XP, Microsoft knows that most Vista sales are on new systems and that a large part of its customer base is happy with XP. if they listen to their customers, they'll keep selling XP, possibly for another 5 or 10 years.

also, the problem is not just buying XP, it's activating copies that you already have. for example if a hard drive fails & the OS has to be re-loaded.

there is one area where Vista is really good, that's with speech recognition. i had to pay $700 for a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking Pro to get XP to do what Vista has built in. e.g., functionality so that i could navigate a forum like PO using speech recognition.
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby vision-master » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 10:48:40

Chevy or Ford, they both get you down the road, so who cares what browser you have.
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby lper100km » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 14:48:49

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pedalling_faster', '
')
2000 Pro is a good OS. i wouldn't disable a system that is running good with 2000. you might need it.

i suggest buying a cheap second system & running Linux on that. then transitioning to that as you get more used to Linux.



Good advice. Or, install a second physical hard drive solely for use with Linux. A non expert risks too much attempting to partition an already loaded harddrive. Buy yourself a reference book on Linux, listing all the commands and become a techie yourself. It’s the only way.

I’ve tried Linux for the desktop in various forms from Ubuntu to Feather.

For the non techie user it’s amateurish, cranky, non intuitive, poorly documented and largely a waste of time. Let the techies extol it’s virtues and use it to their hearts content. However much you want to demean Microsoft and/or Gates, you have to grant that his genius was in producing and marketing a user friendly shell around a C:\ prompt that opened up the use of computers to everyone. Would that Linux could even approach that. Try setting up a wireless home network. Try setting up your printer drivers. It’s a nightmare of arcane commands and delving into obscure websites to find bits of code that might possibly do something useful. Then, if you are on a laptop, try accessing another network and/or printer! You can’t even get the kernel to install on a bootable hard drive or a flash drive without hours of effort. Most of the install programs touted on various websites simply do not work. As for installing dual boot with Windows, forget that pipe dream. Check the various chatlines and threads related to Linux to see all the grief that people go through as they try to escape the ‘tyranny’ of Windows. Never mind that there is always someone out there who will say “Just do this and it will be fine” and then reel off a string of commands a page long. It’s not fine. It may work for them on their computer, but will it work for you? No way. You have to do it your way, which means becoming a techie. This is not a user friendly environment.

When you actually do succeed in installing the OS, what then? A few stripped down office applications that look to Microsoft for inspiration, a web browser, an email client and a graphics tool. Well, whoop de doo.

There’s a reason Linux on the desktop is not used as well as it could be and that is that it’s still treated as a techies’s plaything. Of course, it’s open source, which means everyone owns it but no one can take responsibility. No wonder it goes nowhere. This is not to belittle the well intentioned people who honestly strive to do good things for Linux. But who is going to invest the hundreds of millions, probably billions needed to provide a mass consumer basic system that can compete with Windows and Apple, when they can’t own the code? Red Hat and Ubuntu fall well short of the standards long established by both those companies.

Servers are a whole different ball game.
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby frankthetank » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 15:27:37

I used Ubuuntu for a few days, but gave up when i couldn't figure out how to set the resolution for my video card. It was stuck at some generic resolution and after hours of reading online forums, couldn't get anywhere. This was some time ago, so maybe the newer builds have better support built in. Also couldn't get a wireless card configured. XP works well for me, but i do like the thought of running and entire operating system of a flash drive (which is suppose to be easy with Linux). You can do it with XP, but its not easy.
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby Zardoz » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 15:31:50

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '.')..Bill Gates is a hardened criminal. He's not interested in what you think. He's only interested in money and power...

Then why is he giving his money away and semi-retiring? As of July he's essentially gone.

See ya, my fellow geeks

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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby BigTex » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 15:36:46

I had several Macs when I started using a computer in 1990 or so. I have been using a PC since about 1999. I think I will buy a Mac next time.

The thing I hate about Macs is the cost of the software and peripherals.
:)
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby perdition79 » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 15:44:44

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'I') used Ubuuntu for a few days, but gave up when i couldn't figure out how to set the resolution for my video card. It was stuck at some generic resolution and after hours of reading online forums, couldn't get anywhere. This was some time ago, so maybe the newer builds have better support built in. Also couldn't get a wireless card configured. XP works well for me, but i do like the thought of running and entire operating system of a flash drive (which is suppose to be easy with Linux). You can do it with XP, but its not easy.


Ubuntu varies from Windows programs in that everything on the install CD is open-source, and as such, it doesn't include proprietary video card drivers. Those have to be installed manually, and require a quick download and a few lines of code to be entered in terminal. (Just be sure to back up your xorg.conf file first.) After it's done right, you'll see a splash screen on boot that says Nvidia or ATI, depending on your video card. You will also have more screen resolutions and color depths available to you.

Ubuntu does run off a flash drive, but it helps if you've got one that's at least 8 GB, since Ubuntu running gnome desktop takes up a ton of room. To do these eccentric installs, it's easiest to boot the live CD and install to a particular external drive or flash drive in text-based mode. (Disconnect your internal hard drive if you wish the install to create a bootable external drive.) I have run my home computer off a 60 GB bootable USB external drive loaded with Ubuntu 7.04 ever since my internal hard drive crashed.
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby efarmer » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 18:11:40

Good point on user friendliness issues. But in a huge amount of cases that I am aware of, people drag XP machines to the local "doctor" once or twice a year for delousing, streamlining, and recovery. I think this will continue to be the case for many people. At some point, the local "doctors" may realize that supporting Linux is about as lucrative for them if not more so than supporting themselves and Microsoft from their local customers. Telling a customer they owe you $140 labor and the software was free is a very easy thing to sell in hard times.

With regard to the cost of code keeping Linux from getting friendly enough, a large Chinese OEM or group of them could simply decide to invest the funds to polish Ubuntu or it's relative to the level required to sell ready to run products, products that might not even be compatible with XP or VISTA by design and on purpose towards this end. It sure would stop the piracy lawsuits, wouldn't it?
Think of a Linux machine with a powerful set of setup, diagnostic,
help and tutor info, and repair utilities appended to the motherboard BIOS. In essence built in as part of the platform
and residing in flash. What a hoot, hackers would have to figure out how to get it to run Microsoft OS.
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby davep » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 18:24:54

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lper100km', 'A')s for installing dual boot with Windows, forget that pipe dream. Check the various chatlines and threads related to Linux to see all the grief that people go through as they try to escape the ‘tyranny’ of Windows.


I've never had a problem with this. From memory there were a couple of issues to avoid (such as the boot partition for linux being at too high an address in the physical drive). But, if you accept that NT variants will tyrannise your boot process, you can always add the Linux boot to the NT boot.ini file.
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby smallpoxgirl » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 18:37:50

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', 'T')hen why is he giving his money away


He's stolen so much money that he can give away millions and not even notice. Like many robber barons, he's reached the point where he has too much money to be able to reasonably spend it buying things. Like the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, and any number of other very successful criminals before him, he's embarked on using his money to manipulate society and shape the future through philanthropy. Make no mistake. People like Gates don't do ANYTHING without thinking about how it's going to benefit them. People who are capable of compassion and generosity, DO NOT EVER accumulate that kind of money. Every dollar he gives out is carefully calculated to bring him power and control.
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Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby lper100km » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 20:20:56

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', '
')I've never had a problem with this. From memory there were a couple of issues to avoid (such as the boot partition for linux being at too high an address in the physical drive). But, if you accept that NT variants will tyrannise your boot process, you can always add the Linux boot to the NT boot.ini file.


You have neatly encapsulated my point. How many people now know or even care about partitions, boot partitions, cylinders, sectors, sector size etc etc. ? Any one who uses Windows cares less about such things. Linux is in the same position today as DOS was thirty years ago as far as it’s visibility to users is concerned. (Of course DOS is still there today, hidden under layers of user friendly wizards) To the techie, this is no big deal, but to the consumer, no one wants to deal with all that. Just put the disk in the drive and let me start clicking. With Linux, no way. So it will remain a fringe activity despite all it’s inherent technical advantages.

Perhaps, as eFarmer postulates, in some copyright haven, someone will simply appropriate the technology, make it proprietary and flood the world with a superior product at a price you can’t refuse. It’s an intriguing thought.
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Re: Save Windows XP (I wish 2000)

Unread postby jasonraymondson » Sun 17 Feb 2008, 20:28:58

Just remember Bill Gates is a Momon
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Microsoft Windows Mars Olympics

Unread postby dirthoser » Thu 14 Aug 2008, 09:07:46

Blue screen of death appears during the Olympics. I thought the Chinese were competent? Don't they know basic Linux programming?
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Re: MICROSOFT WINDOWS MARS OLYMPICS

Unread postby emersonbiggins » Thu 14 Aug 2008, 10:19:36

You know, I had a wonderful dream about this setting where, right before the torch is lit by the airborne athlete, a quick 5 or 10-second clip of the Tiananmen Square massacre video clip is flashed before all those present and perhaps 2 billion worldwide. It would have been the ultimate gaffe, equivalent to the debutante tripping over her dress and falling headfirst into the salad bar. :twisted:
"It's called the American Dream because you'd have to be asleep to believe it."

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Windows 7 Will track your every movement!

Unread postby jasonraymondson » Mon 24 Nov 2008, 23:35:39

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'L')OS ANGELES--Windows 7 has a new programming interface designed to make it a whole lot easier for software to figure out where in the world a PC and its user are located.

That should make it easier for a whole new range of location-based services from finding nearby friends to LoJack-like PC tracking programs. Even search could be a whole lot better if the search engine knew where you were. Indeed, searchers often enter their city with their location to try and get just that benefit.

"There's so many times you have to enter in where you are at," said Microsoft program manager Alec Berntson.

At the same time, broader use of location-based services could also open up a range of privacy concerns.

Those issues--and how to handle them--was the subject of a discussion this week at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) here.

Microsoft does give a range of control options, such as turning off location services by default, as well as the ability to limit such services only to specific users or only to applications, as opposed to services that run in the background. However, the operating system doesn't allow users the option of letting only certain applications access your location. So, for example, if you turn it on for a mapping program, any other Windows application running could also access that information.


link
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Re: Windows 7 Will track your every movement!

Unread postby Niagara » Mon 24 Nov 2008, 23:46:05

I miss MS-DOS.

"640k should be plenty of memory for everyone."

-Bill Gates
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Re: Windows 7 Will track your every movement!

Unread postby jasonraymondson » Mon 24 Nov 2008, 23:58:45

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Niagara', 'I') miss MS-DOS. "640k should be plenty of memory for everyone." ~Bill Gates

Me too. Back then I was considered a computer genius... now there is just to much crap to keep track of.
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Re: Windows 7 Will track your every movement!

Unread postby kpeavey » Tue 25 Nov 2008, 00:43:47

My computer just crapped out an hour ago, using my sisters machine. Must have dropped it down 1 flight of stairs too many. I may be looking for a replacement if I can't fix the old one. Any suggestions?
As I am heading home tomorrow (location not disclosed), you'd better post soon. Thanks for your help.
---
I have no need for an operating system to track it's location. The very notion has oppression and control written all over it. Maybe I'll just go back to the tried and true pencil and paper.
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