Windows Vista

[Wart]

I used Win 2K Pro until last November.

When we ordered this new machine Dell it was offered only with Vista so I also ordered XP Pro from a third party vendor. Glad I did. It didn't take long to get tired of being asked if I wanted to do what I was trying to get it to do.

The last straw was when I was trying to burn graphics files to DVD and Vista wouldn't let me. ? So I logged in as Administrator and ... Vista wouldn't let me move them. Might have something to do with the machine running in two Vista accounts simultaneously.

When I loaded XP I partitioned the drive so when the bugs get worked out I can take Vista for another test drive.

 

[Andy M.]

MAverick:

You've convinced me.

 

[GB]

When I ran my repair business I got lots of calls for repairs for MACs, most I could do nothing about unfortunately. I also got lots of calls for repairs for PCs, it ran about even.

since you were running a repair shop you were only seeing computers that were not working right. You were not seeing the percentage of computers that had nothing wrong with them.

I agree that neither PC nor MAC are perfect. They each have their good points and bad. I have used MACS when I was in recording arts school and enjoyed using them. I used it for one program only though so my experience is limited. The people that I know and trust though that use MACS have convinced me that I would be happier with one. I do not use my computer for games. I do use my computer for photo processing, music and video, and surfing the internet.

I have had some good PC's and some bad ones. My current Dell has been my best computer yet. The only problem I have had with it has been videos playing in a red color instead of normal color. I attribute that to old age and will just deal with it until I get my MAC.

 

[LT72884]

Personally, I never buy a 'First Generation' operating system. When Windows Media Center Edition came out and I got a new computer, I re-formated and installed Windows XP Professional. Now that Media Center seems to be running fine and Vista is out, my new laptop has Media Center on it.
If I do get another new laptop this year, I will roll it back to Media Center Edition if it comes with Vista.
I prefer to let others 'find' all the bugs and deal with all the problems, LOL. And I have talked to several people that have Vista, they are not pleased at all and I have been recommending they go back to Media Center. Same goes with the lawsuits and what-not, wait until they are settled or at least determined it will not effect you then feel free to upgrade.
Sometimes it doesn't pay to be on the 'cutting edge' of technology.

I totally agree. Since i deal with this all day at work ( IT administration) and i use Linux and windows all day at school, If i were you i would stay with XP professional especially since Service Pack 3 just came out for XP. Microsoft will stop supporting XP as of this June. ANy one with XP, i would update it with all the newest windows updates.

Now to the real stuff. I use vista alot but i would NOT use it in a business environment just yet. Wait tell next year or wait until you have to. Vista is not the best at networking. I try it at work with my laptop all the time and 60% of the time, it cant find my server even when i put in the path for it.
Since networking is my specialty, vista is a hinderence to me right now. I use win 2k and Linux.

However i use Vista all the time for home use. DVD burning, music and video server, photoshop, dvd playback, internet browsing, email, word programs such as open office. XP is better at gaming than vista. i spent alot of money on my new PC and ran alot of tests.

EDIT

The thing about MAC is, they tick me off. Even though they are Linux/Unix based, I hate how everything is proprietary and costs an arm and a leg. I paid 700$ for my 17inch notebook with 2GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive, Dual core CPU, High end video card and vista. MAC's notebook pro with the same specs are 2500$+. Plus the fact that the MAC OS can only be installed on proprietary stuff is a joke. (that may have changed)

any way point being, wait tell things simmer down.

 

[LT72884]

One thing, i have never had any issues with DRM files such as music or movies. I have 15GB of music on my vista machine that i serve/stream over the web to the others via winamp remote. However, i have not burned a music CD yet.

 

[pdswife]

We have LT... no problem here at all.

 

[LT72884]

LOL...

(My message is not to short)

 

[LT72884]

Maverick:

You're fortunate you have the skills to do the things you do to your families Dells so they will work well. The issue is that you are put in a position where you must do so because the OS stinks.

We poor souls who don't have those skills are forced to deal with PCs and Vista as they comeout of the box and all the issues in these posts and more. That is scary to me. I canot and will not deal with that.

To everyone but a technically trained person, a computer is only a tool, nothing more. Tools must be functional and easy to use.

AMEN, i never new what networking was until January of 07. I bought my first computer my JR year in high school. I knew nothing of windows and MAC. i hated PC's. I know that feeling you are talking about. i had it for years.

You have to make sure that the PC is working top notch becasue paying for service is painful. I do feel bad becasue people are forced to be under the mercy of computer repair shops and to tell you the truth, they can be hard to trust. I used to work for one. The kids there, they would say that this is wrong and make something up so that the owner would pay them to fix nothing. it really ticked me off that someone would do that to another person. So i stopped working there.


"We poor souls who don't have those skills are forced to deal with PCs and Vista as they comeout of the box and all the issues in these posts and more. That is scary to me. I canot and will not deal with that. "

It is scary becasue it puts you in a tight situation. This is where friends and forum buddies come in handy. always try to fix the problem yourself before taking it in to a shop. Learn as much as possible about the shop you are taking it to. Google is mans 2nd best friend. My friend works for Dell and him and i are always asking each other questions. Like i said, vista works well for me in the HOME area. I have issues with it when i try networking.

I have some really good and simple steps to keep a PC in good health if any one wants to know them. I imagine Mav and others know some as well.

 

[Wart]

From early 2000 to late 2007 we had a Dell 1 gig running Windows 2000 Pro. Never had a real problem. It just kept getting slower, I'm guessing, due to bloat code and more garbage loaded on web pages. The old Dells power button getting iffy was the last reason needed to get a new machine.

So we get this new basic Dell, the only OS offered was Vista. Because we about skipped the entire XP era I didn't realize I didn't realize I was creating a second Administrator account during initial start up. Then I created a user account that somehow became intertwined with the second Admin account. When I realized I was running in a account with at least partial Admin privileges and tried correcting it things got weird. I too a 'step backward' to XP, would have gone back to 2K if needed.

Way long ago there was a fork in the road, Mac or PC. This was in the days of what I call the latest greatest wars, constantly changing standards, newest hotter thing coming out next week, kept the industry going strong for a while. Driver issues, compatibility issues, conflict and resource issues, issues on top of issues.

By comparison today is a walk in the park on a warm sunny day.

Oh yeah, the fork .... at the time Macs were substantially more expensive than the PC (still is), there was little software to run on the Mac, and Mac hardware had to come from Apple. Pay lots more to have fewer programs and be held hostage? No Way.


Yep, the PC today is a walk in the park, a toaster, a plugin appliance.

 

[Wart]

I have some really good and simple steps to keep a PC in good health if any one wants to know them. I imagine Mav and others know some as well.

Firewall and anti-virus that also filters web content, keep the OS and programs updated, and do an occasional defrag.

And never, EVER, use an Administrator account as a user account.

So many people think a computer is or want a computer to be something brought home, plugged in and thats it. Not maintaining a computer is akin to not changing a cars oil or sharpening knives. Simple tasks that anyone can learn to do.

 

[LT72884]

Firewall and anti-virus that also filters web content, keep the OS and programs updated, and do an occasional defrag.

And never, EVER, use an Administrator account as a user account.

So many people think a computer is or want a computer to be something brought home, plugged in and thats it. Not maintaining a computer is akin to not changing a cars oil or sharpening knives. Simple tasks that anyone can learn to do.

yup, the four most important things for computer security are:

1 OS updates
2 Virus updates and scans
3 Spyware updates and scans
4 FireWall

Number 3 is a very important step. At work, one of my clients had over 411 spyware on his machine. i spent alot of time and energy on his machine to just get it to start normally. His browesr and desktop were hijacked. He had a HUGE hazmat symbol embedded into his background image. The whole desktop was turned into a webpage and so no matter where you clicked, it would take you to a website.

I use spybot search and destroy because it is what i used when i worked at the repair shop, oh and its free.

AVG for virus and also Mcafee because i am a comcast subscriber with a fiber line.

I built my own enterprise Firewall with an IDS (Intrusion Detection System).


Like wart said, If your not going to change the oil, then why bother. Its so true. PC's are the same way. The most important security concept people need to know is UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE. Make sure EVERYTHING is up to date.

 

[GB]

and do an occasional defrag.

I was told that with drive sizes as large as they are now, defraging is not necessary anymore.

 

[LT72884]

Even with the bigger drives you still have to defrag. The only OS out there that has a journaling file system is Linux and possibly MAC. A journaling File system means that the kernal of the filesystem keeps track of where it puts data and keeps it Journaled so that it knows exactly where it is. With NTFS, you still have to defrag it. I use Buzzsaw, its a free auto defrag application

 

[Andy M.]

I believe defragging will speed up processing.

I run a maintenance wizard periodically when I feel enough activity has occurred to warrant it.

 

[Wart]

The Mac snobbery, arrogance, confidence debate

In August 2007 I posted a piece asking if Mac users were smug and arrogant. Over 4,000 of you voted in the poll at then end of the story with 64 percent stating that Mac users are smug and arrogant. Then in October I asked if Apple, Inc. was arrogant. In that poll over 800 votes were cast with a solid 70 percent stating that Apple was arrogant.
Adding fuel to the fire ....

 

[SixSix210]

The Mac snobbery, arrogance, confidence debate

In August 2007 I posted a piece asking if Mac users were smug and arrogant. Over 4,000 of you voted in the poll at then end of the story with 64 percent stating that Mac users are smug and arrogant. Then in October I asked if Apple, Inc. was arrogant. In that poll over 800 votes were cast with a solid 70 percent stating that Apple was arrogant.
Adding fuel to the fire ....

it's hard not to be. I never have to fool around with de-fragging anything, all of the updates are stable, and one click later, they are done in the background. In 20 years of having a mac in the house I've had to call mac once for help. Turns out that 2 year olds and computers don't mix. Once I cleaned the jello out of the vent the problem went away. I can (and do) run linux, windows, unix, and mac OS all on the same machine, all seamlessly. With no problems. I sit here every night and watch DW struggle and squirm with Vista and complain and gripe, and call Dell, and wrestle with updates and it's always the same. My mothers computer is much the same and it's windowsXP. If you are not an Uber-Techie, what's the point? The interface is clunky and ugly, the maachines are cheaply constructed, and rarely work properly for long without some kind of serious maintenance issue. Macs rock.

 

[LT72884]

I believe defragging will speed up processing.

I run a maintenance wizard periodically when I feel enough activity has occurred to warrant it.

Yes and no. no because the CPU is set at a clock speed that can only be changed in the BIOS settings, But yes because when the hard drive is clean and defragged it is faster because the HDD(hard drive) does not have to spend more time looking for the data.

 

[LT72884]

it's hard not to be. I never have to fool around with de-fragging anything, all of the updates are stable, and one click later, they are done in the background. In 20 years of having a mac in the house I've had to call mac once for help. Turns out that 2 year olds and computers don't mix. Once I cleaned the jello out of the vent the problem went away. I can (and do) run linux, windows, unix, and mac OS all on the same machine, all seamlessly. With no problems. I sit here every night and watch DW struggle and squirm with Vista and complain and gripe, and call Dell, and wrestle with updates and it's always the same. My mothers computer is much the same and it's windowsXP. If you are not an Uber-Techie, what's the point? The interface is clunky and ugly, the maachines are cheaply constructed, and rarely work properly for long without some kind of serious maintenance issue. Macs rock.

WOOT, another linux user.

I would not say that the people who use MACS are snobs or whatever, I would just say they are more confident with there PC's due to the fact that MAC is more stable than windows. I use Linux, MAC, and windows and i hate them all. I hate Linux some days because it cant run certain programs that windows can and MAC cant do things that Linux can and visa versa.

Apple needs to be careful how they do things. Yes microshaft screwed netscape navigator pretty bad and there are tons of other reasons to hate them and thats why there are a but load of viruses today. 90% of the computing world is windows and attackers know that.

To me the way Apple is advertising "Hi im a MAC and im a PC" is a lil dangerous. They are bragging about how they are or seem to be more superior than windows. To me they are far from for a couple of reasons.

first they cost way to much for what it is worth

second they are a proprietary system

third they really need to make ipods better, sorry for ipod owners and lovers but they need to fix some issues.

Fourth applications are sparse and they dont have as many as windows. (dont flame me)

For the most part though i do like MAC. They are fantastic for home use and small office. oh and i cant forget video and audio editing

 

[GB]

third they really need to make ipods better, sorry for ipod owners and lovers but they need to fix some issues.

What issues do they need to fix? I have had one very minor issue with my iPod (sometimes it does not shut off on the first try. The fix is to wait 30 seconds and try again). Other than that one very small thing my iPods have all worked exactly as they were supposed to work.

 

[LT72884]

What issues do they need to fix? I have had one very minor issue with my iPod (sometimes it does not shut off on the first try. The fix is to wait 30 seconds and try again). Other than that one very small thing my iPods have all worked exactly as they were supposed to work.

ok its more of a feature that it needs than an issue fixed. The last ipod i used was 6 months ago. I do not like how once it is plugged into a PC, it cant transfer any songs to the PC. I like to be able to transfer my songs from my PC to the laptop. they should have stayed with standard formats rather than going with a proprietary format like itunes. The other feature i wish it had is the ability to transfer one song onto the player rather than all or nothing.
I think the player needs to have the ability to add songs to the queue.

bare in mind its been 6 months since i have used a ipod so things could have changed. Im not agaisnt them in any way i just like certain features that other players have. what i like about ipods though is the mass amounts of extras they have for them. it sux going to the store to buy something for my MP3 player and seeing ipod this and ipod that.