Windows Corner

[mrsmartman 200]

Microsoft Windows is a series of graphical interface operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Microsoft.

 

Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal computer market with over 90% market share, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced in 1984.

 

I started this new topic here in General Off-Topic because it is necessary to have a single topic for all the Windows related issues and topics.

 

Which version of Microsoft Windows do you use? I use Microsoft Windows for work, study and leisure. I have used personal computers with Windows XP and Windows 7 installed.

[Mary Maurine Mayo 984]

My small acer notebook pc has windows 7 starter...

[TekindusT 3,809]

I use W7, and if I could, I would keep using XP. My new computer came with W7 installed by default and this version is not supported anymore. For me, XP has been the best Windows iteration ever (and I have tried W95, W98, XP, W7 and W8).

[Larks2242 251]

I use Windows 7 as well, not impressed by W8 and if W9 dosn't improve I'll probably just keep rebuilding my PC wit the same hardrive or quit windows entirely.

 

I figure Microsoft only has so long to get it right again before someone else emerges and takes over.

 

My family has had PCs since 3.1 So I've used them all, (My Grampa had stock with them in the 80s) so he would buy all the new products, he still has bits and pieces of them.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I have been an inveterate Windows user (and DOS before that) in preference to Apple's O/S.  I have used every version of Windows since Windows 3.0 (which was written in PASCAL) and every version since up to Windows XP.  I even had an excursion ito the server version of Windows 2000.  However, I retired, and Windows Vista was so full of bloatware that I could not sensibly run it on my then smaller machine.  I switched to Linux, and I have never really looked back.

 

Presently running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.  Does what i want, when I want, no BSODs, and no nonsense from the Marching Morons of Redmond, WA.  Oh, and in this relatively small community, no virus attacks either.  Just the usual set of phishing expeditions.

[mrsmartman 200]

I don't use Mac because I can't afford it. I don't use Linux because all PCs in the market are preloaded with Windows. Most of the labs in my school use Windows. My workplace use the standard combination of "Thinkpad + Windows 7" notebooks.

 

I think Windows will still be Windows. Microsoft shifted its development focus a long time ago to areas such as gaming and smart phone.

[MandelSoft 2,769]

I use Windows 8.0, but only because I was forced to buy Windows 8. Still prefer Windows 7 and even Vista over 8.

PC still uses 8.0, but I got rid of it on my laptop, which uses Ubuntu 12.04 LTS now.

[Sabretooth78 808]

Since 2008 I've been running Mac OS, and with XP on a virtual machine until just a few months ago when I was finally able to sever all ties.  For the 12 years prior to that I had run 95/98/Me/XP/Vista on varying machines and my wife's terminally ill laptop ran 7 (just replaced it with a Mac this past weekend).  I use 7 at work and I've also used 3.1 & 2000 on various machines.

 

I strongly agree with the overall sentiment that XP was the superior iteration.  Unfortunately I've never been "allowed" to run it under Bootcamp on Mac OS, but as a virtual machine it performed the job well.  I always liked 98 as well, although maybe that's just because it looked good compared to the unmitigated disaster that was Windows Me.

 

8 is a step backwards, IMHO.  I mentioned buying a Mac over the weekend; we were in the market for a relatively cheap replacement laptop but she hated 8 on the demos at Worst Buy and I wasn't too impressed by it, either.  I also thought the apparent "standard" 768 vertical resolution on Windows laptops was unacceptably small for even non-intensive tasks (mind you this is from someone who is a bit off-put that my "non-retina" MacBook Pro "only" has 1050....why did you have to cheap out on the 30 extra pixels to make it true Hi-Def?!?!?!).  So we decided to bite the bullet and go with the Mac (which has 900, btw).

 

MS seems to be in an entrenched boom-bust pattern in their OS releases.  By that logic, the next iteration should be better.  We'll see.  Not holding my breath; besides I won't experience it for some time due to the usual corporate IT upgrading game.

[mrsmartman 200]

I've found some videos about Steve Jobs' opinion of Microsoft:

 

 

@1:16:00 the question asked by the lady

[riiga 233]

I use Windows 7 on my gaming/everyday usage computer. My laptop runs Arch Linux, and I even mangaged to get a refund of 68 € for the unused Windows licence that came with it!

 

Lots of people complained about Vista, but I used it from release and all the way until Christmas 2011 without any problems.

[Mary Maurine Mayo 984]

When I had XP I much preferred that verdion iver any versions prev and now present. found it to be more stable than any i had used with the exception of Dos... which I do miss

I've never had the pleasure of using any other operating system

[Malachite171 0]

Long-time Mac user, from the "blinky box" up to the iMac. I only stopped using it when I couldn't run newer operating systems on my hardware (plus my iMac went belly-up after a hurricane). And Windows boxes are cheaper.

 

My current laptop is running W7; I installed Linux Mint 14 on an external hard drive and played around with that for a little bit.

[NielsC007 499]

I use W7 on my laptop and W8.1 on my main desktop. I prefer W7 over W8 of course. I've modified my desktop to be more like the standard Win 7 interface, I've never like the Win 8 start menu with the stupid tiles and stuff. And just like Maarten, my only option was to buy a desktop with W8 installed...

[Compdude787 916]

Up to Windows 7, Microsoft Windows had a pretty good UI. After that, they screwed things up. Windows 8 would have been just as revolutionary as Windows 95 if they had really done a better job of integrating the old programs with the new UI. With Windows 95, every program had the same shell and the same UI; there weren't some programs that ran on a Windows 3.x UI and others that ran on the new Windows 95 UI. Also, I've always thought it was a really bold move by MS (perhaps too bold) to have the exact same OS running on desktop PCs and tablets, which each have a different method of input. The way you use a tablet or smartphone is not the same as the way you'd do things with a PC that has mouse, so you should have two different OSes for each device, just like Apple has done. The iOS and OS X have completely different UIs, but they both have the same kernel.

 

I didn't really like Windows 8 as much as Windows 7 and really only used it because it was pre-installed on my laptop which I got a year ago and I didn't hate Windows 8 enough to want to go back to Win7. I did install the Windows 8.1 Preview as soon as I was able to, as it was a significant improvement on 8. In January I sent my computer back to Acer for them replace the HDD in my computer under warranty, after the boot sector went bad and caused me to get a BSOD while booting it up because some files got corrupted. (I was still able to retrieve the data off of it just fine by plugging the hard drive it into another computer) When I got it back, it had Windows 8 on it and a bunch of bloatware that quickly got deleted by PC Decrapifier.

 

I upgraded to 8.1 in March before I knew anything about all the graphics problems it would cause with SC4, at least with the Intel HD Graphics series of integrated graphics cards. But to everyone else who is considering upgrading from Windows 8 to 8.1, don't do it until we find a solution. Go back to Windows 7 if you want a better Windows version. Hopefully, you still own a copy of Windows 7 like I do.

[TekindusT 3,809]

I don't use Mac because I can't afford it. I don't use Linux because all PCs in the market are preloaded with Windows. Most of the labs in my school use Windows. My workplace use the standard combination of "Thinkpad + Windows 7" notebooks.

 

I think Windows will still be Windows. Microsoft shifted its development focus a long time ago to areas such as gaming and smart phone.

 

I know that feel... I money came out from trees I would own a 27'' iMac @ 3.4 GHz; for only 2029 €, don't doubt about it. Neverhteless, I would hate to do that Windows partition everybody has to host aaaaall that programs which simply don't exist on its Mac version.

 

After all, this is why Microsoft lives. Microsoft knows that 95% of the computer users are just too lazy to do anything requiring a certain degree of computer knowledge (I include myself on that percentage). Shifting to Linux, requires doing the process. Getting Ubuntu or something like that, flushing Windows, installing Ubuntu, getting used to it, reinstalling all your programs... Too long, too difficult for some. ON the other hand, getting a Mac, shiny and ready to work requires paying big bucks for it, getting used to new programs, doing weird computer stuff to overcome the compatibility problems you may have... Too long, too difficult for some.

 

At the end of the day, what average users want from a computer is a box that starts up quite quickly when we reach home, an OK internet connection to get into Facebook, Simtropolis, check the e-mail, stream some series and it doesn't crash when running SC4. And that's Windows, not good, just an OK OS.

[Alejandro24 575]

In my desktop computer it is installed Windows XP SP3, which strangely it is still receiving updates.

In my netbook it is installed Windows 7 Ultimate, along Linux Mint 17.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The idea of purchasing a computer with an embedded operating system is rather a foreign idea to me.  I deal with OEM system makers and get naked hardware which I can then install whatever I like, including the current Windoze.  My present machine has never even sniffed a Microsoft operating system and has run Ubuntu from day 1.

 

If you live in any kind of industrial centre or a large city, you should be able to do likewise.  Just avoid "Worst Buy" and you should be fine.

[mrsmartman 200]

As for Win8 UI, perhaps Bill Gates and Microsoft are too obsessed with creating standards.

[Compdude787 916]

My family has never purchased a desktop PC that was pre-made. We've always built our own computers from scratch. That also allows us to install whatever we want on it, and not have to waste time uninstalling all the bloatware that computer manufacturers always install at the factory.

[mrsmartman 200]

 

At 4:30, Bill Gates stated the importance of identical user interface.

 

Sort of pure ideology as described by this commercial:

 

[Alejandro24 575]

The idea of purchasing a computer with an embedded operating system is rather a foreign idea to me.  I deal with OEM system makers and get naked hardware which I can then install whatever I like, including the current Windoze.  My present machine has never even sniffed a Microsoft operating system and has run Ubuntu from day 1.

 

If you live in any kind of industrial centre or a large city, you should be able to do likewise.  Just avoid "Worst Buy" and you should be fine.

Actually thats the best way to buy a computer. One of my friend bought his computer Asus directly to them on internet without any kind of OS. He installed Ubuntu.

[mrsmartman 200]

 

Which Microsoft Windows startup sound do you like?

 

I like the startup sound of Microsoft Windows 95 and 2000. 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

As for Win8 UI, perhaps Bill Gates and Microsoft are too obsessed with creating standards.

Gates has been out of the company for some time now.  You can tell, because it has lost its direction and is floundering around. 

 

Standards are created by the ISO in which I was once an editor.  Any pathetic attempt by Microsoft to create a de facto standard would never survive the editing process at ISO which, being a UN agency, is international in scope.  The Europeans alone would shoot it down.

 

ANSI can only create on-shore standards, but many of their efforts have been adopted by ISO due to the quality of their work.

[MandelSoft 2,769]

After all, this is why Microsoft lives. Microsoft knows that 95% of the computer users are just too lazy to do anything requiring a certain degree of computer knowledge (I include myself on that percentage). Shifting to Linux, requires doing the process. Getting Ubuntu or something like that, flushing Windows, installing Ubuntu, getting used to it, reinstalling all your programs... Too long, too difficult for some. ON the other hand, getting a Mac, shiny and ready to work requires paying big bucks for it, getting used to new programs, doing weird computer stuff to overcome the compatibility problems you may have... Too long, too difficult for some.

And this is exactly my problem: I want do downgrade (or upgrade, depending on your view) my PC from Windows 8 to 7, but I have so much stuff installed already (that I actually use, not just expendable) that I don't want to mess that up. This is my dilemma. It's just too much trouble for my PC.

On my laptop, this didn't play a role, and therefore, I could experiment with Ubuntu.

So, if you want to switch from OS, make sure you do this with a clean PC to save trouble later.

[riiga 233]

And this is exactly my problem: I want do downgrade (or upgrade, depending on your view) my PC from Windows 8 to 7, but I have so much stuff installed already (that I actually use, not just expendable) that I don't want to mess that up. This is my dilemma. It's just too much trouble for my PC.

Another reason to use GNU/Linux.    All your files and settings are saved in your home folder, which makes reinstalling a piece of cake if you just put /home on a different partition or drive. Then there's also the package manager which makes things easy when you can't remember all the programs you need to install again. Just output a list of all installed packages and tell your new system to install those, and voilà! They'll use your old settings too if you have your /home folder intact.

[mrsmartman 200]

Bill Gates is talented in programming and business. The vision of Microsoft standard led to the creation of one of the greatest monopolies since Standard Oil.

 

"Took it on a statistical basis," Microsoft, as Gates stated in the deposition video, was "the most respected software company."

 

[Compdude787 916]

Which Microsoft Windows startup sound do you like?

Windows 98 had the best startup sound. 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

When I was using windows, I usually disposed of the start-up sound.  I never really liked any of them after the first or second hearing.

[mrsmartman 200]

 

Which Microsoft Windows startup sound do you like?

Windows 98 had the best startup sound. 

 

Admittedly, the Microsoft Windows 98 sound was more suitable as startup sound than the Microsoft Windows 95 one

When I was using windows, I usually disposed of the start-up sound.  I never really liked any of them after the first or second hearing.

Microsoft has cut the startup sound to minimal in the recent versions...

[Compdude787 916]

When I was using windows, I usually disposed of the start-up sound.  I never really liked any of them after the first or second hearing.

I don't even think there is a startup sound in Windows 8/8.1. In fact, Windows 8/8.1 doesn't even have a startup screen, either. On my Acer laptop, it just displays the Acer logo with balls spinning in a circle. Windows 7 had a REAL startup screen, and a very good one at that.