[dencorso]

Why not hoard and keep multiple spares of (cheaper as time passes) compatible hardware parts?

[vipejc]

dencorso, on 21 October 2012 - 07:27 PM, said:

Why not hoard and keep multiple spares of (cheaper as time passes) compatible hardware parts?

I've been doing that for years and my collection is almost complete. Just got a sweet 32 GB USB flash drive for just $30 bucks. It's the best you can get for USB 2.0, which is all I ever plan to use. ;^)

[vipejc]

I'm scared for Windows' future.

This post has been edited by vipejc: 22 October 2012 - 02:35 AM

[Felipe]

Man, you're so full of yourself (and full of other stuff as well).

Edit: this is no longer relevant after vipejc edited his post...

It had a something in the lines of "I know everything about the soft- and hardware that I own. You can't be as awesome as me,..."

This post has been edited by Felipe: 22 October 2012 - 02:51 AM

[wcy0236]

XP确实经典！ XP is a classic! 兼容性好！ Good compatibility!

This post has been edited by wcy0236: 22 October 2012 - 01:57 AM

[jaclaz]

vipejc, on 20 October 2012 - 11:50 PM, said:

Hey, guys. I don't get much time to post here, but when I do, I like to make an impact.

I am failing to see the impact
I mean, once removed the whining and the "non-news", the cited declaration of intents is all that remains, with just three words:

Quote

MS sucks big!

you could have conveyed the same message, and no, it is not an entirely new one

jaclaz

[vipejc]

jaclaz, on 22 October 2012 - 03:33 AM, said:

vipejc, on 20 October 2012 - 11:50 PM, said:

Hey, guys. I don't get much time to post here, but when I do, I like to make an impact.

I am failing to see the impact
I mean, once removed the whining and the "non-news", the cited declaration of intents is all that remains, with just three words:

Quote

MS sucks big!

you could have conveyed the same message, and no, it is not an entirely new one

jaclaz

Uh, not only did I say MS sucks, but I gave very specific examples as to why they suck. Ever since Gates left and starting in 2005, Microsoft can do no right. XP isn't even that great of an OS. It's Microsoft's best effort, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal. You know it's bad when a 12-year-old OS is still your crowning achievement.

I purchased an Xbox 360 in 2005 and may have played it five times. Games would freeze every 30 minutes. I performed one Dashboard update - followed all directions to the letter - and then the DVD drive started jamming for no good reason, and of course there was no rollback feature. I got so frustrated, I disconnected my Xbox 360 and put it back in the retail box. It had been sitting on the floor for 7 years. Earlier this year, I decided to set it back up, only to be reminded of how terrible the thing is. Then after many hours of arguing, Microsoft issued me a no-charge (which cost me $20 for packing tape and supplies) repair. The new console works fine so far, but if Microsoft made the thing right from the start, they would've saved billions of dollars and many customers. Oh, and Microsoft stopped sending free shipping supplies a few years ago, so you need to supply your own. And since you probably don't just have packing tape and packing peanuts lying around, expect to pay $20 + $90 to $110 for the repair. Microsoft is NOT a company you want to do business with.

This post has been edited by vipejc: 24 October 2012 - 01:09 AM

[vipejc]

Felipe, on 22 October 2012 - 01:14 AM, said:

Man, you're so full of yourself (and full of other stuff as well).

Edit: this is no longer relevant after vipejc edited his post...

It had a something in the lines of "I know everything about the soft- and hardware that I own. You can't be as awesome as me,..."

I edited my post because I don't want anybody else to think I'm big headed. I'm just being honest. The things I do with my computer do require a master level of software and hardware. I said that so people don't waste their time and thousands of dollars, only to face a wall they can't climb and be forced to buy Windows whatever. Sometimes sounding big headed is unavoidable, and I apologize to those it does.

[LeaflameSD]

Bill Gates didn't leave... he just stepped down as chairman of Microsoft. >_>

[JorgeA]

vipejc, on 24 October 2012 - 12:54 AM, said:

The things I do with my computer do require a master level of software and hardware. I said that so people don't waste their time and thousands of dollars, only to face a wall they can't climb and be forced to buy Windows whatever.

You've certainly aroused curiosity in what sorts of things it is you've done that might enable you to keep using XP far into the future, even if the level of expertise required is very high.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

LeaflameSD, on 24 October 2012 - 07:55 AM, said:

Bill Gates didn't leave... he just stepped down as chairman of Microsoft. >_>

That's my understanding of it, too. Still, he's no longer actively involved in what goes on over there. It does seem that when he stepped down was just around the time that MS lost its mojo, with Longhorn not working out and then Vista getting rushed into the market. Although it may just be wishful thinking on my part and not even those were the "good old days."

--JorgeA

[xpclient]

I generally agree with the OP. I am xpclient and XPwasmyidea. And to prove my eXPertise, I have written these articles as a summarized form of my knowledge:

Features new to Windows XP
Features new to Windows Vista (entire series)
Features new to Windows 7
Features removed in Windows Vista
Features removed in Windows 7
as well as
Windows 98
Windows NT 4.0
Windows Me
Windows 2000

and thousands of such articles: http://en.wikipedia....lient/Watchlist (Proof is in the edit history of those articles)

That said, it goes without saying that I don't claim to be an all-encompassing eXPert and always learn something from MSFN eXPerts who're far more clever. What I am good at is User Experience and I will try to get inside Microsoft to fix their UX from within and replace a certain moron lady.


I started with Windows for Workgroups 3.1 and have been an MS fanboy until Vista came along and I developed mixed feelings. But NT6 (Vista did bring some pretty important improvements to Windows as did Windows 7) along with an equal number of REALLY BAD regressions. For many years since 2005 (Vista Beta 1), I complained to Microsoft and struggled but they don't care much. Jim Allchin, Bill Gates were the people who cared. Allchin told me on Facebook how he had cancer during Vista development and how they lost their way. The new evil and clueless management does not care.

But along with my home grown Classic Shell project with Ivo Beltchev as the developer, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, and about 50+ such third party programs, I found that almost all regressions in NT6 are fixable. Not all, but almost all, nearly all. I did a Ph.D in XP to Windows Vista/7 migration. Took me 5-6 years.

Windows 8, now that is a REALLY REALLY BAD product that everyone should avoid if you want to save desktop computing. It may not be bad for tablets but buying it means supporting Microsoft and their evil plans to further cripple the desktop. If Vista brought me mixed feelings, Windows 8 makes my blood boil with fury.

Btw you can add DVD support to NTBackup using this addon: http://www.cristalink.com/fs/. MS Paint *can* rotate an image. Providing SATA support in XP is not easy without porting StorPort back which was introduced in Server 2003. Instead, manufacturer provided SCSIport drivers work well. XP Service Pack 2 brought a whole lot of changes (see that Features new to XP article and do a "Find on this page" for SP2 or Service Pack 2).

Not all the things you say about MS are true or accurate but mostly what your point is - that is true. MS turned evil after XP by not caring about regressions in functionality and I so glad, the nice folks at MSFN get it too. The general population is dumb and blind of finer changes or have little to no understanding of under the hood changes - they fail to notice the regressions and only see what marketing shows them.

This post has been edited by xpclient: 24 October 2012 - 09:29 AM

[vipejc]

xpclient, on 24 October 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

I generally agree with the OP. I am xpclient and XPwasmyidea. And to prove my eXPertise, I have written these articles as a summarized form of my knowledge:

Features new to Windows XP
Features new to Windows Vista (entire series)
Features new to Windows 7
Features removed in Windows Vista
Features removed in Windows 7
as well as
Windows 98
Windows NT 4.0
Windows Me
Windows 2000

and thousands of such articles: http://en.wikipedia....lient/Watchlist (Proof is in the edit history of those articles)

That said, it goes without saying that I don't claim to be an all-encompassing eXPert and always learn something from MSFN eXPerts who're far more clever. What I am good at is User Experience and I will try to get inside Microsoft to fix their UX from within and replace a certain moron lady.


I started with Windows for Workgroups 3.1 and have been an MS fanboy until Vista came along and I developed mixed feelings. But NT6 (Vista did bring some pretty important improvements to Windows as did Windows 7) along with an equal number of REALLY BAD regressions. For many years since 2005 (Vista Beta 1), I complained to Microsoft and struggled but they don't care much. Jim Allchin, Bill Gates were the people who cared. Allchin told me on Facebook how he had cancer during Vista development and how they lost their way. The new evil and clueless management does not care.

But along with my home grown Classic Shell project with Ivo Beltchev as the developer, 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, and about 50+ such third party programs, I found that almost all regressions in NT6 are fixable. Not all, but almost all, nearly all. I did a Ph.D in XP to Windows Vista/7 migration. Took me 5-6 years.

Windows 8, now that is a REALLY REALLY BAD product that everyone should avoid if you want to save desktop computing. It may not be bad for tablets but buying it means supporting Microsoft and their evil plans to further cripple the desktop. If Vista brought me mixed feelings, Windows 8 makes my blood boil with fury.

100% correct. Microsoft is all about goofy gimmicks that kill the desktop. We must stop them.

xpclient, on 24 October 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

Btw you can add DVD support to NTBackup using this addon: http://www.cristalink.com/fs/.

Yes, but that is a paid product. I've known about that product for years. I'm not paying for a Microsoft band-aid, when I have real free reliable backup software.

xpclient, on 24 October 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

MS Paint *can* rotate an image.

I forgot to say MS Paint can't rotate an image in arbitrary values; only common degrees, like 90 and 180.

xpclient, on 24 October 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

Providing SATA support in XP is not easy without porting StorPort back which was introduced in Server 2003. Instead, manufacturer provided SCSIport drivers work well. XP Service Pack 2 brought a whole lot of changes (see that Features new to XP article and do a "Find on this page" for SP2 or Service Pack 2).

XP Service Pack 2 added a few nice changes, like the Windows Firewall, but so much more should've been added.

xpclient, on 24 October 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

Not all the things you say about MS are true or accurate but mostly what your point is - that is true. MS turned evil after XP by not caring about regressions in functionality and I so glad, the nice folks at MSFN get it too. The general population is dumb and blind of finer changes or have little to no understanding of under the hood changes - they fail to notice the regressions and only see what marketing shows them.

[dencorso]

vipejc, on 24 October 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

xpclient, on 24 October 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

MS Paint *can* rotate an image.

I forgot to say MS Paint can't rotate an image in arbitrary values; only common degrees, like 90 and 180.

IrfanView is free and it can rotate an image by any arbitrary number of degrees and tenths... But one should avoid repetitively rotating bitmaps, because it causes very fast quality degradation (see: Denis Roegel (2009), The eroding rotation: Why digital pictures should not be rotated)... Here is one case where testing, then clicking undo then testing a new value, until the best/correct value is reached is the best strategy.

[Ponch]

vipejc, on 24 October 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

XP Service Pack 2 added a few nice changes, like the Windows Firewall, but so much more should've been added.

This was 10 years ago. And again, what's a "Service Pack"? Who invented the word? You're trying to give us your own definition of what is is supposed to be when it's not. You do the same with "Operating System"

vipejc, on 20 October 2012 - 11:50 PM, said:

You always need a third party to get stuff done. Ninety-eight percent of the value of the Windows OS comes from third parties.

Again, it's not a shame, it's how it was supposed to be. Please leave the OS separated from the applications so you get choice.
When MS adds stuff... "it's bloat" , when they add IE it's even worse... they get fined! (And "Firefox is better anyway"). You complain 3rd party programs are better, why would we still want MS to add their own ?

[vipejc]

dencorso, on 24 October 2012 - 11:07 PM, said:

vipejc, on 24 October 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

xpclient, on 24 October 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

MS Paint *can* rotate an image.

I forgot to say MS Paint can't rotate an image in arbitrary values; only common degrees, like 90 and 180.

IrfanView is free and it can rotate an image by any arbitrary number of degrees and tenths... But one should avoid repetitively rotating bitmaps, because it causes very fast quality degradation (see: Denis Roegel (2009), The eroding rotation: Why digital pictures should not be rotated)... Here is one case where testing, then clicking undo then testing a new value, until the best/correct value is reached is the best strategy.

Oh, I have a terrific graphics-manipulation software that rotates an image to any degree. The point is I shouldn't need a much better third-party software to do something Microsoft software does so basically. Either do it right or not at all. And yes, since it's a bitmap, it's best to make one rotation to avoid degradation.

[vipejc]

Ponch, on 25 October 2012 - 02:22 AM, said:

vipejc, on 24 October 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

XP Service Pack 2 added a few nice changes, like the Windows Firewall, but so much more should've been added.

This was 10 years ago. And again, what's a "Service Pack"? Who invented the word? You're trying to give us your own definition of what is is supposed to be when it's not. You do the same with "Operating System"

vipejc, on 20 October 2012 - 11:50 PM, said:

You always need a third party to get stuff done. Ninety-eight percent of the value of the Windows OS comes from third parties.

Again, it's not a shame, it's how it was supposed to be. Please leave the OS separated from the applications so you get choice.
When MS adds stuff... "it's bloat" , when they add IE it's even worse... they get fined! (And "Firefox is better anyway"). You complain 3rd party programs are better, why would we still want MS to add their own ?

If Service Packs weren't about adding new features, Microsoft wouldn't try to add new features to a Service Pack, but they do. For example, the Windows Firewall. The problem is they don't know their own products. They don't know what to add. They don't know what to improve. They just guess wrong all the time.

All Microsoft applications, from Calculator to Movie Maker, are very useful and popular apps. They should always come with the OS. The problem is they're too basic and aren't updated properly. According to your logic, Windows should just be an OS with no useful and popular Microsoft apps. We don't need 768 calculators. Just one calculator that does it all.

[Ponch]

vipejc, on 25 October 2012 - 04:44 AM, said:

We don't need 768 calculators. Just one calculator that does it all.

I'm afraid hundreds of millions of MS-Windows customers might have slightly different ideas about the acceptable "one calculator that does it all". You might go poll a very small percentage of them and come back ... YMMV...
Other companies are better at that indeed (getting everybody to go "Waaow").
Beside that, nobody considers the calculator as an application. It's an accessory.

[submix8c]

Maybe you don't understand the concept of "different projects" and how "some portions of a project" wind up being included in "a different project". You've never been on a Software Development and/or Software Maintenance project? I have - quite a number. It does not work the way you think it does/should.You are aware that IE was initially a "separate" product, even in WIN95 RTM? And now (due to rightly so) lawsuits make MS allow it to be "not installed" (again "separate)". As for Firewall, it appears to be something that was needed (even requested) and not "fluff". Firewall can be disabled (even removed completely) and 3d parties frequently (always?) "replace" it.

MS has no time to dedicate a team for "application upgrades" to an OS ("operating system", not "application"). If they did, they would either not be able to sell "full functioned" (as opposed to "free basic"), or they would have to increase the price of the OS accordingly. They don't (contrary to popular belief) have vast resources to perform "cover every single application concept" when, in many (most maybe) cases, other Vendors already do that on one or more (maybe THEY should give "full functioned" away free, too) "applications" and the "free ones" that are not vendors are contributions by independent software developers.

Your "beefs" (re: applications) are unwarranted, IMHO.

In the case of the OS, I think this is currently being beat to death (re: Windows 8) and depends on your "point of view". I personally don't like Tablets or xPhones/xPads as I am not a "user", rather a Systems/Applications person (think Mainframe). I actually was chastised for not using my desktop for quite a long time having been used to (OMG!) 3270 direct-connect plus keyboard-only (what's a mouse?)...

[TheWalrus]

vipejc, on 20 October 2012 - 11:50 PM, said:

Windows 7 is nothing more than XP on eye-candy (Aero Glass UI) with a few super lame new features. Yeah, as if I'm paying a penny for that when my custom XP looks just as good.

Up until this point I was thinking "Yeah the guy is right, and is pretty reasonable too".


Now I think "just another dumb Microsoft hater troll" (and I say that even though I do agree Ms is doing some ultra stupid things last years)




Stick with your XP which I am sure is best for your laptop from 2003, and I will enjoy some super lame features (like kernel that doesn't crash no matter what crap I try, ten years newer drivers, support for new hardware and other totally useless stuff) and eye candy I was so dumb to happily pay for.