OT. Windows 8 nearly drove me insane

[Huge]

TBH, it sounds like you'd be better off going to Linux.

[Huge]

Hear, hear!

(I don't run Windows, but my mother, wife and office all do, so I get exposed to it anyway.)

[Huge]

Thank Ghod for that. It isn't just me.

And I've been using Word since it was called Xerox Document Editor. :o)

[Huge]

Yes. It's called a "firewall".

(A proper one, not the joke rubbish that MS install on the actual host it's supposed to be protecting.)

Smoothwall is free, runs on cheapo hardware and is reasonably easy to admin.

[Bob Eager]

Give it a fixed IP, and firewall it off at the router if you can. In my case I have a separate firewall and I'd just do it there.

[Adrian C]

I know of lots of Apple s**te, unsupported. It's in the bin.

Was a much more expensive layout than microsoft s**te.

What are you trying to say?

Using an unpatched operating system of any breed is pretty stupid, if connected to the internet.

[Jeremy Nicoll - news posts]

I've that as a long-term aim, but I have some windows apps that don't have linux versions; they might work under WINE, I need to find out. Every so often I've thought about putting various linuxes on an old laptop to play with but I never get around to it; I'm thinking of using VMware or Virtual Box on the new W8 machine to give myself a linux I can play with while I'm using W8 too - I think I've more chance of learning to use it that way.

I also have some audio hardware which has Windows drivers, but no linux support, which means I'm unlikely to completely abandon Windows.

[Tim Streater]

Why do you need to ditch them? It worked the day before MS "scrapped" XP, it'll work the day after.

If you all are unable to function without MS "support" you shouldn't have bought into this s**te in the first place.

[John Williamson]

I thought it needed an always on internet connection? Not to mention the privacy concerns, as it stores everything on Google's servers.

[Adrian C]

Technically wrong, but don't let that get in the way of an agenda.

[Tim Streater]

I'm saying that if it's unpatched now, then it was unpatched before. And yet because it was "supported", everyone was happy.

[mick]

You might be surprised at what linux will handle now. Remember that linux doesn't use drivers from manufacturers by default, it looks at the chipset of the device and uses a generic driver for that. A lot of older hardware already has support as part of the linux kernel now.

Linux has a lot of applications now. They aren't usually linux versions of windows programs (some are), but they are often just as usable even if they look different.

Dual booting windows and linux is no way to learn linux. You won't be bothered to do it. If you aren't willing to install linux on a machine that you are going to actually use then, at the very least, I would recommend that you download a suitable "live CD" version of Mint and give that a try. It won't mess up anything on your hard disk, just run rather slowly because it has to load stuff from the CD/DVD rather than a HDD.

[bert]

Technically right I would say. Software doesn't degrade like hardware.

[John Rumm]

With the caveat that Office XP (aka 2002) and earlier don't run on Win 7 or later.

Yup, MS claim its easier for newbies to get used to...

[stuart noble]

Yes, it needs the internet and, yes, Google might harvest your e-mails, but the benefits of never having to tinker with the bloody thing must be one hell of a bonus.

[Adrian C]

Some application software maybe but the OS does degrade.

Changes to the hardware environment, security exploits being found, incompatibilities found, uncorrected faults, unexplained crashes, trojans, viruses, users unable to install patches and updates, users unable to pay for upgrades, and manufacturer decisions to withdraw accessibility to other connected functions particularly those critically provided by way of the internet.

Have Microsoft announced when they are going to turn off the activation servers for XP?

[Adrian C]

Chromebooks don't always need a constant web connection for some applications, and the benefits of a managed system provided for essentially free might make it a worthwhile trade for knowledge of some of your breeding and shopping habits.

Don't like Windows 8?

Chrome 32 Turns Windows 8 PCs into a Chromebook

The folks that worry incessantly about the big bad Google and data on redundant hard drives probably 1) read the Daily Mail & 2) have a huge hole in their computers security so large that already that the whole world, never mind Google, knows everything anyway. They really should pull the internet plug ...

Or get with the programme ...

[stuart noble]

Most people don't give a toss about MSOffice. They upload out-of-focus photos to Facebook and play Angry Birds. A Chromebook can do all that for next to no money.

[John Rumm]

In which case carry on using them... there are unlikely to be any show stoppers - at least for a while. Avoid using IE on XP, and make sure you have up to date AV software.

If you need to move it, reinstall and see if it reactivates. If it does not and you end up going down the phone MS activation route, just tell them that you have had to replace the motherboard under warranty for the customer since the original one failed.

Using a static IP setup and not going it a default gateway is one way.

[Jeremy Nicoll - news posts]

Indeed, which is why I've not done so yet - but running a linux in a virtual machine while still having the Windows environment available might work for me.

I've a chronic illness and spend a LOT of time in bed; I have room for one laptop on an overbed table in front of me. I think I may be able to explore a linux if it's available on that machine for playing with while there's also normal Windows apps in other windows. I've used a RISC OS emulation that way for long enough...