I used Windows XP today--Now I have a Headache!

[Frisco]

It's been a while since I had to use a PC (Thank God!), but today I went over my friends house to help her making a VCD. It was a nightmare! First off the program I tried to make the VCD in was atrocious! It came with the Sony digital camera she got. It had all these weird icons that I had no idea what they were for--no label and icons didn't represent their function. And then I could only drag one photo in at a time. I gave up and downloaded another program which was better, but the XP experience sucked!

I burned a few picture CDs through the finder and everytime I received to strange dialogue boxes. The wording was so confusing I didn't know whether to click yes or no.

This is only a year old HP, with a pretty decent processor, but the system was so unresponsive. I could only do a one or two things at once--forget about multitasking! Everything was so slow and rough compared to OS X. Scrolling Sucked! Pop up messages everywhere, alert type messages in the taskbar popping up and weird 3rd party stuff that installed itself in the finder Windows. I felt like I had no control over Windows--it controlled me and my behavior! Windows is just so bloated, disorganized, overwhelming--it's just plain SLOPPY!

I really forgot how good OS X is. I started to take it for granted, but after ten minutes with Windows I quickly remembered and wish I was on a Mac.

Thanks for listening.

[TDT]

Once you get better at using an operating system, you will feel in 'more control' as time goes on. Here, for example, is when I began with OSX. When I first turned on OSX, I felt somewhat confused. If it wasn't for my Linux knowledge, I would have been in real trouble. It took me about 13 hours to actually understand this OS fairly well.

*shrug* It's all personal preference. I use Linux (Gentoo), Windows XP, Windows .net Server, and Mac OSX. I like them all fairly well.

[janey]

AHHHH NOOO
please do not tell me you are overexaggerating everything you said, because honestly IMHO Windows is not a bad OS at all.
Yeah, OS X and Gentoo and FreeBSD are awesome, but Windows is equally nice. Just wish it were a little different, then i'd be happy :)

[RandomDeadHead]

I have to agree with Frisco on this one, I just got finished building a gaming pc for my son's birthday, and it was a nightmare. Puting the components in the ugly box, and connecting everything properly was extremely easy, even setting the bios and overclocking the moble athlon proc was easy. But installing and configuring Windows sucked. Figuring out wich of the four drivers to install for the graphics card was very confusing to say the least.

One thing I can say about windows is that it doesn't crash nearly as much as I thought it would. He has had it for a week now and the only time it crashed whas when we were overclocking it, but that was our fault for clocking it too high. I was thinking that it would crash constantly, someone give Bill a cookie.

[Mav451]

"pretty decent processor" - that could be anything. Was it a celeron? Athlon? Pentium? Barton? We have no idea what it was. For all we know, it could be a Celeron 2.0ghz, god forbid, which performs even worse than a 5-year old AMD Thunderbird that run on 100Mhz FSBs.

Scrolling sucked? This is a video driver issue. If you don't have the right driver, it will not interact with DirectX9 (or 8.1, if they didn't upgrade), and thus you have your sluggish scrolling--well sluggish anything.

I don't believe that Windows controlled your behavior. What a blatant blanket statement for your trouble. It is your BIAS, your lack of knowledge and experience that controlled you. Please, enough of the stereotypes and bigotry. It really makes me sick.

*I am really suprised you burned through "finder". I don't know anyone who uses the default Windows software to burn--when Nero or Roxio SHOULD have come with the burner, and are FAR superior alternatives.*

That decision alone serves as a metaphor for your knowledge--and it taints what little factual information you have posted as your "experience".

[mikepctp]

The facts posted could be the actual experience based on the level of knowledge.

To summarize my opinion; to configure and operate a Mac, one does not need to be a rocket scientist. The computer comes fully equipped and ready to run "reliably" with an OS designed to run on that computer. One does not need to know all the intricacies of computer hardware, software and 3rd-party stuff to optimize a smooth, powerful computer. This is what the Mac was designed to do and has been since the beginning.

A PC may (arguably) be more tweakable and have many more options but it generally isn't configured to it's optimum by most users and most computer users are average users. A Mac has always done so almost by default.

[cwedl]

I have to use both Mac OSX and Windows XP, I prefer Mac OSX, but windows isn't that bad. I certainly wouldn't use it for any task that would require alot of the systems resources because Windows XP in all fairness probably would freeze.

[Roger1]

I just built a pc a couple of months ago with an AMD processor (Duron 2300, I think) with 128MB DDR RAM. It runs XP, and it is very slow. I upped the RAM to 256MB and now it's a considerably better. :)

[Nny]

I burned a few picture CDs through the finder

Wow.... how's you do that on an XP box?

(p.s. it's called explorer)

[Dunepilot]

Frisco does seem to be overstating the difficulty working with XP because he doesn't know the OS, but at the same time, my experience of it has been that I'm not nearly nearly as productive (nor for that matter, able to enjoy myself working) as I would be with OS X.

A lot of the Xp drivers for really basic things like USB mice are surprisingly archaic - I have been surprised to see the 'new hardware found' dialogue coming up when a mouse is plugged into a horrible (less than a year old) Tosh laptop we have where I work. Networking with Xp Home is dog slow. Half-decent use of a network is not really beyond the use of most home users these days, so why do you have to upgrade to XP Pro to get what is hardly an advanced feature to work properly? There are a half-dozen other gripes I could go into, but at least XP is better than Windows 98 that I have on my main work machine. God, how I miss spring-loaded folders!

[live4ever]

It funny you should mention trying to make a VCD because I haven't found any software for for OSX that compares to Nero Vision Express for authoring VCDs.

Also Windows isn't that bad becasue I'm still using a 7 year old IBM 350mhz PII running 2000 for making complex VCDs (I just do all the encoding and burning on my Mac).

[Mav451]

..The facts posted could be the actual experience based on the level of knowledge...


If that's the case...then should I also base my experience with an OS, with Macs, entirely on a single experience and stereotype it as such?

The 2.0G5s in university the computer lab tend to freeze and crash a lot more than my PC. I even found Safari and sometimes even Finder to just stop and freeze on me, while deleting .plist for Safari (along with its copy) helped alleviate the problem, the Finder crashes are unavoidable. However, do you see me saying that all Macs are like this? Of course not. It would be horribly naive to make such a statement. After all, a computer lab is a shared resource by all students.

There is something called "spin" used by the media and the newspaper industry specifically. It can make/break a story that may or may not have originally started based on "facts".

[radhak]

It funny you should mention trying to make a VCD because I haven't found any software for for OSX that compares to Nero Vision Express for authoring VCDs.

To repeat this question, what do you all use to create VCDs on OSX?

[Horrortaxi]

Frisco does seem to be overstating the difficulty working with XP because he doesn't know the OS
I used to be a really good Windows user and I knew the OS. Frisco's experience sounds perfectly believable. It's stuff like that that got me to switch in the first place. It's stuff like that which makes me dread the thought of having to use Windows. It's stuff like that which makes me loathe having to use Windows for anything other than web surfing. It's not ignorance on my part. I can make Windows behave if I have to. I just have no motivation to do so since I can get the same result on my Mac without the headaches. Life is too short for that kind of aggravation.

[mactastic]

I'm using Windows right now, and my head doesn't hurt. Of course I miss Expose terribly but all in all everything works about as well as it does on my TiBook. No crashes, no blue screen of death. The only frustrating part is that I can't get around as easily in Windows as I can on my Mac. But that's my problem, not the OS. It took a long time and a lot of tips to get as good at using OS X as I am. Maybe in a year or two I'll be as good at Windows.

Sure would be nice if AutoCad ran on OS X though...

[rueyeet]

Sounds to me that Frisco's friend doesn't have one of those "properly maintained installations" of Windows that we keep hearing about. :p

Seriously, though...You might consider running a spyware detector on her system at the very least; that could be the reason for the pop-ups, taskbar alerts, and self-installing "wierd 3rd-party" stuff you mention, which can also hog system memory and slow everything down. If she's got Kazaa on there, this is a real probability.

I do agree that the dialogs and error messages in Windows leave something to be desired...sometimes even the tech support guys have clearly had no idea what they're about. And the bundled software that comes with Windows peripherals generally sucks hugely, unless they've actually given you something decent and well-known. Generally you should only install the drivers and just forget the bundled crap.

But other than that, Windows isn't always THAT bad...

[edesignuk]

It was a nightmare! First off the program I tried to make the VCD in was atrocious! It came with the Sony digital camera she got. It had all these weird icons that I had no idea what they were for--no label and icons didn't represent their function. And then I could only drag one photo in at a time.
How exactly is this a Windows problem?
I gave up and downloaded another program which was better
Bravo!
I burned a few picture CDs through the finder and everytime I received to strange dialogue boxes. The wording was so confusing I didn't know whether to click yes or no.
It's called "Explorer", you'd have a hard time using the "Finder" in Windows :p As for the CD writing, true enough it's not the greatest, though in my experiance does work. But hell, that's what Nero's for!!!
This is only a year old HP, with a pretty decent processor, but the system was so unresponsive. I could only do a one or two things at once--forget about multitasking! Everything was so slow and rough compared to OS X. Scrolling Sucked!
A year old cheap arse Duron/Celeron? Memory? This will make a big difference, just like OS X (actually it's not quite a bad as OS X in this respect), XP likes memory!
Pop up messages everywhere, alert type messages in the taskbar popping up and weird 3rd party stuff that installed itself in the finder Windows.
Things don't just magically install themselves. At some time your mate has said yes to some dodgy 3rd party supposed IE plugin without readng it properly. Or has been downloading heaps of freeware which as we all know is free for a reason.
I felt like I had no control over Windows--it controlled me and my behavior! Windows is just so bloated, disorganized, overwhelming--it's just plain SLOPPY!
It really isn't hard to "control" Windows, what are you talking about?

I wouldn't mind your complaints, that is if you actually had one. But this is all just ignorance IMO. Of course you may not know your way around at first, but who does with an OS they never use? That's still not to say that is as bad as you would have people believe.

[coolsoldier]

I do agree that the dialogs and error messages in Windows leave something to be desired...sometimes even the tech support guys have clearly had no idea what they're about.

Did you ever use OS 9? I can't count the number of times OS 9 game me messages like "The operation could not be completed because an error of type-10 occurred". Not only can you not understand it, but there's not even a message there to try to understand. At least with windows, a "General Protection Fault" or "Invalid Page Fault" actually says something about what the error is.

OS X is much better about this than OS 9, but EXEC_BAD_ACCESS is still not a useful message.

[7on]

I had headaches all the time when I had a PC. Thought it was homework though. However, upon getting my Mac the headaches disappeared quickly.

I didn't even run my XP box to the internet and I still had headaches. Didn't have many problems and my pentium 3 800Mhz with a Geforce 3 runs all the games I had on it smoothly (disregarding recent games prolly, because I haven't use my pentium 3 for a while. XP is definitely more nerve racking than Windows and switching to the Mac added at least 10 years to my life.

[Frisco]

"pretty decent processor" - that could be anything. Was it a celeron? Athlon? Pentium? Barton? We have no idea what it was. For all we know, it could be a Celeron 2.0ghz, god forbid, which performs even worse than a 5-year old AMD Thunderbird that run on 100Mhz FSBs.

Scrolling sucked? This is a video driver issue. If you don't have the right driver, it will not interact with DirectX9 (or 8.1, if they didn't upgrade), and thus you have your sluggish scrolling--well sluggish anything.

I don't believe that Windows controlled your behavior. What a blatant blanket statement for your trouble. It is your BIAS, your lack of knowledge and experience that controlled you. Please, enough of the stereotypes and bigotry. It really makes me sick.

*I am really suprised you burned through "finder". I don't know anyone who uses the default Windows software to burn--when Nero or Roxio SHOULD have come with the burner, and are FAR superior alternatives.*

That decision alone serves as a metaphor for your knowledge--and it taints what little factual information you have posted as your "experience".

Okay maybe a bit of exaggeration, but I felt very frustrated after using XP. Sorry if I offended anyone.

My friends computer has 384 MB of Ram. Maybe it needs some more. She has a 1 year old compact with an AMD Processor--sorry don't know anymore specs. I do know if definitely isn't top of the line, so I am sure that had a lot to do with it.

I also apologize for referring to the 'Explorer" as the "Finder."

Why didn't I burn in Nero or Roxio? Well she doesn't have these programs, but even if she did it's much easier in OS X to burn a CD through the Finder than to have to use 3rd party software. Pop in a CD, drag your files to the CD and click burn. It wasn't so hard in Windows--just got some weird error messages.

Any way sorry if I offended anyone. Thanks for all your replies!

[PowerMacMan]

"I used Windows XP today--Now I have a Headache!"



-I use Windows XP EVERYDAY-

That explains why I have a migrane everyday :mad: ...

-And it's telling me that I NEED A Mac...

[janey]

"I used Windows XP today--Now I have a Headache!"
-I use Windows XP EVERYDAY-
That explains why I have a migrane everyday :mad: ...
-And it's telling me that I NEED A Mac...
Ahh. I can say the same about my Mac...
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I have a headache.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I have so many mood swings.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why my eyesight is screwed up.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I cannot do this or that.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I get teased every single day.

Blah Blah Blah blah blah.

[amin]

I've been using my XP desktop (HP Athlon XP 1600) for significantly longer than I've been using my Rev A 12" PB, and I do find most things more challenging on the XP desktop. For example, it took my longer to figure out how to use Nero than it took me to fingure out Toast. Perhaps this is because Nero has more options, but they aren't options I need or even want. Speedwise, I can't say I notice a difference between the two systems (which have about the same RAM - 512 on the desktop, 640 on the PB). XP comes with a lot of small nuisances. For example Internet Explorer, which as far as I can tell cannot be uninstalled (and even worse, is a pain to reinstall if it becomes corrupt) defaults to automatic script debugging. Every time I would go to my own family site, it would ask me to debug, but then I couldn't actually figure out how to make this happen or even what it meant. Finally I did a Google search and realized that I could disable this default "feature" under the "Advanced" options. There are also waaay too many automatic updates that require a restart. Overall though, XP is fine by me. Sure beats the heck out of Windows 98!

[thatwendigo]

Ahh. I can say the same about my Mac...
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I have a headache.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I have so many mood swings.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why my eyesight is screwed up.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I cannot do this or that.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I get teased every single day.

Blah Blah Blah blah blah.

Way to put down others' preferences, Uber. While many of us might be able to wade our way through tasks in Windows (I can, but I hate to do it because it keeps getting me asked to repair others' machines), there is a vast number of users out there who don't know more than point and click.

Say what you want to about Windows, I've never seen OS X deteriorate, spontaneously break, or do any of the other things that the other side is famous for. Use Windows if you like, but it's perfectly valid for someone to say, "I like my computer to work, and my only experience with Windows has been for it to refuse to do so." Maybe you and the other naysayers could help them learn, rather than insulting them, hmm?

After all... I find it ironic when mac users are the ones fixing Windows PCs. It's why I keep doing it. :cool:

[iBunny]

I used windows my entire life... never even touched a mac before ( well Apple IIe back in the day ) so i dunno

but im gonna get a new iBook... so hopefully i like OSX.... :D

[adamjay]

i occasionally use our 766mhz Pentium3 Dell desktop for a few things that i dont have the luxury of on Mac (soulseek p2p, photoshop with truetype fonts), and today i had to do just that. it certainly didnt give me a headache. but i can say that now thanks to alot of applications that allow you to make XP at least LOOK like OSX, the interface stuff that frustrates alot of mac users using PCs can at least be tweaked.

what frustrates me about Windows isn't the Explorer or the whole large Application window thing... but the freaking vulnerability to spyware, worms, and security breaches is really annoying. its easier to get a virus than it is to prevent yourself from getting a virus. and thats where the real headaches lie.

[iBunny]

Im just glad when i get my ibook... i wont ever have to have a blue scrren of death again (BSOD)

[powerbook4me]

Im just glad when i get my ibook... i wont ever have to have a blue scrren of death again (BSOD)


It will be replaced by kernel panic :p

[Golem]

I have a 1.4 p4 Dual boot xp/2000 which we brought a few years ago. it was last reinstalled 18 months ago and gets regular os updates. I have no real issues with it except for I can only get it too talk to the macs under xp and I have 1 small problem problem where it just stops in xp and finished with no error message but a corrupted file. I boot back in to win 2000 to run the exact same thing maybe once a month for that. Now and then it cant see the rest of the network but a reboot of both machines fixes that. But it isnt used for the web, email,file sharing or games and it never gets unknown software installed on it:) But back when we first brought i let it get borrowed for all of the above and I think it got reinstalled about a dozen times with all sorts of mysterious problems.

[janey]

urm OS X doesnt crash? Then what is this? Nothing more than a pretty image? Hrmph.
http://homepage.mac.com/jane_lee/iview/image/dscn4053.jpg

[live4ever]

To repeat this question, what do you all use to create VCDs on OSX?

I use VCD Builder, vcdtoolsX, and Toast to make simple VCDs (don't get me wrong they work great). But for complex VCDs (with motion menus, background audio, etc.) I haven't found a program yet.

Of course we have DVD Studio Pro (3 looks great) for DVDs though.

[Awimoway]

I like Macs a lot better, but the learning curve wasn't instantaneous. I remember having to ask on the forums all kinds of stupid questions like "How do I uninstall programs on a Mac?" I still haven't warmed to the way folders are not put at the top of list views in Finder. I get frustrated with the limited contextual menus on a Mac. Then I look at my wife's PC running XP and I want to vomit. The ugly text and graphics. The instability. The idiotic way that you have to know the name of a program's developer in order to find the program on the Start menu.

Neither OS is perfect. Both have a learning curve. And most human beings will, in their infinite egotism, always assume that the problems they are having are with the OS itself, not with their own instinctive resistance to anything different—“ewwww”—that requires a little patience to learn. It's that same silly prejudice that keeps a lot of people away from Macs.

[billyboy]

I wouldnt bash anything for no good reason, but explain me this. My dad has his PC which doesnt crash and I was using it to see how iTunes works on Windows. It is OK, butt ugly, but OK. He leaves his PC on but the fan is going all the time, so I thought "sleep". In XP I see there is an option to hibernate your PC. It doesnt seem to be a hack or a complex procedure, you go Start, and click and the computer hiberbnates. So when it eventually goes through its round the houses process to wake from hibernation, I find I cant type numbers, just the " · $ %. My dad went skitz and demanded I reset it as it was. So I went to Control Panel and clicked on whatever icon it was. Somehow one click highlighted 20 icons at once. I had to restart the computer in order to get the keyboard to work. Great advert.

I also activated a Nikotel VoIP account for him so he can "phone" me on my Mac , but it wouldnt work so I thought it was related to his firewall - software one. The Nikotel instructions explained the need to open a range of ports, with numbers. I phoned my brother who is not a Windows dummy at all. He didnt know how. I dont know Windows, but I dont think I am a dummy, I was searching for an hour trying to find out how you open a port. It kept coming back to asking an administrator. I just gave up in the end and asked Nikotel to help, which they did. I have never specified an open port in my life on a Mac, but I just tried to do exactly that, and it took about 10 seconds to find that I can open any frigging port I like via a no brainer dialogue box in sharing.

Talking to my dad, I get the impression that sure, you can do as much multi media and surfing and so on with XP as with OSX, (he is a bit good with digital photography especially) but I have to say, it seems like you have to work pretty damn smart downloading here there and everywhere just to be able to produce the same results as the no brainer out the box OS X way. And dont even get me started on his battle to keep uptodate with patches using dial up.

[Mav451]

The hibernate option can have problems, specific with the motherboard, chipset, bios, and hardware manufacturer out there. In my case, it works perfectly, because it is a widely support motherboard manufacturer and chipset (Asus; chipset: nForce2).

However, attempting this on a Via board a few years ago led to hard locks--a subsequent BIOS fix a few months later fixed that.

Honestly, the OS is not always at fault. If it is too old to support it, or has issues, the manufacturer is sometimes at fault--in my case it was an old VIA board (which I have since then been tossed out--it was 5 years old).

*the one-click highlight everything at once has something to do with the USB keyboard/mice locking up...again this is hardware, motherboard, brand specific.
**I think pressing Alt/Ctrl may get you out of it. I had this with my VIA mobo, but not with the nForce2. I used the same USB devices (Msoft Keyboard, Msoft USB wheel mouse).

Kinda odd how Apple users tend to blame an OS first when the wide diverse selection of products on the PC side (from the mouse, motherboard, chipset manufacturer) are probably more likely at fault.

I guess its b/c with Apple hardware and software are tightly controlled, monopolized (but differently). With PC, you have to remember that it is only the software that is monopolized...with the hardware its a wild jungle...(hence NEVER ever buy 3rd party hardware "just because its cheap").

[billyboy]

With OS X if something as bizarre with the keyboard had happened on my Mac I would have looked to hardware glitches straightaway. I guess the klutzy ham fisted way Windows woke the PC up from hibernating, before the keyboard and Control panel even played up, didnt instill me with any confidence in the OS.

[mikepctp]

The whole OS debate is fun... neither are anywhere near perfect. Both enjoy some neat abilities and both can let you down. It was said that the operator's ego usually determines that the OS is at fault. Excellent observation and soooo true sometimes.

All of the points raised here have enlightened me a great deal on both fronts of XP (of which I run Pro SP-1) and OSX (of which I used to run 10.2.8... until my 7 year-old smoked it somehow and now I am back to running 9.2.2). I come to this forum for info, experiences and answers. My experience with OSX is limited and you folks are helping me learn it. Thanks to all.

My observation of late is that when my kids get on the web and play their "Yahooligans games" etc. on the PC; it seems to go fine. When my kid did the same with the Mac; it "self destructed." I know the little b*gger did something but he has no clue and neither do I. I am sure it isn't the fault of the OS but the operator. I consider myself lucky to have the ability to use each (Mac or PC) for tasks that work best on their respective platforms.
I guess I need to go and reload my OSX now... :)

[Frisco]

Okay I used XP again today and sorry it sucked!

I got some virus message box that I clicked Ok on 5 time, then cancel, then the BIG X, and it wouldn't close!

I also installed iTunes for Windows for my friend. I wanted to give her a little taste of Apple ;)
It's a good program on Windows, but it didn't make me forget I was on Windows.

Sorry these are my feelings and I would have never thought I would receive such discord from a Mac forum. I wonder what the response would have been had I posted this in a PC forum :eek:

[Mav451]

Well this thread is only 2 pages :)

On a PC forum, this thread would have to be closed around the 10 mark haha.


I got some virus message box that I clicked Ok on 5 time, then cancel, then the BIG X, and it wouldn't close!


Well, sounds like a whole bag of trouble comin' your way, and its NOT the OS. Your friend can have anything from spyware, to viruses, to zombies running on her system if she has been using Outlook/OE or IE.

Here's the solution:

Format. Switch to Firefox and Thunderbird (browse/mail).
Install Spybot S&D. (A) Immunize (B) Block Active X downloads
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~ahuang/spybot_1.JPG
(above is when you HAVE to use IE, and only when you have to, it will be much safer).

Its just that easy. I do this right after I build my comp (and a few others), and that means no wasted time with security, no wasted time on crashes from mysterious spyware dlls.

By stopping the two main doorways, the browser and attachment security, then you are cutting down alot of the security risks. Of course, if your friend uses Thunderbird, but still insists on double-clicking .exes, .pifs, .zips or what have you, then there's really nothing else I can say.

[Frisco]

Mav451,

Thanks for the tips! I will do what you suggested.

I am just trying to help my friend out on her computer.

Frisco

[janey]

Okay I used XP again today and sorry it sucked!
I got some virus message box that I clicked Ok on 5 time, then cancel, then the BIG X, and it wouldn't close!
(snip)
Haha honestly...*growl*
If you have any problems with ANY OS on earth, it's probably your fault. Some people never have problems with their PC, some people never have problems with their Mac. If you're one of those lucky people, then great. But just because you aren't doesn't give you the right to say that x sucks compared to y.
btw, the answer to your PC forum question depends on the forum. Some of them have smart people who know the pros and cons of the OSs and choose the one they want based on their needs and wants. Most are filled with ignorant, asinine, biased, and inane morons who just want to bash anything they think is stupid based on their paltry knowledge of OSs and OS versions other than Windows XP.

[me_94501]

My feelings toward XP range from indifferent to disgust. I find XP to be a decent operating system, but the little things about it drive me nuts.

[ingenious]

Well this thread is only 2 pages :)

On a PC forum, this thread would have to be closed around the 10 mark haha.



Well, sounds like a whole bag of trouble comin' your way, and its NOT the OS. Your friend can have anything from spyware, to viruses, to zombies running on her system if she has been using Outlook/OE or IE.

Here's the solution:

Format. Switch to Firefox and Thunderbird (browse/mail).
Install Spybot S&D. (A) Immunize (B) Block Active X downloads
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~ahuang/spybot_1.JPG
(above is when you HAVE to use IE, and only when you have to, it will be much safer).

Its just that easy. I do this right after I build my comp (and a few others), and that means no wasted time with security, no wasted time on crashes from mysterious spyware dlls.

By stopping the two main doorways, the browser and attachment security, then you are cutting down alot of the security risks. Of course, if your friend uses Thunderbird, but still insists on double-clicking .exes, .pifs, .zips or what have you, then there's really nothing else I can say.


M$ says that as long as IE and OE are on your system, even if its not the default browser, that they still pose as potental security risks. check my sig. i use firefox and thunderbird, and I HATE WINDOWS! i used it for 6 years, feeling sick when touching a mac. then os x came out and suddenly i realized how frustrated and sick i was of /with windows! (esp. prior to XP, which is still horrid, but a lesser evil). I saw the "light" I'm never going back! The mac allows me to do things that i could never even dream of doing on the PC!

[ingenious]

urm OS X doesnt crash? Then what is this? Nothing more than a pretty image? Hrmph.
http://homepage.mac.com/jane_lee/iview/image/dscn4053.jpg
yes, OS X does crash. ive recently been having problems with some kernel panics. but its nothing like the daily, hourly, sometimes minutely Windows crashes. at least in OS X, it usually saves automatically.... I have not lost one document do to a software fault. that doesnt mean its the case for everyone tho. by any means, its much more stabler than windows, as is any UNIX derivative.

[powder8]

However, attempting this on a Via board a few years ago led to hard locks--a subsequent BIOS fix a few months later fixed that.

Honestly, the OS is not always at fault. If it is too old to support it, or has issues, the manufacturer is sometimes at fault--in my case it was an old VIA board (which I have since then been tossed out--it was 5 years old).

.

The above quote is refering to XP hibernate issues... YES it is the XP OS's fault... Which is Microsofts fault for whoring out their OS to anybody and everyone they can in the IBM/WINTEL market....

[cait-sith]

Ahh. I can say the same about my Mac...
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I have a headache.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I have so many mood swings.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why my eyesight is screwed up.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I cannot do this or that.
Maybe using a Mac is the reason why I get teased every single day.

Blah Blah Blah blah blah.

perhaps you should look into some of the well established SSRI drugs available today.

we get the point. it's just a computer. :o

[ltgator333]

I have to agree with Frisco on this one, I just got finished building a gaming pc for my son's birthday, and it was a nightmare. Puting the components in the ugly box, and connecting everything properly was extremely easy, even setting the bios and overclocking the moble athlon proc was easy. But installing and configuring Windows sucked. Figuring out wich of the four drivers to install for the graphics card was very confusing to say the least.

One thing I can say about windows is that it doesn't crash nearly as much as I thought it would. He has had it for a week now and the only time it crashed whas when we were overclocking it, but that was our fault for clocking it too high. I was thinking that it would crash constantly, someone give Bill a cookie.


Yes! I have had almost a carbon-copy experience. I have owned 2 roll-your-own PC's so far because I find it so much easier/enjoyable to build it from scratch than just buy something off the shelf, and have ran either FreeBSD or Linux of some kind on both of them. Both of them I built were dual proc workstations, dualie AMD MP chips, seemed to have speed to burn. So when my brother got frustrated with the speed of his souped up PMac 7600 for playing games, he comes to me and asks me to build him one like mine. So I build him a single AMD 64 3000+ based PC, and then came installing windows.. He opted for a SATA main HD.. which we were puzzled that you had to load a driver off a floppy disk (neither of us even intended to include a floppy drive in the system at all until then..) just for the install to recognize his drive. Then comes getting his files off the PMac and on to the PC, I figure peice of cake- I have a PCI SCSI host for PC's extra lying around put that in the PC, format an external SCSI HD as DOS on the PC and then connect it to the PMac and copy the stuff.... after 2 attempts for some reason or another this isn't working out. And formatting a HD in XP? have fun. A guy like myself figured it was as simple as goin into the DOS prompt and typing 'fdisk' but nooo .. Then there's the whole issue of windows being constantly in your face.. SuSE isn't constantly in your face. FreeBSD isn't. Red Hat wasn't. OS 9 wasn't. OS X insn't. heck, windows 3.11-98 weren't all that bad I didn't think compared to this overpriced, chopped up NT core with a GUI by Mattel.

[Mav451]

Hmm, there was actually a similar problem with installing SCSI drives in '98 (requiring floppies, along with some other extra steps), but floppies were still being used, at least in the PC world, 5 years ago. Flash forward to now--and that is the reason I still use my ATA-100 drive with XP...

I definitely agree installing XP on a SATA drive is a bit of a challenge. I also have a feeling that this won't be addressed until Longhorn, as SP2, I doubt, will touch on this issue.

Well since I have tossed my floppy drive, looks like I'll stick with my current setup for at a few more years :)

[thatwendigo]

urm OS X doesnt crash? Then what is this? Nothing more than a pretty image? Hrmph.
http://homepage.mac.com/jane_lee/iview/image/dscn4053.jpg

Something I don't see on my machine.

[ltgator333]

wish I could have taken a picture, but have actually seen OSX seriously have a fatal kernel panic and drop down into text mode with a dump of memory locations where things went wrong... twice even.

[Apple //e]

"I used Windows XP today--Now I have a Headache!"



-I use Windows XP EVERYDAY-

That explains why I have a migrane everyday :mad: ...

-And it's telling me that I NEED A Mac...


at least you dont use win me

btw, i was reading the win 2003 manual and it refered to win me as a "compost heap"

i double checked the publisher and it was a microsoft book. i thought that was pretty funny

anyways.....i think win 2k is really good in terms of stability

spyware is a plague on all windows system, but is easily remedied by using the proper software.

[SiliconAddict]

It's been a while since I had to use a PC (Thank God!), but today I went over my friends house to help her making a VCD. It was a nightmare! First off the program I tried to make the VCD in was atrocious! It came with the Sony digital camera she got. It had all these weird icons that I had no idea what they were for--no label and icons didn't represent their function. And then I could only drag one photo in at a time. I gave up and downloaded another program which was better, but the XP experience sucked!

I burned a few picture CDs through the finder and everytime I received to strange dialogue boxes. The wording was so confusing I didn't know whether to click yes or no.



Did you even try and use MS Movie Maker? Its nowhere near as good as Appe's iApps wares but its easy. The fact that you called Microsoft's File Explorer a "finder" tells me you know nothing of Windows which can easily translate into frustration just as I've been frustrated with iTunes for Windows in how it works. Some of the features are not intuitively found. I've had to stumble across them to find them.
As for the burner. Yah. I don't know a single person that uses MS built in burning software. It sucks butt. That is why 99.9987% of any OEM system and 100% of the off the shelf CD burners come with either Nero (Best software out there.) or Easy CD Creator (Sucks.)

This isn't a hack at you Frisco. It’s just pointing out the fact that without knowing a platform its easy to get frustrated and jump to conclusions. This, IMHO, is why PC users scoff at Mac users. They've never REALLY used the OS before.

[janey]

meh, my pb has had three kernel panics in the last week. Perhaps it is time for a reinstall grrr.
I would hate to reinstall and recompile everything *sigh*

[oldschool]

Come on stop raggin' on frisco. He had a bad experience. He's obviously not as computer savvy as some of you. As for ubergeeks comment about OS problems being the fault of the user, i agree, to a point. Frisco obviously has no problems with OS X, and yet bad experiences using XP. This shows that OS X is easier to use for someone who's never used it.

[Mav451]

Frisco obviously has no problems with OS X, and yet bad experiences using XP. This shows that OS X is easier to use for someone who's never used it.

Reread what you just typed. Are you also implying that Frisco has ALSO never used OS X? Frisco probably has considerably more experience with OS X, and thus that argument is invalid.

If it was Frisco's first time trying out BOTH Windows XP and Mac OS X, and he made the very same conclusion, then yes, your argument woudl make sense...but the presumption is that Mac OSX is his primary OS, and then his experience with his primary OS would obviously be far greater than one he has basically no experience with.

[oldschool]

Reread what you just typed. Are you also implying that Frisco has ALSO never used OS X? Frisco probably has considerably more experience with OS X, and thus that argument is invalid.

If it was Frisco's first time trying out BOTH Windows XP and Mac OS X, and he made the very same conclusion, then yes, your argument woudl make sense...but the presumption is that Mac OSX is his primary OS, and then his experience with his primary OS would obviously be far greater than one he has basically no experience with.

no.

he obviously loves mac os x. His first experience with it then must have been positive because he now owns a mac computer. His first experience with XP, however, was not a good one.

[Mav451]

Ok fine. If my first experience was with OS 8.6 in middle school, and I denounced them then, I would be a fool. First impressions are sometimes correct, but other times they can be horribly wrong.

If we all based our JUDGEMENT on first impressions, well just think about it in that sense. Is everyone's first impression always the right one?

You do not see me denouncing OS X right now. I have been using it (limited) in the G5 computer lab here for a few months now. Even now, I reserve judging it until i can safely say that I understand the OS. Frisco on the other hand, did not have a second thought to base everything on his first impression. Everything.

[oldschool]

An OS should at least create a pleasurable first impression to attract potential buyers. Mac does this wonderfully, while as Frisco demonstrated, Windows has problems with first impressions.

I do though agree that opinions shouldn't be based on first impressions, but thats what most people go by.

[plinden]

... I still haven't warmed to the way folders are not put at the top of list views in Finder. ...

Funny, I've been prettry much an exclusive Windoze user and that's one of the things I hate about XP's Explorer - I want to see the files/folders sorted the way I ask for, dammit.

But then, 90% of my time on the PC is spent VNC'ed onto Unix machines, and I'm a command-line junkie. Typing "cd ~/workspace", "ls -a" is so much easier than searching for icons, "My Documents", "workspace" ... etc. Even working on my Linux box, I use xterm more than the KDE GUI.

That's one of the reasons I would like a Mac, less of disconnect between the UIs of the different computers I use. With a Mac I would probably use the command-line interface more than the GUI.

But XP is really not so bad. I've had my desktop PC for two years now and never had a blue screen. With 1GB RAM and the XP GUI set for maximum performance (rather than the Fisher-Price UI), it's pretty fast even at CD burning. But then, I'm pretty good at doing regular virus checks and spyware cleanups.

I still run into gotchas with some applications though, with ill-thought out user interfaces and preferences hidden in odd places. And I hate the way XP by default is set up to decide that it knows better than I do what I want to do, so I have to hunt down the settings to fix it to do nothing unless I ask for it (that's Word though, more than XP).

[wrldwzrd89]

Funny, I've been prettry much an exclusive Windoze user and that's one of the things I hate about XP's Explorer - I want to see the files/folders sorted the way I ask for, dammit.

But then, 90% of my time on the PC is spent VNC'ed onto Unix machines, and I'm a command-line junkie. Typing "cd ~/workspace", "ls -a" is so much easier than searching for icons, "My Documents", "workspace" ... etc. Even working on my Linux box, I use xterm more than the KDE GUI.

That's one of the reasons I would like a Mac, less of disconnect between the UIs of the different computers I use. With a Mac I would probably use the command-line interface more than the GUI.

But XP is really not so bad. I've had my desktop PC for two years now and never had a blue screen. With 1GB RAM and the XP GUI set for maximum performance (rather than the Fisher-Price UI), it's pretty fast even at CD burning. But then, I'm pretty good at doing regular virus checks and spyware cleanups.

I still run into gotchas with some applications though, with ill-thought out user interfaces and preferences hidden in odd places. And I hate the way XP by default is set up to decide that it knows better than I do what I want to do, so I have to hunt down the settings to fix it to do nothing unless I ask for it (that's Word though, more than XP).
You want to know what my biggest pet peeve is with Windows XP? My biggest pet peeve is that Windows XP sorts things in descending order by default, and the only way to change the sort order is to change views and click the column you want sorted. Plus, it sometimes reverts to descending order for no apparent reason when I want ascending order by default.

[Mav451]

Hmm, an interesting comment. I used to be annoyed that from folder to folder, it would change from Large Icons, to small, to details, tiles or what have you. This led me to use the "Apply to All Folder" setting in Folder views. Now, whatever folder I'm in, no matter what media I'm looking at, its in Icon form.

Now, I really have no idea what you are talking about for the descending/ascending order. All of my music folders that have track numbers (1,2,3) have never reversed to descending...if you don't use the "Apply to All Folders", then it is probably relying on its last saved form. Perhaps that is the problem.

Using Back button / Up botton may also get different results for the same folder...again the reason I use "Apply to All Folders" now.

[wrldwzrd89]

Hmm, an interesting comment. I used to be annoyed that from folder to folder, it would change from Large Icons, to small, to details, tiles or what have you. This led me to use the "Apply to All Folder" setting in Folder views. Now, whatever folder I'm in, no matter what media I'm looking at, its in Icon form.

Now, I really have no idea what you are talking about for the descending/ascending order. All of my music folders that have track numbers (1,2,3) have never reversed to descending...if you don't use the "Apply to All Folders", then it is probably relying on its last saved form. Perhaps that is the problem.

Using Back button / Up botton may also get different results for the same folder...again the reason I use "Apply to All Folders" now.
It only does it after I add new files to or remove old files from an affected folder; even then, it doesn't happen consistently. Maybe it's an issue similar to the issue in Mac OS X where corrupt .DS_Store files cause all your view settings to get messed up.

[ltgator333]

I think that the fact that there's a excess of negative comments about XP may stem from the fact that this is a Mac forum..lol
Most in here are gonna be a lil more critical of XP for some reason or another- mine is I don't agree with Ms's business practices and Ms's tight grip on the consumer market makes me sick as their product, XP, really isn't any better than the alternatives. So, when I built an XP box for gaming my first impressions were 'wow this sucks', not just because I was unfamiliar, or that XP may or may not 'suck', but because I sat down at the machine biased to begin with.
-just another angle at it

[realityisterror]

"pretty decent processor" - that could be anything. Was it a celeron? Athlon? Pentium? Barton? We have no idea what it was. For all we know, it could be a Celeron 2.0ghz, god forbid, which performs even worse than a 5-year old AMD Thunderbird that run on 100Mhz FSBs.

Scrolling sucked? This is a video driver issue. If you don't have the right driver, it will not interact with DirectX9 (or 8.1, if they didn't upgrade), and thus you have your sluggish scrolling--well sluggish anything.

I don't believe that Windows controlled your behavior. What a blatant blanket statement for your trouble. It is your BIAS, your lack of knowledge and experience that controlled you. Please, enough of the stereotypes and bigotry. It really makes me sick.

*I am really suprised you burned through "finder". I don't know anyone who uses the default Windows software to burn--when Nero or Roxio SHOULD have come with the burner, and are FAR superior alternatives.*

That decision alone serves as a metaphor for your knowledge--and it taints what little factual information you have posted as your "experience".

perhaps your sig might indicate that you are also a little biased... :p
but really, people have different workstyles... that's why some people prefer dreamweaver and some prefer golive (totally random i know...) however, i do believe that if more people were exposed to windows, especially beginner computer users, more people would use it... some window users are just used to windows and macs don't work for them... but one person, or two for that matter, can't speak for everyone...

reality

[realityisterror]

Maybe using a Mac is the reason why my eyesight is screwed up.

i can say that with complete honesty...

reality

[janey]

I think that the fact that there's a excess of negative comments about XP may stem from the fact that this is a Mac forum..lol (snip)
Okay first off, Microsoft != Windows. If you're only going to bitch about the company's practices, don't bag on Windows at the same time. If you're only going to bitch about Windows, don't bag on Microsoft at the same time. Yes, Microsoft publishes the goddamned software, but if you dont have something bad to say about both, then don't do it.
Now, this is a Mac forum, but lots of PC users or Mac/PC users hang out here too, including me. I think XP is a fine operating system to use, and so is OS X. Its just that i'm ticked off because it seems like half the people bitching about XP in this thread do not use it as one of their primary operating systems or use it a handful of times then say bad thing after bad thing about their experience with the software and the hardware. That is totally unacceptable. If you don't have the knowledge and experience to figure out what some piece of hardware works best with or how to put parts together, don't bother putting together a PC because it's just going to be a waste of your money. If you just get random parts off the shelf and build one chances are its not a good config and -god forbid!- XP will behave erratically, just like any other software when there's something wrong with the hardware.
And PLEASE if you don't like something that much based on something unbelievable like someone's opinion or your own speculation based on 5 minutes worth of use, don't bitch until you know that you are proficient at using it and that you've used it for more than an hour.

[ltgator333]

I didn't actually complain about XP, at least I don't think. 'wow this sucks' does that count?? seems pretty weak to me. No I really can't say that I can complain formally about XP, I was just pointing out I COULD be biased against the software because I don't want to use it to begin with because of who makes it. I mean, really if you don't like the Ford motor company do you think your gonna think the new Mustang is the best thing ever? Probably not even close.
And the Mac forum thing.. was a joke...

[Mav451]

...So, when I built an XP box for gaming my first impressions were 'wow this sucks', not just because I was unfamiliar, or that XP may or may not 'suck', but because I sat down at the machine biased to begin with.
-just another angle at it...

You truly deserve a medal. This may be the very first time I've seen a Mac user ADMIT that they are biased, and for that I congratulate you on your honesty. Your honesty shows that at least you are aware of yourself, and that you made a conscious thought process. Really, I cannot congratulate you enough.

*realityisterror: With experience, comes considerable knowledge. But also with experience, comes a bias and "favoritism" towards a certain view, b/c NOT only do you understand its faults/weaknesses, but b/c you DO understand them you can highlight its STRENGTHS.

My sig does show bias, but it also shows a bit of experience. Overclocking is not a one-day process, but a long labored procedure that requires patience and a bit of risk taking. I did not arrive at my overclock overnight--I tested components individually--memory, hard drive tolerances, Northbridge temperatures, fan speeds (you do want to sleep right?). And obviously, benchmarking to show increases/decreases on performance (memory and multiple game tests illustrate gains or losses based on specific settings in BIOS, memory latencies, FSB/multiplier configurations).

[ltgator333]

wow! a medal.. geez.. yeah biased. lol.. Well I dunno I have kinda a strange bias though.. I do own a PC, and have a few others in the house.. just only one runs windows..

oooh yeah- I do have DOS 5 around somewhere too.. DOS 5 + win 3.1 = sweet!! :)

[Awimoway]

Okay first off, Microsoft != Windows. If you're only going to bitch about the company's practices, don't bag on Windows at the same time. If you're only going to bitch about Windows, don't bag on Microsoft at the same time. Yes, Microsoft publishes the goddamned software, but if you dont have something bad to say about both, then don't do it.
Now, this is a Mac forum, but lots of PC users or Mac/PC users hang out here too, including me. I think XP is a fine operating system to use, and so is OS X. Its just that i'm ticked off because it seems like half the people bitching about XP in this thread do not use it as one of their primary operating systems or use it a handful of times then say bad thing after bad thing about their experience with the software and the hardware. That is totally unacceptable. If you don't have the knowledge and experience to figure out what some piece of hardware works best with or how to put parts together, don't bother putting together a PC because it's just going to be a waste of your money. If you just get random parts off the shelf and build one chances are its not a good config and -god forbid!- XP will behave erratically, just like any other software when there's something wrong with the hardware.
And PLEASE if you don't like something that much based on something unbelievable like someone's opinion or your own speculation based on 5 minutes worth of use, don't bitch until you know that you are proficient at using it and that you've used it for more than an hour.

You know, it's not that big of a deal. Count to ten. Do some breathing exercises. Pen a haiku. You'll feel better. Really. ;)

[encrypt3d]

Wow.... how's you do that on an XP box?

(p.s. it's called explorer)

its still gay

[MatMistake]

I've used every version of windows from 3.1 onward, and XP is by far my least favorite version. Sure XP is alot more stable that all previous versions, but its a bitch to actually use. So many things brake from the win 9x conventions that even for someone using windows for over a decade it is confusing to use. Things are in the wrong place, no longer exist, called something else, arranged in a way that means I need 5 minutes to figure out what is what. And networking with XP home, my god its horrid! I've lost days of my life to trying to get it all working, having to configure everything manually. I know people who have gotten a copy of XP, installed it, used it for a day or two, uninstalled it and taken it back to the shop. As far as usability goes its a downgrade.

Windows Me was the nicest version to actually use, its just a shame that its no longer supported and all new programs are developed just for XP.

[Mav451]

You know some other guys I know also said they preferred Windows Me, but not for the same reasons. They said they liked Me for its stability--I honestly could have died that day from laughing. Usability however, i guess is one of legacy. Since you were probably older than me when 3.1 was around, perhaps your experience with 3.1 was more impacting (I was just a kid then).

Because of this, most of my experience is actually with 95/98 (several years), and now XP (2 years). 95 had the least overhead of all systems--I could run it on a single stick of 128MB RAM and still have nearly 110 left after boot, 110! Now I have 512 on XP, and 90-100megs are already gobbled up in the beginning.

That said, networking, especially home networking with 95 was ridiculously bad. The same with 98. It was only with XP that I didn't have to install crappy drivers, and it did NOT require a restart for every lil TCP/IP change i made. That is 95/98's hugest pitfalls. Who wants to restart everytime? Honestly. Using a very old Linksys card, I was able to run a home network over the phone lines in less than a min (um, turn on, automatic install, it works). With 95/98, it was hope the installation runs smoothly, if you don't have the right settings, change them one-by-one, restarting each time, hoping it works. Oh and sometimes, it won't work no matter what you do. Try plugging/unplugging the ethernet cable in 95/98. You can get connected again at the *snap of the fingers* the way XP can.

**You might notice I don't mention Me. While I have heard things from my friends, I don't put it here b/c I have never used it.**

Also, all of my friends use XP Pro, so I really have no idea if Home is the cause of the problems or not.

[MatMistake]

Since you were probably older than me when 3.1 was around, perhaps your experience with 3.1 was more impacting (I was just a kid then).

I was only a kid, but due to my dad being very slow to upgrade I ended up using 3.1 for far longer than necessary. all I really did way play games, and I had to go in to DOS to do all that. I rember the file manager though, maybe I'm not rembering quite right, but it always struck me as a bit nicer then windows explorer with win9x

Because of this, most of my experience is actually with 95/98 (several years), and now XP (2 years). 95 had the least overhead of all systems--I could run it on a single stick of 128MB RAM and still have nearly 110 left after boot, 110! Now I have 512 on XP, and 90-100megs are already gobbled up in the beginning.

I've only been using XP for about 5 months :eek:
and on just 192meg of ram. no chance of anything resembling multi tasking on my computer :(

That said, networking, especially home networking with 95 was ridiculously bad. The same with 98. It was only with XP that I didn't have to install crappy drivers, and it did NOT require a restart for every lil TCP/IP change i made. That is 95/98's hugest pitfalls. Who wants to restart everytime? Honestly. Using a very old Linksys card, I was able to run a home network over the phone lines in less than a min (um, turn on, automatic install, it works). With 95/98, it was hope the installation runs smoothly, if you don't have the right settings, change them one-by-one, restarting each time, hoping it works. Oh and sometimes, it wont work no matter what you do. Try plugging/unplugging the ethernet cable in 95/98. You can get connected again at the *snap of the fingers* the way XP can.

my experience of networking has been really different. it was great under 98/Me (never tryed with 95) sure there was alot of restarting involved, but it was quick, and computers appeared quickly/instantly in network neighborhood. In XP its awful, I just can't get to work using the auto setup thing, or with dynamic/automatic IPs, and then if I have to set a static IP I have to set up everything else manually to get internet connection sharing to work (which was no hassle at in Me, everything just set itself up). And in XP will occasionally just break for, as far as I can tell, no reason. it was absolute hell setting up my wireless network, I'd get it working, go to bed (as it was late and taken so long to get it to work) and in the morning it was broken again, the most amazing thing being that I hadn't even turned anything off or on, just left it, and it broke of its own accord! but most annoying of all is when it is working fine, yet takes 2-5 minuites to find the other computers in 'my network places' (and not just the first time I look, every single time), I've never managed solve this, as far as I can tell its just part of XP.

Also, all of my friends use XP Pro, so I really have no idea if Home is the cause of the problems or not.

I don't know for sure, but I have heard that networking is alot worse in XP home...

[Mav451]

192MB is really...trying. Even 256MB is the bare minimum. XP's GUI (even without the original tacky theme) takes a toll on the CPU/RAM. If you are using hardware that is more than 5 years old (predating the first Athlons), I strongly recommend you get some new hardware first.

My friend, with little to no experience (more of a jock than anything), set up wireless by himself so he could do Fantasy BBall/Baseball all around the dorm. Now, he is using a 1-year old Toshiba Laptop, so maybe the hardware (and hence drivers) are newer...lending to a smoother experience.

Heck, he even explained to me how you have to log on every 20 hours (campus security)...while explaining why I should trade Tim Duncan for his Paul Pierce :)

[MatMistake]

192MB is really...trying. Even 256MB is the bare minimum. XP's GUI (even without the original tacky theme) takes a toll on the CPU/RAM. If you are using hardware that is more than 5 years old (predating the first Athlons)

its a toshiba laptop, not quite 4 years old. 600Mhz celeron, its slooow
I often run it without the windows/explorer shell, using
blackbox for windows (http://www.bb4win.org/news.php) insted. thats a bit faster...

I strongly recommend you get some new hardware first.

thats what I'm planning on doing as soon as I have the money. a powerbook :P

[FinnishFlash]

192MB is really...trying. Even 256MB is the bare minimum. XP's GUI (even without the original tacky theme) takes a toll on the CPU/RAM. If you are using hardware that is more than 5 years old (predating the first Athlons), I strongly recommend you get some new hardware first.

I'm using XP on a Toshiba Satellite P2 MMX 166MHz with 64Mb of RAM. And it works fairly well. I use it for browsing the internet, email, office... And it's connected thru a D-Link WLAN PCMCIA-card. No problems here -not a single BSOD. Of course I have other computers as well ( like 1400c PowerBook with OS 8.5 and WLAN ).

[Mav451]

Interesting. Another example of XP being usable--proving even my own standards (I thought 192 was bad :p )wrong. I presume there must be a great deal of HD swapping...I have no idea if you could play mp3s/videos at the same time (codecs can take 15-20% CPU threads...the slower the CPU the higher the usage). But, regardless, it is WORKING for you. That is most important thing.

[Mord]

"pretty decent processor" - that could be anything. Was it a celeron? Athlon? Pentium? Barton? We have no idea what it was. For all we know, it could be a Celeron 2.0ghz, god forbid, which performs even worse than a 5-year old AMD Thunderbird that run on 100Mhz FSBs.

Scrolling sucked? This is a video driver issue. If you don't have the right driver, it will not interact with DirectX9 (or 8.1, if they didn't upgrade), and thus you have your sluggish scrolling--well sluggish anything.

I don't believe that Windows controlled your behavior. What a blatant blanket statement for your trouble. It is your BIAS, your lack of knowledge and experience that controlled you. Please, enough of the stereotypes and bigotry. It really makes me sick.

*I am really suprised you burned through "finder". I don't know anyone who uses the default Windows software to burn--when Nero or Roxio SHOULD have come with the burner, and are FAR superior alternatives.*

That decision alone serves as a metaphor for your knowledge--and it taints what little factual information you have posted as your "experience".

time and time again you prove yourself wrong in these mac Vs pc forums

you confuse people about the way they should have done something using all these different apps and fixes and patches when any idiot can do it on OS X you prove that you need an comp degree to use widows.

it may work for you but it dosent work for the rest of the world

[edesignuk]

time and time again you prove yourself wrong in these mac Vs pc forums
And you prove yourself an ignorant mac fanboy.
you confuse people about the way they should have done something using all these different apps and fixes and patches when any idiot can do it on OS X you prove that you need an comp degree to use widows.
There is nothing "confusing" about Mav451's post. What is it you can't understand?
it may work for you but it dosent work for the rest of the world
I think you are a bit back to front there, because on market share that comment should be the other way round :rolleyes: