Windows 7

[Bimmerbill]

I always rebuild every 6 months or so. I like it, its what I do for fun.

You can always run "msconfig" and check all the programs that are now loading when you start your PC. I always shut off all the automatic updates for adobe, java, itunes, etc, etc. There really is a huge number of them.

 

[samclem]

I have to admit I enjoyed the new Mac ad.

Yep, the new "I'm a Mac" ad is great--kicking old Bill Gates while they are vulnerable.

And then last night I saw this ad that put a harpoon in Mac/ATT. It's a tough world out there in the ad biz.

Misfit Toys Ad

 

[FUEGO]

After seeing a brand new windows 7 premium laptop with decent specs today for $249 from bestbuy, I don't think I would ever consider paying more than a token amount for Windows 7 upgrade. I'd just buy a new machine w/ OEM W7 installed. Or wait till Windows 8 comes out in another few years.

 

[ERD50]

And then last night I saw this ad that put a harpoon in Mac/ATT. It's a tough world out there in the ad biz.


Misfit Toys Ad

Actually, if you listen carefully you will notice that they are not harpooning the iPhone at all ("everybody will love you"), but they are harpooning AT&T's 3G coverage.

In order to get what they wanted, Apple had to give AT&T exclusive rights for the iPhone in the US. But that exclusivity agreement is up (next summer?), and I'm sure Verizon would like a shot at getting the iPhone (it will need new radio circuitry inside to work on the Verizon network, but Apple can do that as easily as the rest of the Verizon phone providers).

AT&T is suing over some of those ads. I think they are really clever, but they can give the mistaken impression that you don't get coverage at all in those areas, when it is the high-speed 3G coverage that is lacking (the phone will fall back to the lower speed connection).

This headline took me for a loop - who would have imagined this 2 years ago?

Apple's iPhone Operating Profit Beats Nokia For The First Time (NOK, AAPL)

According to a report from Strategy Analytics (via Reuters), Apple surpassed Nokia in the third quarter as the cellphone maker with the highest operating profit.

Not just profit margin, but profit total.

According to the report, Apple's operating profit was $1.6 billion on sales of 7.4 million iPhones, generating revenue of $4.5 billion. Nokia's profit was $1.1 billion on sales of 108.5 million phones, generating revenue of $10.36 billion (€6.9 billion).

And this is during a recession, where you would think high end product would be at a disadvantage.

-ERD50

 

[TromboneAl]

Why Microsoft thinks it is necessary to change where things are found I will never know.

This was always a pain when writing a manual or providing tech support. I couldn't just say "Click Start/Find/Files or Folders" because on different versions it might be "Start/Search/For Files or Folders." or something else.

But, unbelievably, manufacturers are even changing keyboard layouts with new computers!

 

[W2R]

I admit that I love new operating systems and I am DYING to try Windows 7. But last year, I bought a new laptop and a new desktop. So do you see what greed has done for me? Now I have no excuse to buy a new computer with Windows 7 (and I never buy upgrades - - might as well buy a new computer).

Today I somehow snagged my foot on the power cord to my laptop, with the result of essentially THROWING my laptop across the room catapulted by the power cord. In that brief moment when I thought it was ruined, instead of anguish I felt gleeful because I would have an excuse to buy a new one. But then, oh drat, it turned out that it survived with no damage.

Next year.

 

[TromboneAl]

I think I will just reinstall XP and all the many applications.

Had I designed Windows, each application would sit in a folder by itself. Everything necessary for that application would be in files in that folder. Reinstalling the OS would not cause any problems, and you could move the application's folder to a new machine in a second.

 

[ziggy29]

Had I designed Windows, each application would sit in a folder by itself. Everything necessary for that application would be in files in that folder. Reinstalling the OS would not cause any problems, and you could move the application's folder to a new machine in a second.

Early versions of the Mac OS did that. Everything the application needed was in one folder. To delete the application, just drag the folder to the trash.

 

[kumquat]

If it was that easy, why would you (or anyone else) cough good money [-]for some new crap[/-] for something you already have?

Sorry, didn't I get flamed for asking that?

 

[heyduke]

I think I will just reinstall XP and all the many applications.

...

Remember if you live in the past with software OS's such as XP you also will own all the unpatched security holes in the software as well. No one including Micro$oft will be adding new patches to XP ...

 

[ziggy29]

If it was that easy, why would you (or anyone else) cough good money [-]for some new crap[/-] for something you already have?

Because most modern software seems complicated enough that it has to throw crap into your system folders.

And how about we make a deal, you use (and pay for) what you want, and others will do the same. It's not your money they are using. Deal?

 

[W2R]

I paid $49 for it from Amazon. There was special upgrade pricing for preorders a couple of months in advance of the release.

And "LBYM" does not have to mean "LAFAPBYM" (Living As Far As Possible Below Your Means). I would personally consider LAFAPBYM to be a painful, obsessive, miserable way to live, but to each their own.

I have a category of expenditures called "Electronics/Miscellaneous", and last year I spent $288/month on this category. This year, due to the recession, it is down to $68/month. Either way, IMO $49 shouldn't break the bank for LBYM'ers. It wouldn't for me, and my projected total 2009 expenditures are $21,168 which some people here consider to be impossibly low.

Like you, I think LAFAPBYM is unnecessary in order to LBYM. In fact, I think it is detrimental to LBYM efforts because it is likely to be frustrating and lead to scrapping LBYM entirely. For me the point is to determine what is necessary to live, and then to have some extra to spend for fun but not unlimited amounts for that purpose.

 

[Rustic23]

Al,
Before you reinstall or after if you all ready have, go to UBCD for Windows and check out this app. With it you can make a CD/DVD that will boot Windows directly to the cd/DVD. It has several apps built into it. One is driveimage xml. With this you can do a complete drive image of you drive to a backup partition or usb hard drive. I make a backup after I have installed the OS and all the basic software. That gives me a 'clean' install. It takes about an hour to make the backup and an hour to reinstall the OS and all the programs. All you need to do then is keep a backup of the data and reinstall it. This is the fastest way I have found to re-do a computer.

As for XP not being supported, it will be a while. From what I found on the web they will continue security until 2014. I will have gotten a new computer by then and operating system.

 

[ERD50]

Al,
Before you reinstall or after if you all ready have, go to UBCD for Windows and check out this app. With it you can make a CD/DVD that will boot Windows directly to the cd/DVD. It has several apps built into it. One is driveimage xml. With this you can do a complete drive image of you drive to a backup partition or usb hard drive.

Rustic23 - can you then boot directly from that backup, or do you need to re-install it on the original hard drive first?

I ask, because I like to be able to verify my backups before I assume they are good. With OSX this is no problem, just boot from the external and try it out, then boot back to your internal drive, disconnect the external and put it on the shelf for safe keeping. OSX also lets you clone the disk right from the running system - no need to boot into a separate OS for that. I do incremental backups of a subset of my data to flash drives between full clones, which is nice - a couple minutes max (incremental backup was a paid program, 'SuperDuper').

But I'm not sure if I can tell friends on Windows if they can do this or not. Do you know?

-ERD50

 

[Rustic23]

You can not boot from the backup. The ubcd4win disk is a subset of XP or vista or what ever Windows disk you start with. You have to have a Windows install disk of some sort to make it. I generally make two backup copies. One the original with bare software installed, maybe just office and such, and another about a month later with data and everything. I not had a backup fail. I have erased them, lost them, and had a hard drive that was broke so bad it could not be reinstalled, but the backup always works. The other thing, I figure if it does not work, I am not worse off than having to go through the complete install, so I don't get rid of those original disk.

Some quirks are that the usb drives have to be installed at boot up. The cd will pause before booting windows and ask you if you want to 'boot bart' (a sub name for usbcd) or some other operating system. If you computer is set to book from a usb that is the time to plug it in. By the way, most of my vista backups are greater than 4 gigs and that is compressed.

Just thought of this, while you can not boot from the backup you can look at it's structure, file system, and I believe driveimage xml allows you to restore individual files. So you should be able to check the integrity of the backup file.

 

[RonBoyd]

But I'm not sure if I can tell friends on Windows if they can do this or not. Do you know?

I thought I could find an easy answer for you but clicking on "Help and Support"/"Backup" gave me over thirty "answers." This may be close to what you are asking... except for the "testing" part.

What is a system image?

A system image is an exact copy of a drive. By default, a system image includes the drives required for Windows to run. It also includes Windows and your system settings, programs, and files. You can use a system image to restore the contents of your computer if your hard disk or computer ever stops working. When you restore your computer from a system image, it's a complete restoration—you can't choose individual items to restore, and all of your current programs, system settings, and files are replaced with the contents of the system image.

Although this type of backup includes your personal files, we recommend that you back up your files regularly using Windows Backup so that you can restore individual files and folders as needed. When you set up Windows Backup, you can let Windows choose what to back up, which will include a system image, or you can select the items that you want to back up and whether you want to include a system image. For more information about setting up Windows Backup, see Back up your files.

If your computer contains several drives or partitions, you can create a system image that includes all of them by following the steps in Back up your programs, system settings, and files.

Here are some online sources that can be looked at:
Windows - Help and Troubleshooting | Microsoft Answers
Help and Support
http://www.microsoft.com/communities/forums/default.mspx

 

[MichaelB]

Unless you have a specific application need or your current system is unstable, upgrading SW will usually bring you no benefit, but it will certainly reduce the expected life span of your HW.

This is true not only for operating systems but application sw as well - like MS office.

The whole "we won't support older versions" is nothing but FUD - fear, uncertainty and doubt, and quite common in the SW business.

Once you have a stable sw platform, and xp2 certainly meets that test, not changing it is the best way to extend the life of your more expensive HW, minimize sw conflicts and reduce system outages along with all the corresponding time wasted on this stuff.

Change SW when you change HW. In-between, upgrade hw with memory and hard disk to improve performance.

 

[RonBoyd]

... upgrading SW will usually bring you no benefit, but it will certainly reduce the expected life span of your HW.

Please explain further.

 

[ERD50]

I thought I could find an easy answer for you but clicking on "Help and Support"/"Backup" gave me over thirty "answers." This may be close to what you are asking... except for the "testing" part.

Thanks RonBoyd - I think that Windows just has boot restrictions like this, because you can install it on any HW, they are trying to protect from piracy. Makes it a bit of a pain for the end user, compared to OSX.

The flip side of that is, Apple has you "locked" into their HW - so you choose your poison. There have been times that I wanted to upgrade my computer and just didn't care for the HW choices that Apple had at the time. Fortunately, I've been really impressed with their low-end laptops lately. My next "desktop" will likely be a 13" MacBook with an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. Unless I get really comfortable with Linux. I've got Ubuntu on my netbook, it's OK, but I haven't played with it much other than basic surfing and setting it up as my music player. I might try MythTV on that.

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

Al,
Before you reinstall or after if you all ready have, go to UBCD for Windows and check out this app. With it you can make a CD/DVD that will boot Windows directly to the cd/DVD. It has several apps built into it. One is driveimage xml. With this you can do a complete drive image of you drive to a backup partition or usb hard drive. I make a backup after I have installed the OS and all the basic software. That gives me a 'clean' install. It takes about an hour to make the backup and an hour to reinstall the OS and all the programs. All you need to do then is keep a backup of the data and reinstall it. This is the fastest way I have found to re-do a computer.
...

Yes, the complete drive image is the pristine copy I posted about earler. That way, you don't have to install completely from scratch but instead just do a restore from the pristine image.

Sometimes, my friends and family ask if I can work on their computer and reinstall it. What I've done is during the reinstall, make a "pristine image copy" of their hard drive to an external hard drive. That way, the next time they need my help and want a complete reinstall, I can restore from the pristine image of their computers which I have a copy of and go from there.

My pristine copy only has the OS, drivers, apps that I know I'll use. For safety, I keep my data separate from the image.

 

[RonBoyd]

Here is an interesting article from Woody Leonhard that may add grist for the mill:

Fully install Windows 7 from the upgrade disc

"It looks like you can use the upgrade version of Windows 7 to install a 'genuine' copy of Windows 7 on any PC, whether it already has Windows on it or not. Why would anybody pay way more money and buy a full-install version of Windows 7 instead of an upgrade version?"

So far, the only people I know who've paid for the full version of Windows 7 thought they had to buy it because they were running Windows XP. When they read that they couldn't do an in-place upgrade from XP to Win7, they mistakenly thought they had to buy the full release. They got ripped off.

In any event, he echoes my thoughts on the subject:

I think Microsoft's biggest mistakes with Windows 7 are the confusing number of versions and upgrade paths, as well as the complete dearth of technical information about the upgrade-validation process.

The product's great. The rollout bites.

 

[kyounge1956]

Unless you have a specific application need or your current system is unstable, upgrading SW will usually bring you no benefit, but it will certainly reduce the expected life span of your HW.

Please explain further.

Here's my guess. In my observation, the upgrade usually has more demanding system requirements than the older version. Sooner or later, those requirements will exceed the upgrades it is possible to make on your system, and the more you upgrade, the sooner you hit your system's limits.

 

[RonBoyd]

Here's my guess. In my observation, the upgrade usually has more demanding system requirements than the older version. Sooner or later, those requirements will exceed the upgrades it is possible to make on your system, and the more you upgrade, the sooner you hit your system's limits.

I see. The older your equipment becomes the less it is able to keep up with the younger models. Sounds way too familiar. I hope that doesn't shorten my life-span too much.

 

[ls99]

I see. The older your equipment becomes the less it is able to keep up with the younger models. Sounds way too familiar. I hope that doesn't shorten my life-span too much.

A system upgrade is unlikely to put a smile on your face, or a spring in your steps. Passing time with with young(er) models definitely will. There is a small cost differential. Life-span, what life-span?

 

[MichaelB]

Here's my guess. In my observation, the upgrade usually has more demanding system requirements than the older version. Sooner or later, those requirements will exceed the upgrades it is possible to make on your system, and the more you upgrade, the sooner you hit your system's limits.

Right. Greater processor power is what allows greater sw functionality, so by definition a major sw upgrade, like windows, will have (oftimes needless) new capabilities that will constrain your current system. MS office does this as well.
XP is a stable system, there's no need to upgrade until you change processor.

It's not the age, it's the workload.